Jews, how do you interpret Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12?

Question

I'm asking because, as a Christian, it seems so obvious to me that this is about Jesus. I'm not trying to be mean, but I just can't understand how else you could interpret these verses. Can you explain it to me?

Answer 1

Well first off where dose it in any part mention that it is talking about the Messiah? If you believe Jesus is the messiah would you not want to connect this to his messianic status?

Additionally their are several problems connecting this to Jesus.

according to Christian theology Jesus did not have any offspring. Yet in Isaiah 53:10 it refers to the "suffering servant" as "he will see his offspring and prolong his days"

the word Zerah in this passage refers every single time in the Bible to physical offspring. The word for spiritual is Ben.

For Jesus to fulfill this verse he would have to have children and live a long life. Something that flies in contradiction with the Christian Gospel.


Their are many Jewish sources that go in depth on this topic I will list some for you.

http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq-ss.html
http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/jewishpassion/documents/pt_isaiah53.html
http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq136.html

Answer 2

Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Three of these four Servant Songs (#1, #2, #4) explicitly use the Hebrew term , (avdi), My servant[1], while in #3 such terminology does not appear at all. Yet, the description of the subject's characteristics in #3 is so strikingly similar to those of the one to which the other three passages refer as , (avdi), My servant, that it is included in the Sages all agree on the identity of the servant being the righteous remnant of Israel, henceforth referred to as Israel. Consequently, "Isaiah 53" is not Jewish messianic text.
By contrast, many Christians, particularly evangelical Christian missionaries, consider the Fourth Servant Song to be one of the most important Christian messianic prophecies, a so-called "proof texts", in the Bible. The New Testament, with its many references to "Isaiah 53", provides for them a record of the fulfillment of the prophecy of a suffering and dying Messiah and his eventual return, triumph, and glory.
Curiously, though, this is all being believed even though the common reference terms used in the Hebrew Bible for the promised Messiah, such as David, son of David, or king, are conspicuously absent from the text. Moreover, a suffering and dying Messiah is not part of the traditional Jewish messianic paradigm, which describes a Messiah that shows up only once, and one who will succeed in executing the messianic agenda, as it is described in the Hebrew Bible, during his reign as king of a unified Israel.
It is interesting to note that not all Christians hold this view on "Isaiah 53". Some prominent Christian sources agree with the common Jewish perspective that the suffering servant in the Fourth Servant Song is collective Israel, the Jewish people. Namely, Christian Bibles, such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, The New Jerusalem Bible, and The Oxford Study Bible, identify Israel as the suffering servant of "Isaiah 53".

Answer 3

Kudos gratvol! So Zerah means physical offspring... You'd think that some Christians would have actually learned Hebrew. What a quandry for them -- maybe, just maybe, the DaVinci code has a bit of truth in it. LOL
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Answer 4

First--regardless of Origen did or did no longer say has no relevance to Jewish interpretations of Isaiah fifty 3. 2nd--right here is the finished quote from Wikipedia: "The verse is messianically interpreted interior the Midrash on Samuel.[fifty one][desire citation to confirm]". And once you pass to reference fifty one--why, there *is* no finished reference fifty one. come back with the actual portion of the Midrash and then we will communicate.

Answer 5

the prophet isaiah identifies israel as the Servant countless times throughout the book. in order to come to the conclusion that isaiah was actually talking about jesus, you'd have to deliberately ignore several parts of the book of isaiah in which isaiah clearly states that he is talking about the collective nation of israel. or, of course, you'd have to be one of those christians who only read the passages that their pastors tell them they should read because they "point to christ."

Answer 6

It is referring to all of Israel, not one man.


Oh my goodness look, I'm a Jew and I answered honestly. What's with that guy up there?

Thank you for being so polite and respectful in asking.

Answer 7

After reading the above, all I can say to you, who is probably a christian, is OUCH!

Answer 8

It refers to Israel (the nation). Honestly.

Answer 9

I think you are correct.