The Suffering Servant and Isaiah 53: A Complete Exegesis
The translation of the text
The observations made from Isaiah 52:13-53:12 are based on the English Standard Version of the text, as it preserves the greater meaning found in the original Hebrew language. This is chosen because of its quality as an essentially literal translation, also carrying some dynamic equivalence but without tarnishing the formality and descriptiveness of the original language. There are specific words embedded in this passage that hold great meaning in Hebrew, that are to be unpacked later in this exegesis, that could be thoroughly accomplished through the ESV translation of Isaiah 52:13-53:12.
Textual criticism
The book of Isaiah is one of the more robust prophetic books, hosting a mirror image to the Bible itself with its 66 books, various claims to messages from God, firm authorship, and strong textual authority. Witnesses in textuality to these prophecies are multiple Qumran scrolls, LXX, and Targum. It is said that “There are a few places where the text is somewhat obscured and may reflect textual corruptions, but these are remarkably few in comparison with other Old Testament books.” Though not a foundational factor in understanding the reliability of the text, the book of Isaiah has the one of most Qumran scrolls found, which shows that it was highly important to the Qumran community as well as a well-preserved document. Further, the Hebrew in this text is semi-poetic, filled with oracles of both judgement and redemption. The Hebrew garners its poetic nature through the use of common Hebrew literary tools like reflective parallelism, wordplay, alliteration, and repetition. There are also areas where the Hebrew uses verbs without antecedents. Following our understanding of the text and its reliability, we can begin to understand some of the critical commentary surrounding this chapter. There are multiple interpretations of this chapter in Isaiah. “Isaiah’s texts hold various Messianic prophecies, with Isaiah 52:13-53:12 being rectilinear towards the personhood of Christ. The observations made from this text are not uniform amongst all scholars, and many see the ambiguity of the title of this passage as well as its reference to sacrifice as an opportunity to interpret this Scripture as an analogy towards the nation of Israel, martyrs for the faith, or even ancient kings.” In the article “The Sacrificial Life and Death of the Servant” authored by Joseph Blenkinsopp, the author is one of many to wrestle with pre-salvivic identity of the suffering servant, because he wrestles with the concept of a guilt offering conveyed to us through the word asham (אשם). Because there is scholarly conversation around the identity of the sufferer, Blinkensopp decided to look a step deeper into the substitutionary atonement piece of this chapter. Additionally, there is critical commentary surrounding the connection between Zerubabbel and Darius. Many contend that its themes of suffering, humiliation, and ultimate vindication align with the post-exilic hopes associated with figures such as Zerubbabel during the Persian period. Consequently, Isaiah 53 may be understood not merely as a theological reflection, but also as a response to the political and social realities and disappointments experienced by the restored community in that era. A commentary states; “A key question is whether the "servant" is also the sufferer. In the previous act, 49:5-9 is spoken by a Cyrus-type servant, Darius, while 50:4-9 presents a sufferer who is obviously a different person. But 50:10 was spoken by the "servant" Darius.” The author of this commentary is typifying the personas displayed in this passage. God speaks for a portion of the text, and many of the conclusions made in this passage are based on YHWH’s intervention in human sin and death. Nevertheless, Watts continues to entertain the possibility that a pre-Christ understanding of this prophecy could possibly be to understand the life and death of this post-exilic leader. Watts continues to say; “Critical explanation of the passage has been difficult because it has been assumed that the successful "servant" of 52:13 and 53:11 is also the suffering, dying one of the other verses.” Watts entertains this question based off of a crafted translation where Darius is the servant and Zerubbabel is the sufferer. It could have been widely adopted at the time to understand the sufferer as a suffering Israelite leader. While we understand this now as Messianic prophecy, there are textual criticisms and conversations regarding the original adoptions of the text based on the obtuse nature of the original Hebrew. Dwelling in a Christian perspective, we are able to see that the Lord’s servant did in fact suffer, and his suffering was vicarious and substitutionary.
