Nobody puts Israel in the corner.... well, except that one time.

Dear Curious One,

This week, I read about a cool new (to me!) topic, "Isaiah's Servant." This servant is also referred to as the "Suffering Servant" and "Servant of Yhwh." In Bandstra's chapter this week (Click to read), and in the OOTLE lectures (Responses to Exile Part A and Part B) this topic of "Suffering Servant" was explained well. Before I explain "Isaiah's Servant," I think you need a little background of another new-to-me topic from this week: Second Isaiah. Let me explain...

Before this assignment, I apparently was living under a rock hadn't read about this concept of Second Isaiah yet. Second Isaiah refers the chapters in the book of Isaiah (Chapters 40-55), which are written from the perspective of Babylonian exile. In these chapters, we read of strife caused by the exilic condition of those who were exiled to Babylon. The people there have already paid their debt, yet are continually being held in exile. The people - who came from Jerusalem - continue being held in Babylon, thus continuing to "overpay" on the debt owed. Second Isaiah's perspective claims that the people in exile at this time do not need repentance, forgiveness, or restoration (as they are being held for sins they are not guilty of), but rather are in need of vindication.

Enter: Isaiah's Servant. Bandstra highlights that Isaiah 52:13-52:12 is the last - and longest - of four "servant poems" in which we see "Yhwh's servant suffers for the people even though he did not deserve it" (Bandstra 340). The servant in these servant poems takes on the punishment for the sins of the group.

So who is this servant? According to the lecture (Part B) and to Bandstra's chapter, this servant is said to be representative of the people Israel, who are also sometimes called Jacob (remember Jacob was renamed "Israel" in Genesis when "God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob, but your name will be Jacob no longer. No, your name will be Israel.' And he named him Israel" (Genesis 35:10 CEB).) The servant,

Was this servant an actual, real-live person? While the servant is the most famous character in Second Isaiah, there is some disagreement about this question. While some feel that the servant is only representative of and a metaphor for the people Israel, there are some who argue that this servant was an actual person, perhaps Jeremiah (Bandstra 351).

So if the servant was a real person, what does that mean? Let's say the servant was Jeremiah. In what we read of Jeremiah in Kings and then again in the book of Jeremiah, we know that he was an outcast in society and was physically abused . If it's not Jeremiah, it could also be Jehoiachin (the king during the Babylonian exile), Zerubbabel (the first governor of Judea after the exile is done-zo), or perhaps even Second Isaiah himself (Bandstra 351).

Another interesting potential answer or possibility to this question is that the servant was Jesus. Before reading too deeply into who "Isaiah's Servant" was, I thought we'd be talking about Jesus (Hello, I know JC (as in the real-life man) was not in the Old Testament... I DO know that much), but I was thinking maybe it was a foreshadowing of Jesus' time to come. However, Christians have interpreted this fourth servant song with Jesus as the servant before as well. This is a theme that can be found in George Frideric Handel's Messiah. To me, without thinking about the fact that Isaiah is Old Testament and Jesus wasn't on the scene until the New Testament, it makes sense that the one who "received divine punishment" and "suffered for the people even thought he didn't deserve it" would be Jesus. It was my initial reaction, People. I mean tell me you don't have wrong initial reactions once in a while (ahem, fanny packs, anyone?!).

But what if the servant isn't an actual person, but is rather a metaphor for the people Israel? Then what happens? Well, if this is the case, we are reminded of the suffering and pain that those who were exiled endured. By their suffering and horrible treatment (I assume mani/pedi/spa days weren't offered to those in exile!) in Babylon, the nations and peoples around the people Israel were healed and taught about Yahweh's saving power.

So overall, "Isaiah's Servant" can be interpreted in a couple different ways. I think Bandstra's final thoughts on the topic make a lot of sense:

Perhaps the very indefiniteness of the allusion was Second Isaiah’s intention. He may have had somebody real in mind as a model; but he may have been suggesting, by keeping the identification vague, that the way of selflessness and suffering is the way salvation comes in God’s plan, not by military force. By keeping the figure indefinite, such a figure does not become merely an historical curiosity but a perpetual model for God’s chosen and redeemed people (Bandstra 351).

What a lovely thought -- perhaps Second Isaiah's intention was to give us some literary ambiguity! By leaving this identification up to the reader, we can't just turn "Isaiah's Servant" into an historical figure, but rather the "person" becomes a concept by which we live and love others. I think I like this idea best -- that we aren't meant to know exact meaning of this "person." By mystery of faith, we can relate it to different aspects and areas of our lives instead of being told "Read this, it means that."

What do you think of Second Isaiah and "Isaiah's Servant"?

With love and t-OOTLE-oos!

Melissa

P.S. -- Another author, Tovia Singer, wrote an article called "Who is God's Suffering Servant? The Rabbinic Interpretation of Isa 53" (Click to read). While the article was not necessarily my "cup of tea," there are some interesting points about how the "Suffering Servant" is identified and perceived.