The Servant of God here also appears as speaking. In ver. 4, He intimates His vocation: God has bestowed upon Him the gift of comforting those who are weary and heavy laden. He then at once turns to His real subject,--the sufferings which, in fulfilment of this vocation he has to endure. The Lord has inwardly manifested to Him that, in the exercise of His office. He shall experience severe trials; and willingly has He borne all these sufferings, all the ignominy and shame, ver. 5, 6. With this willingness and fortitude He is inspired by His firm confidence in the Lord, who, he certainly knows, will help Him and destroy His enemies, ver. 7-9. The conclusion, in ver. 10 and 11, forms the prophetic announcement of the different fates of the two opposing parties among the people. At the foundation of this lies the foresight of heavy afflictions which, after the appearance of the Servant of God, will be laid upon the covenant-people. That portion of the people who are devoted to the Servant of God, are told to hope in the midst of the misery, and may hope; their sorrows shall be turned into joy. But the ungodly who, without regarding the Lord, and without hearkening to His Servant, would help themselves, will bring destruction upon themselves by their self-willed doings, and shall be visited by the avenging hand of the Servant of God.
An intimation of the lowliness of Christ at His first appearance occurs as early as in chap. xi. 1. In chap. xlii. 4, the words: "He shall not fail nor run away," intimate that the Servant of God has to struggle with great obstacles and difficulties in the exercise of His calling. According to chap. xlix. 4, He will labour in vain among the great mass of the covenant-people,and spend his strength for nought and vanity. In ver. 7, it is expressly intimated that severe sufferings shall be inflicted upon Him by the people. That which was there alluded to, is herecarried out and expanded. But the suffering of the Servant of God is here described from that aspect only which is common to Christ with His members. It is first in chap. liii. that its vicarious power is pointed out. The Servant of God comes here before us in His deepest humiliation. Even in the description of His vocation in ver. 4, the most unassuming aspect, the prophetic office only, is brought forward. It is only quite at the close that a gentle intimation is given of the glory concealed behind the lowliness: He there appears as the judge of those who have rejected Him.
In the Messianic explanation of this Section, the Lord himself has gone before His Church. We read in Luke xviii. 31, 32,παραλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς δώδεκα εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς· ἰδοὺ ἀναβαίνομεν εἰς Ἰεροσόλυμα καὶ τελεσθήσεται πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· παραδοθήσεται γὰρ τοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ ἐμπαιχθήσεται καὶ ὑβρισθήσεται καὶ ἐμπτυσθήσεται καὶ μαστιγώσαντες ἀποκτενοῦσιν αὐτόν.There cannot be any doubt that the Lord here distinctly refers to ver. 6 of the prophecy under consideration. There is, at all events, no other passage in the whole of the Old Testament, except that before us, in which there is any mention made of being spat upon. But in other respects, too, the reference is visible: "I gave my back to the smiters (μαστιγώσαντες, LXX.εἰς μαστιγας), and my cheeks to those plucking (ἐμπαιχθήσεται--the plucking of the beard, an act of degrading wantonness), my face I hid not from shame (ὑβρισθήσεται) and spitting."Bengeldraws attention to the fact of how highly Christ, in the passage quoted, placed the prophecy of the Old Testament: "Jesus most highly valued that which was written. The word of God which is contained in Scripture is the rule for all which is to happen, even for that which is to happen in eternal life." If, in respect of the high estimation of prophecy, our age were to follow in the steps of Jesus, it would also most readily agree with Him as regards the subject of the prophecy before us. This alone is the cause of the aberration from Him, that people confined and shut up the prophet within the horizon of his time, and then imagined that he could not know anything of the suffering of Christ. It was altogether different in theancient Christian Church. In it, the Messianic interpretation prevailed throughout; andGrotius, who in a lower sense would refer the prophecy to Isaiah, and, in a higher sense only, to Christ, met with general opposition, even on the part ofClericus.
