A Study Of Isaiah 53

Whether in the context of Isaiah alone or the Bible as a whole, Isaiah 53 plays an important role because of its complexity and uniqueness. According to Duhm’s division of “servant songs,” Isaiah 52:12-53 is the fourth servant song belonging to Deutero-Isaiah.The complexity of Isaiah 53 stems from its simultaneous reflection on the historical background of the parable and the identity of servant. The first thirty-nine chapters are the work of the prophet Isaiah, but from chapter 40 onwards the style and standards differ from the previous context, so chapter 53 falls into the class of Deutero-Isaiah. With respect to the identity of the servant, different traditions interpret it differently, and consequently understand the significance of the servant’s suffering in varying ways. The uniqueness of Isaiah 53 concerns the latter issue –the servant’s suffering – where “vicarious suffering” appears for the first and only time in Old Testament. The essence of vicarious suffering is that a sinless one bears others’ sorrows and infirmities, stricken by God until death. The will of the suffering servant and the will of God are consistent: the suffering servant expresses his will in taking up our sins, while God expresses his will in taking responsibility for the servant. “Vicariousness,” moreover, represents not only the servant’s relationship to God, but also a new possibility for future relationships with God. Vicarious suffering not only modified the Old Testament prophetic tradition, but also provided the core thematic element of the New Testament in Jesus’ salvation. As a result,there is a problem of the relation of the servant figure to the figure of the messiah, and more specifically to Jesus. The complexity and singularity of Isaiah 53 is above all a profound meditation on the meaning of suffering. It conveys not only a hope for personal salvation and the reform of the mind in faith, but also universal values forged from hard experience and the vicissitudes of human life in general.