Interpreting the Genre
The book of Isaiah is a book of prophecy. Prophecy is understood as both fore-telling and forth-telling. It is helpful to understand that prophecy cannot be so narrow as to assume that each text was meant for a specific people, at a specific time, but that many prescriptive prophecies find their value in the events that they foretell. These words are God-breathed Scripture, so it can be assumed that they are helpful for their immediate audience, as well as the audience who is to come. This genre as a whole is concerned with directly communicating the messages of God. Differentiating from narrative or poetry, we do not need to “watch” how God works throughout prophecy, we can hear directly from it and use it to build hope for what is to come. The sub-genre of this text could be specifically typified as oracles, semi-poetic in nature. The block of oracles that Isaiah 53 finds itself in is a series of readings called the “servant songs” where the author addresses a specific servant of the Lord that is to vicariously suffer and die for the sake of humanity. Isaiah 53 is the fourth of those servant songs. When understanding the genre of a text, we must also analyze the life of the author, which is understood to be Isaiah. There has been discussion on whether or not there are multiple portions of Isaiah authored by various scribes or groups. One commentary states; “If Isaiah lived between the late eighth to early seventh centuries BC, he lived during one of the most turbulent times in Israel’s history. According to Isaiah 6:1, the prophet was called to be God’s spokesperson in the year that King Uzziah died, which was about 739 BC.” Understanding the time period in which Isaiah lived, we can understand the arguments for multiple authorship versus single authorship. Arguments for multiple authorship are based on concepts like the mention of Cyrus or the Babylonian period, unique themes among “sections” of Isaiah, theological concepts, and observed varieties in historical context. Arguments for single authorship are based on texts like the Baba Bathra, who claim Isaiah as the author of the book. There are arguments based on predictive prophecy and how issues with the mention of Cyrus outside Isaiah’s lifetime could be resolved through understanding that the birth of the Messiah was predicted seven hundred years before it came about. Further, there are New Testament figures who claim that quotes from Isaiah were written “by the prophet Isaiah” which could add validity to the sole authorship argument. If we were to enter into the context of Isaiah’s world, we would see one perhaps like our own. Judah and Israel were in a season of prosperity following the exile. The people, though, were engulfed in sexual promiscuity, religious acts not attributed to Yahwistic worship, idolatry, and injustice in the land. It is observed that many of Isaiah’s prophecies are judgement oracles, calling people to repentance, there are many woes in his prophecies. The beauty then of the servant songs is a glimmer of hope given to a nation in desperate need of a savior. Wegner describes this as “A ray of hope for the prophet lay in the knowledge that God would reserve for himself a righteous remnant to serve as a light to other nations, leading them to God.” The specific passage to demarcate as the fourth servant song is not solely Isaiah 53 as it is known colloquially, but the song begins at Isaiah 52:13 and ends at 53:12. On this point, there is something to be said about reading the servant songs as a unique set of passages, an author is quoted in a commentary stating: “The theme begins already in ch. 51 preceding - is a proclamation and exhortation to Zion-Jerusalem to prepare for the triumphant return of the exiles, a triumph even greater than the Exodus from Egypt. ... It is with this dramatic proclamation that our section is to be associated: God's degraded servant, His people Israel, will astonish everyone by the great restoration that he will achieve.” It is upon this foundation that we see the servant passages rectilinear towards a specific goal, which is salvation accomplished through the vicarious suffering of a servant of God. Something specific to this passage, as well as the prophetic genre in general, is the use of symbolic language. Some examples of this symbolic language would be terms like, “sprinkle” (v. 15), which seem unsuitable at first read but begin to make sense when we understand it suits the concept of sprinkling as priestly atonement. Another example is the symbolic phrase “lamb that is led to the slaughter” (v. 7). We understand this sacrifice through the system of Leviticial sacrifice. The words surrounding this symbol explain that this servant is to be led like a lamb to the slaughter, opening not his mouth. (v. 7) In a commentary by J. Alec Moyter, he draws an amazing conclusion. His thesis in this point is that animals can only symbolize the sacrifice that humans need–that there is a variation between silence of ignorance and silence of self-submission. Silence in animal sacrifice is only natural, because animals have no regard to what is happening. This passage seems to orient around this concept of silent but keenly aware acceptance of humiliation and deformation. Human submission, for the sake of humanity itself. Various logical draws are made from the levitical sacrificial system and the penal substitutionary atonement that is to come.