In favour of the Messianic explanation there is the remarkable agreement existing between prophecy and fulfilment, comp. Matt. xxvi. 67, 68:Τότε ἐνέπτυσαν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον άὐτοῦκαὶ ἐκολάφισαν αὐτόν, Οἱ δὲ ἐῤῥάπισαν λέγοντες· προφήτευσον ἡμῖν, χριστέ, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε; xxvii. 30:καὶ ἐμπτύσαντες εἰς αὐτὸν ἔλαβον τὸν κάλαμον καὶ ἔτυπτον εἰς τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ,--an agreement, the significance and importance of which are only enhanced by the circumstance that one of the most individualizing features of the prophecy, viz., the plucking off of the beard, is not met with in the history of Christ; for it is just thereby that this agreement is proved to be a free and spontaneous one.Farther--The exactness with which, in ver. 10 and 11, the destinies of Israel, after the rejection of Christ, are drawn; and the destruction which the mass of the people, who did not believe in the Servant of God, prepared for themselves, by their attempts to help themselves by their own strength, by enkindling the flame of war, whilst those who fear the Lord and listen to the voice of Hs Servant, obtain salvation.Farther--Ver. 11, where the Servant of God ascribes to himself the judgment upon the unbelieving mass of the people: "Frommyhand is this to you," in harmony with Matt. xxvi. 64 and other passages, where the Son of Man appears as executing judgment upon Jerusalem.Finally--The parallel passages.
Most of the modern interpreters assume that the Prophet himself, Isaiah, or Pseudo-Isaiah, is the subject of the prophecy.Jeromementions that this explanation was the prevailing one among the Jews of his time. The explanation which refers it to the better portion of the people, found only one defender, viz.,Paulus. The explanation which refers it to thewholeof the Jewish people, or to the collective body of the prophets, has been entirely abandoned, although it is maintained in reference to the parallel passages.
Since it is undeniable that this Section is related to the other prophecies which treat of the Servant of God,--and hence an identity of subject is necessarily required--those who, in theSection under consideration, are compelled to give up their former hypothesis, themselves bear witness against the correctness of it, at the same time, also against the soundness of their explanation of the passage before us. For an explanation which compels to the severance of what is necessarily connected, cannot be right and true. It is only then that Exegesis has attained its object, when it has arrived at a subject in whom all those features, which occur in the single prophecies which are connected with each other, are found at the same time.Knobel, in saying: "This small unconnected Section, is the only one in the whole collection, in which the Prophet speaks of himself only, and represents his suffering's and hopes," has thereby himself pronounced judgment upon his own interpretation of this Section, and at the same time, of the other prophecies of the Servant of God.
Moreover, the Prophet would here form rather a strange figure; he would appear as it were, as if he had been blown in by a snow-storm. According toHofmann, he describes how he is rewarded for his activity and zeal in his vocation. But how does this suit the contents of the second part, which evidently is a whole, the single parts of which must stand in a close relation to its fundamental idea!It is only a person of central importance that is suitable to this context.It is only when we refer it to Christ, that the expectations are satisfied which were called forth by the words: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. This call is answered only by pointing to the future Saviour of the world.
One element of truth, indeed, there is in the explanation which makes the Prophet the subject. It is revealed to him, indeed, that the Servant of God shall undergo persecution, shame, and ignominy; but he has the natural substratum for this knowledge in the experience of himself and his colleagues, comp. Matt. xxiii. 29-37; Heb. xi. 36, 37. The divine, wherever it enters into the world of sin, as well as the servant of truth who upholds it in the face of prevailing falsehood, must undergo struggles, shame, and ignominy. This truth was confirmed in the case of the prophets as types, in the case of Christ as the antitype. All that which the prophets had to experience in their own cases was a prophecy by deeds of the sufferings of Christ; and we should the less have any difficultyin admitting their knowledge of this, that it would be rather strange if they were destitute of such knowledge.
Ver. 4. "The Lord Jehovah hath given me a disciples tongue, that I should know to help the weary with a word: He awakeneth morning by morning, wakeneth mine ear, that I may hear as the disciples."
