The Servant Songs in Second 42:1-4 (5-7) 49:1-6 (7) 50:4-9 (10-11) 52:13-53:12 Isaiah Should they be read separately from the rest of the book?
Who is the servant? Duhm: servant poems added secondarily by someone who had leprosy Mowinckel: Servant = Second Isaiah himself Sellin: 1898 = Zerubbabel; 1901 = Jehoiachin; 1922 = Moses Or does the servant represent Israel? the prophet and/or Israel?
The Servant in Second Isaiah The word servant appears 21 times in 40-55 19 times singular; 2 times plural (44:26 by emendation = //messengers; 54:17 the vindication of the servants of Yahweh comes from me) 8 times in servant poems; 1x = Israel; 2x = not Israel; 5x = unclear 13 times elsewhere; = 8x explicitly Israel; 3x implicitly Israel; 2 plural Third Isaiah always speaks of servants.
The First Servant Poem 42:1-4 v. 1: servant is agent of justice (Yahweh s sovereignty) to the nations not by shouting nor by force Israel makes clear to the world Yahweh s sovereignty Israel demonstrates Yahweh s sovereignty by experiencing deliverance from Babylon
Isaiah 42:5-9 Addressed to servant directly; in vv 1-4 servant is presented to others Yahweh s credentials as creator Covenant of/for the people (covenant people), light to the nations To open blind eyes and to free from prison The former things have happened; new things Yahweh declares
The Second Servant Poem 49:1-6 Servant reports pre-natal call (comparesamson; Jeremiah; John the Baptist, Paul) Servant is Yahweh s secret weapon Israel in whom I will be glorified! v.3 vv. 5-6 servant has mission to Israel and to the nations in addition to raising up tribes of Jacob Has the prophet become the true Israel? Or does true Israel have a mission to faithless Israel?
Coda to the second servant poem 49:7 Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel and its holy one To one despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers Kings shall see and stand up (in approbation) Yahweh, who is faithful and has chosen you.
The Third Servant Poem 50:4-9 Psalm of confidence by one who has experienced opposition Prophetic Israel did not rebel (v. 5) Lord Yahweh helps me; who can put me in the wrong? All my accusers will wear out like a garment. What is the vocation of the one who hears Second Isaiah s good news?
Coda to the Third Servant Poem 50:10-11 Who among you fears Yahweh? The servant walks in darkness, trusts in the name of Yahweh, and leans on his God This is what you shall have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.
The Fourth Servant Poem 52:13-53:12 52:13-15 Yahweh is speaker Ultimate vindication of the servant The servant had a bad appearance The nations will be startled at the vindication of the servant
The Fourth Servant Poem (2) Who is we and us in 53:1? the nations? Kings? Jacob/Israel? The many? Servant made a disgusting appearance; people could not stand to look at him 53:4-6 The We people change their evaluation of the servant He bore our sicknesses, the consequences of our iniquities, our rebellions Servant s wounds = healing for us.
The Fourth Servant Poem (3) The servant never said a mumbling word (v. 7) Was the servant killed? Was Second Isaiah executed? Did Israel in exile die a metaphorical death? Servant dies ignominiously. Is this death literal or metaphorical? Is it the death of the prophet or of Israel? Servant s life = a reparation offering; expects coming vindication
The Fourth Servant Poem (4) Through his experiential union with a sinful, suffering people or by his humiliation--the servant makes the many righteous He bears their iniquities Yahweh again the speaker 53:11 Final vindication because he poured himself out unto death he carried the sins of many he prayed for them
Wisdom 2 The righteous person professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous person is God s child, God will help this child, and will deliver this child from the hand of his or her adversaries. Vv. 13-18
Wisdom 5 The unrighteous will be amazed at the unexpected salvation of the righteous these are persons whom we once held in derision Why have they been numbered among the children of God.So it was we who strayed from the truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us. Vv. 2-6
Christian echoes If the servant originally is the prophet and/or Israel And if Jesus is the servant Then we--in our good confession--are also called and empowered to be servants When is servanthood our vocation, and when is servanthood a denial of our full humanity?