Exploring the context
As briefly explored earlier, the audience of this oracle is to address a nation of Israelites, claiming Yahwistic worship, but falling short. The prosperity of their surrounding nation led to leniency in their commitment to sinless living in the sight of a holy God. The Israelites at this time continued to follow the sacrificial system of their time, and put a particular emphasis on temple worship as they had a renewed authority to rebuild their temple. Isaiah’s relationship to his audience through the lens of this passage can be understood as a hope-bearer, one who acknowledges the sin of the present, and offers a solution that they have yet to embrace. Perhaps at the time, this could have illuminated the need for observing levitical sacrifice, and drawn many to the temple for worship. Whether the context is prescriptive or descriptive is debated. Some of the debates for descriptive prophecy has been discussed earlier in this exegesis, but in our post-salvivic world, we understand that it was keenly prescriptive. One author explains; “Whatever may be said about the earlier songs, we take it that this one is to be understood exclusively in individual terms, fulfilled in Jesus. It is readily granted that the principles of obedience to God's will whatever the cost, in which the cross is taken up by the disciple of Jesus, apply to individual Christians and to the church as a whole. The atoning significance of the sufferings and death of the Servant, outlined in this passage are, however, peculiar to Jesus and to the unique Servant.” Within the greater canon, Isaiah sits as a strong pillar of prophetic work. The canonicity and authority of this book is widely accepted. This emphasizes the concept that this prophecy came at a time that the nation of Israel needed to hear, and future nations needed to recall. The historical and cultural context that this servant song meets us in is one with a rich understanding of sacrifice, but little understanding of the interplay between sacrifice and humanity as a whole. Grace was a currency, there were both guilt and sin offerings, as well as a history with the Passover offering–a blood offering that granted continued life and freedom, not necessarily atonement. With that said, this meets us at a place where multiple offerings served multiple purposes. The temple was actively being rebuilt and religious observations seeping away from active culture. In redemptive history, this is pre-Messiah. This passage is not just a glimmer into what is to come, it is an illuminating burst of light cast into history. It is a detailed image of the very thing that reverses the systems that rule their daily lives. It is a foretelling of the culmination of redemptive history itself. Geographically, there is awe around the concept that Isaiah lived in Jerusalem at the time of his writing, the very location where his prophecies would come alive centuries later. Being at the heart of a kingdom allowed for this message to be widely known and respected, as we can also verify with the amount of preservation found in the Qumran scrolls, an indication that this book was relevant to them at the time.
Defining Important Words
When writing to this audience, there are words that are repeated significantly throughout the text. The words “he/him/his” are repeated and emphasized throughout the text. Moyter claims that this repetition serves to “bring the servant sharply before us.” “Lord” in the ESV is repeated, perhaps to convey holy sovereignty over this situation. The word “situation” is used deliberately to convey a sense of duality in this narrative. How can one man be shown as the “arm of the Lord” (v. 1.), anointed as a servant of God, but simultaneously take on the very wrath, punishment, and smite of God? Verse 10 claims it is “the will of God to crush him.” Because of this seemingly oxymoronic setting, I wonder if the author kept both the servant and the server’s names at the forefront of the reader’s mind to understand that they are not as separate as they may seem. Other repeated words in this literary context are words like “sorrow” and “transgression.” To an audience content in depravity, highlighting their deficits is a sobering thing. To understand a savior, we must acknowledge we need saving. Further, the Hebrew word asham (אשם) is also important to contextualizing the sacrifice of this servant. This word typically means “guilt”, “penalty” or even is used in reference to a guilt offering. When translated into the language of the original Masoretic Text, the verse reads that Yahweh “purposed” to humiliate this servant, and that this servant finds prolonged days and much success in their death. “Although there is resistance present by some scholars, the author begins to crescendo into what is the ultimate observation of this text – that this Hebrew word, asham, is being applied to a person. This is an original reference to the hingepoint of our faith, penal substitution. Not before in Old Testament history has there been a strong link from animal sacrifice as atonement for sins to a human person.”
Defining the big idea
If the servant song found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 could be summarized, it could sound something like this. There is a Servant of the Lord, sent to do Yahweh’s work, who will suffer and die by Yahweh’s hand, knowingly and willingly–vicariously and sacrificially, for the sake of humanity’s sin. An innocent and silent man will receive a brutal and ugly death, and that death will be victorious.
Through all the contextualization, theological concepts, analysis, and understanding–we should always arrive at one point, and that point should be that it was by His stripes that we are healed.