The greater number of expositors explain a disciple's tongue by: "A tongue such as instructed people or scholars possess,--an eloquent tongue." Butלמד, everywhere else in Isaiah, means "pupil," "disciple," and is used especially of the disciples of the Lord, those who go to His school, are instructed by Him; comp. chaps. viii. 16; liv. 13. A disciple's tongue is such as the disciples of the Lord possess. Its foundation is formed by the disciple'searmentioned at the close of the verse. He who hears the Lord's words, speaks also the Lord's words. The signification, "learned," is not suitable in the last clause of the verse, and its reference to the first does not permit of our assuming a different signification in either clause. Just as here the Servant of God traces back to God that which He speaks, so Jesus says, in John viii. 26:κᾀγὼ ἃ ἤκουσα παρʼ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κόσμον, comp. iii. 34:ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ λαλεῖ. The verbסמך, which occurs only here, means, according to the Arabic, "to help," "to support;"Aquila:ὑποστηρίσαι, Vulg.sustentare. Like other similar verbs,e.g.,סמך, in Gen. xxvii. 37, it is construed with a double accusative: "that I may help the weary, word,"i.e., may support him by comforting words. The weary or fatigued are, like the bent reed, the faintly burning wick, in chap. xlii. 3; the blind, the prisoners sitting in darkness,ibid., ver. 7; the broken-hearted, chap. lxi. 1; them that mourn,ibid., ver. 2. Just as here the Servant of God represents the suffering and afflicted ones as the main objects of His mission, so Christ announces, that His mission is specially directed to these, comp.e.g., Matt. v. 4; xi. 28. In order to be able to fulfil this mission. He must be able to draw from the fulness of God, who looketh to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, chap. lxvi. 2, and who alone understands to heal the broken in heart, and to bind up their wounds, Ps. cxlvii. 3.--In the words: "He wakeneth, &c." we are told in what manner the Lord gives to His Servant the disciple's tongue.To wakenthe earis equivalent to: to make attentive, to make ready for the reception of the divine communications. The expression "morning by morning" indicates that the divine wakening is going on uninterruptedly, and that the Servant of God unreservedly surrenders himself to the influences which come from above, in which He has become an example to us.
Ver. 5. "The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, and have not turned back."
The phrases "to open or uncover the ear" have always the signification, "to make known something to some one," "to reveal to him something." "to inform him," both in ordinary circumstances (comp. 1 Sam. xx. 12; Ruth iv. 4), and on the religious territory, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 27: "For thou, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, hast opened the ear of thy servant, saying: I will build thee an house;" Isa. xlviii. 8: "Thou heardest not, thou knewest not, nor was formerly thine ear opened;" chap. xlii. 20: "The ear was opened to him." According to this well establishedusus loquendi, "The Lord hath opened mine ear," can only mean: The Lord hath revealed to me, hath informed me inwardly;Abenezra:גלה סודו לי"He has made known to me His secret." What the Lord has made known to His Servant, we are not here expressly told; but it may be inferred from ver. 6, where the Servant declares that which, in consequence of the divine manifestation, He did, viz., that He should give His back to the smiters, &c. The words: "The Lord hath opened mine ear" here are connected with: "The Lord wakeneth mine ear, that I may hear," in the preceding verse: The Lord has specially made known to me that, in carrying out my vocation, I shall have to endure severe sufferings.To this subject the Servant of God quickly passes over, after having, in the introduction, described, by a few features, the vocation, in the carrying out of which these sufferings should befal Him.As the authors of these sufferings, we must conceive of the party opposed to the weary, viz., the proud, secure, unbroken sinners. On "I was not rebellious," compare what, in Deut. xxi. 20, is written of the stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father; and farther, the words:πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλʼ ὡς σύ, Matt. xxvi. 39.
Ver. 6. "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to the pluckers, I hid not my face from shame and spitting."
The words express in an individualizing manner the thought, that the Servant of God, in His vocation as the Saviour of thepersonae miserabiles, would experience the most shameful and ignominious treatment, and would patiently bear it. In God's providence, part of the contents was literally fulfilled upon Christ. But the fact that this literal agreement is not the main point, but that it serves as a hint and indication only of the far more importantsubstantialconformity which would take place, although the hatred of the world against the Saviour of the poor and afflicted should have manifested itself in forms altogether different,--this fact is evident from the circumstance that regarding the fulfilment of the words: "and my cheeks to the pluckers"--plucking the cheeks, or plucking off of the beard being the greatest insult and disgrace in the East, comp. 2 Sam. x. 4--there is no mention in the New Testament history.
In vers. 7-9 we have the future glory, which makes it easy for the Servant of God to bear the sufferings of the Present. If God be for Him, who may be against Him?
