(Friday, June 24, 2011, 5:10 PM)
Not only Jewish theologians, but many scholars consider the "Suffering Servant" a metaphorical and collective image for the entire nation of Israel.
I really don't see, though, how the following emphasized expressions would fit Israel, as a collective "messianic entity", rather than the Messiah as an individual person.
Only by very strained and artificial exegesis and hermeneutics, I believe, one could do that ...
Besided, most Biblical scholars agree in considering that the "Servant Songs", the passages relative to the "Suffering Servant", the "Servant of the Lord", the עַבְדָּא יְהֹוָה, the`Abad' YHWH are this (and only this) series of four passages (Isaiah 42:1-7; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). So, other passages, like Isaiah 41:8,9 and 44:1,2,21, while they certainly speak of Israel/Jacob as "servant" and can certainly, and most naturally be referred to Israel in a collective sense, are NOT part of the "Servant Songs", for which this collective interpretation of the Israel/servant if far more problematic (see above).
Ecce Homo by Caravaggio (1606)
The Servant songs (also called the Servant poems or the Songs of the Suffering Servant) are four songs in the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, which include Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 50:4-7; and Isaiah 52:13-53:12. They were first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah.[1] 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 among them. In the end, he is rewarded.
-- Wikipedia > Servant songs
-- Wikipedia > Servant songs
Not only Jewish theologians, but many scholars consider the "Suffering Servant" a metaphorical and collective image for the entire nation of Israel.
I really don't see, though, how the following emphasized expressions would fit Israel, as a collective "messianic entity", rather than the Messiah as an individual person.
The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant
13 “Look, my servant will succeed!
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted –
14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you)
he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man;
15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human –
so now he will startle many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
1 Who would have believed what we just heard?
When was the Lord’s power revealed through him?
2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,
like a root out of parched soil;
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,
no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
3 He was despised and rejected by people,
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.
5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed.
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth.
8 He was led away after an unjust trial –
but who even cared?
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;
because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.
9 They intended to bury him with criminals,
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,
because he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.
“My servant will acquit many,
for he carried their sins.
12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,
because he willingly submitted to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”
(Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - emphasis MdS - cp. Yeshayahu Ch. 52:13-15, 53:1-12 @ chabad.org)
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted –
14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you)
he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man;
15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human –
so now he will startle many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
1 Who would have believed what we just heard?
When was the Lord’s power revealed through him?
2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,
like a root out of parched soil;
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,
no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
3 He was despised and rejected by people,
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.
5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed.
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth.
8 He was led away after an unjust trial –
but who even cared?
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;
because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.
9 They intended to bury him with criminals,
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,
because he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.
“My servant will acquit many,
for he carried their sins.
12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,
because he willingly submitted to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”
(Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - emphasis MdS - cp. Yeshayahu Ch. 52:13-15, 53:1-12 @ chabad.org)
Only by very strained and artificial exegesis and hermeneutics, I believe, one could do that ...
Besided, most Biblical scholars agree in considering that the "Servant Songs", the passages relative to the "Suffering Servant", the "Servant of the Lord", the עַבְדָּא יְהֹוָה, the`Abad' YHWH are this (and only this) series of four passages (Isaiah 42:1-7; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). So, other passages, like Isaiah 41:8,9 and 44:1,2,21, while they certainly speak of Israel/Jacob as "servant" and can certainly, and most naturally be referred to Israel in a collective sense, are NOT part of the "Servant Songs", for which this collective interpretation of the Israel/servant if far more problematic (see above).
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