Connecting to Jesus
In Allan Mosely’s book, “From the Study to the Pulpit” there are a series of questions presented to analyze whether or not a passage of Scripture aligns to the person of Jesus. Understanding that the Bible, rich in theology in every Scripture, would be cohesive with Christ Jesus, we can see a straight line drawn from Isaiah 53 to Jesus’ entrance into the world. Here are those questions and their answers. Question one, is the passage repeated or reflected in the new testament? This answer is yes, Matthew 8:17 quotes Isaiah 53:4, in Luke 22:37 Jesus himself quotes Isaiah 53:12, and for a later example, Romans 10:16 quotes Isaiah 53:1. Question two asks, does the passage address a theological theme that is also in NT? Again, a resounding yes; the concept of the Messiah’s sacrifice for our sins is narrativized in the Gospels, and interpreted and applied heavily in Romans, Hebrews, and 1 Peter, while it’s mentioned in the majority of the books. To summarize more of the later questions, this passage reveals issues prevalent in the human condition by highlighting our inability to save ourselves from sin, and God’s wrath on our sin. When asked, “where is the passage located in salvation history?” We can understand that the original text is pre-Christ mirroring Jesus’ death on the cross that is to happen centuries later. This passage raises a question that is answered by Jesus: the question, “can the sins of humanity experience redemption?” Jesus’s death on the cross was a resounding “yes!” with his resurrection being the exclamation mark on the end, communicating the end of the separation between God and man, and entering an era of the new law. This passage reveals multiple attributes and activities of God. The first of those is God’s holiness and justice. A holy God needs an intermediary between sin and perfection, it also reveals the necessity of punishment for sin, which was placed on the Servant, Jesus. The idea of covenant promises are not prevalent in the language of this passage, but assurances are given to the people that their iniquities will be laid on this innocent sufferer. The new testament supersedes this passage to every detail. From the silence of Jesus to his brutal death, Isaiah seems to record the events of the crucifixion, when in fact, he foretold them in keenly accurate detail. Finally, Moseley asks us to analyze whether this passage refers to some type of Jesus. Out of many passages in the New Testament, this one is very obvious. An author from one commentary goes insofar as to say; “Our present passage speaks so eloquently of the work of Christ that even the inclusion of his name could add but little more to the extent of its disclosure of him.” We again note that the work done by Isaiah, through the power of God, is so articulate and wonderful, that as we look through the woven lattice of the Hebrew words, we can see the figure of a marred and humble man passing through, a man by the name of Jesus.
Applying the text to contemporary people
So then, how do we apply such a passage? It seems as though this passage is less instructional and more theological. That assumption would be wrong–theology is meant to be applied! From the heart of surrender found at the foot of the Cross flows conviction, understanding, and reverence of God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and nothing is more fear-inducing than understanding that the wrath of God needed to go somewhere, and it went to a man incredibly undeserving of it. I remember memorizing this passage as a young girl, and it was not until I was 22 years of age, sitting down to write this paper, that I understood that Jesus took on God’s punishment, the consequences that I fear so greatly. We cannot live uprightly until we understand the weight that Jesus’ sacrifice holds. That all of history aligned itself around this moment, that the Lord used a prophet in Jerusalem to give humanity a glimmer of hope. From this, we can glean multiple things, but I hope we can begin with this: God has never been separated from humanity. He has been orchestrating redemption all along, and our complete redemption is still to come. Second, we should sit in reverence of the grace gifted to us through Christ, the willing and surrendered, innocent man who gave us life itself. Finally, we should share the news of this gift of grace with those around us. If we believe with conviction that our sin and shame is gone, we need to become sharers and doers of the Word. The will of the Lord prospered in the hand of Jesus, the redemption plan has been fulfilled.
Works Cited
Blenkinsopp, Joseph. “The Sacrificial Life and Death of the Servant (Isaiah 52:13–53:12).” Vetus Testamentum 66, no. 1 (2016): 1–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43894343.
Moseley, Allan. From the Study to the Pulpit: An 8-Step Method for Preaching and Teaching the Old Testament. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017.
Motyer, J. Alec. Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Nottingham, England: IVP Academic, 2009. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=981011&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Smith, Riah. The Suffering Servant: An Analysis of the Subject of Isaiah 53. Paper presented for OTS5120, Dr. Borger, March 20, 2025.
Watts, John D. W. Isaiah 34–66. Vol. 25, Revised ed. Word Biblical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2005. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=1948489&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Wegner, Paul D., and Tremper Longman. Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2021. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=2699070&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Zondervan. Proverbs–Isaiah. Revised ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2017.https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=1834786&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