Ver. 7. "But the Lord Jehovah helpeth me, therefore I am not confounded, therefore I make my face like a flint, and I know that I am not put to shame."
נכלמתיrefers toכלמותin the preceding verse. He whom the Lord helps is not confounded or put to shame by all the ignominy which the world heaps upon him. The expression: "I make my face like a flint" denotes the "holy hardness of perseverance" (Stier); comp. Ezek. iii. 8. In that passage it is especially the assailing hardness which comes into consideration; here, on the contrary, it is the suffering one. There is an allusion to the passage before us, in Luke ix. 51:ἐγένετο δὲ τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ἀναλήψεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐστήριξε τοῦ πορεύεσθαι εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ.
Ver. 8. "He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with one? Let us stand together; who has a right upon me, let him come near me."
In the confidence and assurance of Christ, His redeemed ones, too, partake,--those that hear the voice of the Servant of God, ver. 10, comp. Rom. viii. 33, 34, where this and thefollowing verse are intentionally alluded to. The justification is one bydeeds. It took place and was fulfilled, in the first instance, in the resurrection and glorification of Christ, and, then, in the destruction of Jerusalem.--בעל משפטיliterally, "the master of my right,"i.e., he who according to his opinion or assertion which, by the issue is proved to be false, has a right over me, comp. theἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει οὔδένwhich, in John xiv. 30, the Lord says in reference to the chief of His enemies.
Ver. 9. "Behold the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them."
That which is said herein reference to the enemies of Christ is, in chap. li. 8, with a reference to our passage, said of the opponents of those who know righteousness, and in whose heart is the law: "The moth shall eat them up like a garment." Enmity to Christ and His Church is, to those who entertain it, a prophecy of sure destruction. The words: "The moth shall eat them," are farther expanded in ver. 11, where it is described how the people who ventured tocondemnthe Servant of God, become a prey to destruction.
The Servant of God closes with a double address; first, to the godly; and then, to the ungodly.
Ver. 10. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the word of His Servant? When he walketh in darkness, in which there is no light to him, let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God."
From the words: "Of mine hand," in ver. 11, it appears that the Servant of God is continuing the discourse. Hence "the voice of His Servant,"q.d., the voice of me who am His Servant. By the words: "Among you," the address is directed to the whole of the people. In this two parties are distinguished. The first is formed by those who fear the Lord, and obey the voice of His Servant. Both of these things appear as indissolubly connected. The fear of God must necessarily prove itself in this, that He whom He has sent is obeyed. It is a mere imagination on the part of the people to think that they can fear God without obeying the voice of His Servant; comp. John v. 23. There is in this an allusion to the emphatic "Unto him ye shall hearken," which, in Deut. xviii. 15, had been said in reference totheProphet.From ver. 11 it appears that the darkness in which those walk who fear the Lord, is not to be understood of personal individual calamity which befals this or that godly one, nor of the sufferings which happen to the pious godlyparty, in contrast to the ungodly wicked, but rather that we have before us the foresight of a dark period of sufferings which, after the appearance of the Servant of God, shall be inflicted upon the whole people; so that both of the parties,--that devoted to the Servant of God, and that opposed to Him,--are thereby affected, but with a different issue. For in ver. 11, it is described how the ungodly, who likewise walk in darkness, endeavour to light up their darkness by a fire which they have kindled, but do so to their own destruction. Behind the exhortation: "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God," there is concealed the promise: hemaytrust, his darkness shall be changed into light, his sorrow into joy. When the destruction of Jerusalem approached, the cry came to believing Israel: "Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh," Luke xxi. 28. In the destruction of apostate Israel, not obeying the Servant of God, but persecuting His faithful ones, they beheld the beginning of the victory of the true people of God over the world.
Ver. 11. "Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that gird sparks,--walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. From mine hand is this to you; ye shall lie down in pain."
