Servant songs
Encyclopedia
The Servant songs are songs in the Book of Isaiah
. They were first identified by Bernhard Duhm
in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four poems written about a certain "servant of YHWH." God calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused. The servant sacrifices himself, accepting the punishment due others. In the end, he is rewarded.
Some scholars (such as Barry Webb) regard Isaiah 61:1-3 as a fifth servant song, although the word "servant" is not mentioned in the passage.
, Jehoiachin, Moses
, Cyrus the Great
. Duhm proposed in his commentary that the songs were added by a poet with leprosy
. Sigmund Mowinckel
suggested that the songs referred to Isaiah himself but later abandoned that interpretation.
of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. Yet, anticipating the fourth song, he is without success. Taken with the picture of the Servant in the first song, his success will come not by political or military action, but by becoming a light to the Gentiles. Ultimately his victory is in God's hands. Isaiah 49:1-6.
. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and within the "Jewish tradition the servant was sometimes identified as a messianic figure of the future."
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
. They were first identified by Bernhard Duhm
Bernhard Duhm
Bernhard Lauardus Duhm was a German Lutheran theologian born in Bingum, today part of Leer, East Frisia....
in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four poems written about a certain "servant of YHWH." God calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused. The servant sacrifices himself, accepting the punishment due others. In the end, he is rewarded.
Some scholars (such as Barry Webb) regard Isaiah 61:1-3 as a fifth servant song, although the word "servant" is not mentioned in the passage.
Jewish interpretation
The traditional Jewish interpretation is that the Servant is a metaphor for the Jewish people, an opinion shared by many contemporary scholars. According to Duhm, the servant was some otherwise unknown individual, and the songs' author was a disciple. Various interpretations have followed: ZerubbabelZerubbabel
Zerubbabel was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia . The date is generally thought to...
, Jehoiachin, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
. Duhm proposed in his commentary that the songs were added by a poet with leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
. Sigmund Mowinckel
Sigmund Mowinckel
Sigmund Olaf Plytt Mowinckel was one of the world's most significant Psalms scholars.-Life:...
suggested that the songs referred to Isaiah himself but later abandoned that interpretation.
Christian interpretation
Christians traditionally see the suffering servant as Jesus Christ.The first song
The first poem has God speaking of His selection of the Servant who will bring justice to earth. Here the Servant is described as God's agent of justice, a king* that brings justice in both royal and prophetic roles, yet justice is established neither by proclamation nor by force. He does not ecstatically announce salvation in the marketplace as prophets were bound to do but instead moves quietly and confidently to establish right religion. Isaiah 42:1-4The second song
The second poem, written from the Servant's point of view, is an account of his pre-natal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The Servant is now portrayed as the prophetProphet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. Yet, anticipating the fourth song, he is without success. Taken with the picture of the Servant in the first song, his success will come not by political or military action, but by becoming a light to the Gentiles. Ultimately his victory is in God's hands. Isaiah 49:1-6.
The third song
The third poem has a darker yet more confident tone than the others. Although the song gives a first-person description of how the Servant was beaten and abused, here the Servant is described both as teacher and learner who follows the path God places him on without pulling back. Echoing the first song's "a bruised reed he will not break," he sustains the weary with a word. His vindication is left in God's hands. Isaiah 50:4-9The fourth song
The fourth of the "servant songs" begins at Isaiah 52:13, continuing through 53:12 where it continues the discussion of the suffering servant. There is no clear identification for the "servant" within this song, but if the reader pays close attention to the authors word choice, one can deduce that the song could refer to either an individual or a group. Those that argue the "servant" to be an individual, have "proposed many candidates from Israel's past." The song declares that the "servant" intercedes for others, bearing their punishments and afflictions. In the end, he is rewarded with an exalted position. On the other hand it is argued that the "servant" represents a group of people, more specifically the nation of Israel, and they feel that they have paid their dues and continue to suffer on behalf of others (Isaiah 53:7,11-12). Also, through the authors choice of words, we, our, and they, one could also argue that the "servant" was a group*. Isaiah 53:1-11 Early on the evaluation of the Servant by the "we" is negative: "we" esteemed him not, many were appalled by him, nothing in him was attractive to "us". But at the Servant's death the attitude of the "we" changes after verse 4 where the servant bears "our" iniquities, "our" sickness, by the servant's wounds "we" are healed. Posthumously, then, the Servant is vindicated by God. Because of its references to the vicarious sufferings of the servant, many Christians believe this song to be among the Messianic prophecies of JesusMessianic prophecies of Jesus
Jews and Christians do not agree on what Biblical statements constitute messianic prophecies. Christians point to many statements that they assert are messianic prophecies that Jews do not hold as referring to the Jewish Messiah at all....
. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and within the "Jewish tradition the servant was sometimes identified as a messianic figure of the future."