The image begun in the preceding verse is continued. The pious walk in confidence and patience through the lightless darkness, until the Lord kindles a light to them. Those who do not hear the Lord, who donotobey the voice of His Servant, kindle a fire which is to light up their darkness; but instead of that, they are consumed by the fire. Thus the Servant of God, who brings this destruction upon them, obtains His right upon them.--Thefireis often in Scripture the fire of war, chap. ix. 18; Jer. li. 5; Rev. viii. 7-10. According to several interpreters (Hitzig,Ewald,Knobel), it is assumed that the discourse is here not of "self-assistance by rebellion," but "of the attacks of the wicked upon the godly, and of the destruction, into which these attacks turn out for their authors." But this view is opposed by the circumstance that the darknessis common to both parties; hence, it must come from some other quarter. The fire which the wicked kindle is destined to enlighten the darkness in which they also are, which is especially evident from the words: "Walk in thelightof your fire." They now have a light which enlightens their darkness; but this self-created light consumes them.--Togirdstands for, "to surround one's self with a girdle," "to put on a girdle." In substance it is equivalent "to provide one's self with it."--Theἅπαξ λεγόμενονזיקותcannot with certainty be explained from the dialects. The connection and parallelism are in favour of the signification "sparks," "flames," which is found as early as in the Septuagint (φλόγα), and Vulg. (flammas). In Syriacזיקאhas the signification "lightning." Those who explain it by "fiery darts" are not at liberty to refer it to theזקיםin Prov. xxvi. 18. The signification "flames" (not "sparks," asStierholds), is, in that passage, quite suitable; simple arrows could there not be mentioned after the fiery darts without making the discourse feeble.--לכו"walk ye," is equivalent to: "ye shall walk," yet with an intimation of the fact that this result, as we are immediately afterwards expressly told, proceeds from the speaker:sic volo, sic jubeo.The words: "From mine hand is this to you," are, by those who make the Prophet the subject of this prediction, supposed to be spoken by Jehovah. But throughout the whole section, the Lord is always only spoken of, and never appears as speaking. The words are in harmony with the exalted dignity which, elsewhere also, is attributed by the Prophet to the Servant of God who plants the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, chap. li. 16; whose mouth the Lord makes like a sharp sword, chap. xlix. 2; who is the personal salvation, the Saviour for the whole earth, chap. xlix. 6; and the embodied Covenant for the covenant-people, chaps. xlii. 6; xlix. 8. The last passages, especially, are of no small importance. The saving and judging activity go hand in hand, and cannot be separated. We have here thus the Old Testament beginnings and preparation for the doctrine of the New Testament, that the Father has given all judgment to the Son, The Servant of God, in the highest sense, is Lord and judge of the fellow servants.--Theלinלמעצבהserves for designating the condition: so that you belong to pain,שכבoccurs inchap. xliii. 17 of the Egyptians lying down; comp. Ps. xli. 9: "He thatliethshall rise up no more." In the announcement that Israel's attempt to help themselves would turn out to their destruction, the Song of Solomon, in chap. iii. 1-3; v. 7, has preceded our Prophet: "The daughter of Zion, in her restlessness, endeavours to bring about, by worldly, rebellious doings, the Messianic salvation. It is in vain; what she is seeking she does not find, but the heavenly watchmen find her."
Ver. 1. "And I put my words in thy mouth, and cover thee in the shadow of mine hand, that thou mayest plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth, and say unto Zion: Thou art my people."
The discourse in chap. li. to lii. 12 is not addressed to the whole of Israel, but to theelection. They are, in chap. li. 1, called those that follow after righteousness, that seek the Lord; in ver. 7, those who know righteousness, in whose heart is the law of the Lord. These the Prophet seeks to comfort and strengthen by pointing to the future glorious mercies of the Lord.
The Section chap. li. 4-8 comforts the elect by the coming of the salvation, by the dominion of the people of God over the whole world; points to the foundation of these successes, viz., the eternity of the salvation and righteousness for the Church; and exhorts them that, having this eternal salvation before them, they might patiently bear the temporal reproach of the world given over to destruction.
In vers. 9-11, the Church calls upon the Lord to do as He had promised; and this prayer, founded upon His almighty love, which in times past had so gloriously manifested itself, passes over, at the close, into hope and confidence.
In vers. 12-16 follows the answer of the Lord, who exhorts the Church to be stedfast, by reminding her that her opponents are weak mortals, while the omnipotent God is her protector; and announces that, with the same omnipotence which He manifests in nature, He would soon bring about her deliverance,and that Ho would do so by His Servant, in whom all His promises should be Yea and Amen, and whom at the close Ho addresses, committing to Him the work of redemption. According to the current opinion, the discourse in ver. 16 is addressed to the people. But, in that case, we must also make up our minds to view the Infinitive withלa Gerund, "planting," or "by planting,"--a supposition which is beset with great difficulties. It was only by an inconsistency thatStier, who, in chap. xlix. rejects this view, could here agree to it. And, farther, it is obvious that the words at the close: "Thou art my people," are thewordswhich, according to the commencement of the verse, are put into the mouth of the speaker, and that hence, the planting of heaven and earth, which prepares for this speaking, belongs to Him. If this be not supposed, one does not at all see to what the: "I put my words in thy mouth," is to refer. What farther militates against this explanation is the unmistakable relation of the passage before us to chaps. xlix., l., which it is impossible to refer to the people. The same reason is also against the supposition ofGeseniusandUmbreit, that the discourse is addressed to the prophetical order. Nor is it defensible to explain: "to plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth," by: to establish the new state of Israel. To these arguments it may be added that, according to this explanation, the words: "Thou art my people," are unsuitable; for Israel was not the people of the Prophet, but the people of God and of His Servant. The discourse is addressed rather to the Messiah, compare the parallel passages, chap. xlix., especially ver. 2, and chap. l., especially vers. 4 and 5. Considering the dramatic character of the whole section, the change of the person addressed is a circumstance of very little importance; and chap. lix. 21, where the word of God is put into the mouth of Jacob, is parallel in appearance only. Evena prioriwe could not expect that, in this context, treating, as it does, of the personal Messiah, the whole section, chap. li. 1 to lii. 12, should lack all reference to the Messiah. By the words: "I put my word in thy mouth," the Messiah is appointed to be, in the highest sense, the speaker of God; the realization of the divine counsels is committed to Him. For the fact that it is not mere words which are here treated of, but such as are livingand powerful, like those which God spoke at the creation, becomes evident by the circumstance that the planting of heaven and earth is attributed to the Servant of God as bearer of His words,--a thing which cannot be done by the ordinary word; comp. Isa. xl. 4, according to which the Messiah smites the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slays the wicked with the breath of His lips.--I cover thee in the shadow of mine hand, designates the divine protection and providence which are indispensable in order that the Servant of God may fulfil His vocation to be God's speaker. The words form an accessory thought only: I appoint thee my speaker whom, as such, I will keep and protect in order that thou, etc.;--for that which follows is that which the Servant of God is toperformas His Speaker. By the word of Omnipotence committed to Him, He plants a new heaven, and lays the foundation of a new earth, and invests Zion with the dignity of the people of God.--To plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth, is equivalent to founding anewheaven, anewearth; comp. chaps. lxv. 17, lxvi. 22; Rev. xxii. For, as long as the old heaven and the old earth exist, a planting and founding activity cannot take place in reference to heaven and earth. All that is created, in so far as it opposes the Kingdom of God, is unfit for being an abode of the glorified Kingdom of God, and must be shaken and broken to pieces, in order that this Kingdom may enter into its natural conditions, and find a worthy abode. The activity of God and His Servant, necessary for this purpose, will most completely take place at the end of days, at theπαλιγγενεσίαannounced by the Lord, Matt. xix. 28; compare what is said in chap. xi., in reference to the entire change of the conditions of the earth. But in a preparatory manner, this activity pervades all history. The heaven, according to theusus loquendiof Scripture, and also of Isaiah, is not only the natural heaven, but also the heaven of princes, the whole order of rulers and magistrates, (comp. my remarks on Rev. vi. 13), whose form and relation to the Kingdom of God underwent a great change, even at the first appearance of Christ.--Thesaying, according to the preceding: That thou mayest plant, &c., is not to be referred to the mere announcing; but, according to the frequentusus loquendi, it includes the performing also, just ase.g., in ver. 12, thecomforting is effected by a discoursein deeds. The distinction between, and separation of word and deed belongs to human weakness. God speaks and it is done; and what holds true of His word, applies also to the word of His Servant, which he has put into His mouth.
This section forms the climax of the prophecies of Isaiah, of prophetism in general, of the whole Old Testament, as appears even from the circumstance that the Lord and His Apostles refer to no part of the Old Testament so frequently and so emphatically as to this,--a section which, according toLuther'sdemand, every Christian should have committedverbatim. Christ is here, with wonderful clearness, described to us in His highest work--His atoning suffering.
In vers. 13-15 of chap. lii. Jehovah speaks. These verses contain a short summary of what is enlarged upon in chap. liii. The very deepest humiliation of the Servant of God shall be followed by His highest glorification. In consequence of the salvation wrought out and accomplished by Him, the nations of the earth and their kings shall reverently submit to Him. In chap. liii. 1-10, the Prophet utters the sentiments of theelectin Israel. At first, in His humiliation, they had not recognized the Redeemer; but now they acknowledged Him as their Redeemer and Saviour, and saw that He had taken upon Him His sufferings for our salvation, and that they had a vicarious character. The commencement forms, in ver. 1, the lamentation that so many do not believe in the report of the Servant of God, that so many do not behold the glory of God manifested in Him. In vers. 2 and 3, we have the cause of this fact, viz., the appearance of the Divine, in the form of a Servant--the offence of the cross. In lowliness, without any outward splendour, the Servant of God shall go about. Sufferings, heavier than ever befel any man, shall be inflicted upon Him. In vers. 4-6, the vicarious import of these sufferings is pointed out. The people, seeing his sufferings,and not knowing the cause of them, imagined that they were the well-merited punishment of His own transgressions and iniquities. But the Church, now brought to believe in Him, see that they were wrong in imagining thus. It was not His own transgressions and iniquities which were punished in Him, but ours. His sufferings were voluntarily undergone by Him, and for the salvation of mankind, which else would have been given up to destruction. God himself was anxious to re-unite to himself those who were separated from Him, and who walked in their own ways. To the vicarious import of the sufferings of the Servant of God corresponds, according to ver. 7, His conduct: He suffers quietly and patiently. In vers. 8-10 we have the reward which the Servant of God receives for His passive obedience. God takes Him to himself, and He receives an unspeakably great generation, ver. 8, the ominous burial with the rich, ver. 9, numerous seed and long life, and that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand; ver. 10. In vers. 11 and 12, the Lord again appears as speaking, and confirms that which has been declared by the faithful Church.
The two verses of the close, together with the exordium, chap. lii. 13-15, occupy five verses--five being the signature of the half and incomplete. The main body, ten verses, is divided into seven referring to the humiliation and suffering, and three referring to the exaltation of the Servant of God. The seven are, as usual, divided into three and four. In the three verses, the suffering of the Servant of God is exhibited; in the four, its cause and vicarious import.
By the "Behold," with which the prophecy opens, the Prophet intimates that we have here before us a vision beheld by him in the spirit. As the period in which the Prophet beholds the vision, we have to suppose the time between the suffering and the glorification of the Servant of God. The glorification is described chiefly by Futures, the suffering by Preterites; but, from the fact that this stand-point is not strictly adhered to, it is evident that we have to do with a stand-point which is purely ideal.
The section forms, in a formal and material point of view, a whole by itself; but, notwithstanding its absolute independence, it must stand in a certain connection with what precedes and what follows. Let us, therefore, now consider the relationin which it stands to the portions surrounding it. Its relation to what goes before is thus strikingly designated byCalvin: "After Isaiah had spoken of the restoration of the Church, he passes over to Christ, in whom all things are gathered together. He speaks of the prosperous success of the Church, at a time when it was least to be expected, which calls them back to their King, by whom all things are to be restored, and exhorts them to expect Him." The preceding section begins with chap. li. 1. We have already stated the contents up to li. 16. Vers. 17-23 are closely connected with the preceding, in which salvation and mercy were announced to the Church of God. This announcement is here continued in new forms. Chap. lii. 1-6: As the Lord had formerly delivered His people out of the hand of Egypt and Asshur, so, now too, He will deliver them. Zion appears under the image of a woman imprisoned, fettered, lying powerlessly in a miserable garment, on a dirty floor, and is called upon to arise, to strengthen herself, to throw off her bands, to put on festive garments, inasmuch as the time of her deliverance from the misery is at hand. Vers. 7-10: In the last words of ver. 6, the Lord had announced that He was already at hand for the redemption of His Church. This salvation now presents itself vividly to the spiritual eye of the Prophet, and is graphically described by him. He beholds a messenger hastening with the glad tidings to Jerusalem;watchmen, who are standing on the ruins of Jerusalem in longing expectation, discover him at a distance, and exultingly call upon the ruins to shout aloud for joy.[1]"How beautiful"--so verse 7 runs--"upon the mountains the feet of the Messenger of joy, that announceth peace, that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth." In Rom. x. 15, the Apostle refers this passage to the preaching of the Gospel. That is more than mere application; it is real explanation. The deliverance from Babylon is only the first faint beginning of the salvation, which the Prophet has before his eye in itswhole extent. As the substance of the salvation, the circumstance that Zion's God reigneth, is intimated. There is, in this, an allusion to the formula which was used in proclaiming the ascension of earthly kings to the throne. Even this allusion shows that the point here in question is not the continuous government of the Lord, but a new, glorious manifestation of His government, as it were a new ascension to the throne. This "the Lord reigneth," found a faint beginning only of its confirmation and fulfilment in the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of Israel; but as to its full import, it is Messianic. In Christ, the Lord has truly assumed the government, and will still more gloriously reign in future.--Ver. 8: "Thevoiceof thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, they shout together; for they see eye to eye that the Lord returneth to Zion." The watchmen are ideal persons, representatives of the truth that the Lord is around His people, and that the circumstances of His Church are to Him a constant call to help; or they may be viewed as the holy angels who, as the servants of the watchmen of Israel, form the protecting power for the Church. These watchmen continue to stand even on the destroyed walls; for, even in her misery, the Lord is Zion's God. The anxious waiting eye of the watchmen, and the mercy-beaming eye of God returning to Zion meet one another. The returning here is opposed to the forsaking, over which Zion had lamented in chap. xlix. 14. Instead of the concealed presence of the Lord during the misery, which, to the feeling, so easily appears as entire absence, there comes the presence of God manifested in the salvation. This return of the Lord to Zion truly took place in Christ only, Luke i. 68.--Ver. 9: "Break forth into joy, shout together, ye ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord comforteth Jerusalem, redeemeth His people." This call goes far beyond the time of the restoration of Jerusalem after the exile; for, even at that time, the spiritual eye still beheld ruins, where the bodily eye saw firm, walled buildings. The condition of the Kingdom of God was still miserable, the eye of the faithful remained still fixed, with hopes and longings, upon the Future which was to bring, and has brought,truecomfort and consolation.--Ver. 10: "The Lord maketh bare His Holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God." The making bare of the arm of the Lord designates the manifestation, by deeds, ofthe divine power and glory, such as took place by the sending of Christ, and by the wonderful elevation of the Church over the world,--an elevation which has it roots in Him; comp. chap. liii. 1. In vers. 11 and 12 there is still the exhortation to the Church of the Lord that, by true repentance, she should worthily prepare for the impending salvation.
After the Prophet has, in chap. li. 1 to lii. 12, described the transition of the Church of God from humiliation and sorrow to glorification, it is quite natural that he should now turn from the members to the Head, through whose mediation this transition was to be accomplished, after the same contrast had been exhibited in Himself There is the most intimate connection between the Church of God and His Servant; for, all that He does and suffers. He does and suffers for her; and all that befals her is prefigured by the way in which He has been led by the Lord.
With what follows, too, the section before us stands in a close relation. The glorification of the Servant of God described at the close of chap. liii., is, in Him, bestowed at the same time, upon the Church. Thus chap. liv., in which the Church is comforted by pointing to her future glorification, is connected with the preceding. The Church of the Lord appears here as a woman who, after having been put away by her husband, and after having, for a long time, lived in a childless, sorrowful solitude, is again received by him, and sees herself surrounded by numerous children. The time of punishment is now at an end, and the time of mercy is breaking.
Chap. lii. 13. "Behold, my Servant shall act wisely, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high."
השכילalways means "to act wisely" (LXX.συνήσει;Aquil. Sym.:ἐπισθημονισθήσεται), never "to be successful" (the Chaldean, whom most of the modern interpreters follow, renders it byיצלח), and this ascertained sense (comp. Remarks on Jer. iii. 15; xxiii. 5, where the verb is used of the Messiah, just as it is here), must here be maintained so much the more, that our passage evidently refers to David, the former servant of God. Of him it is said in 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15: "And David was acting wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. And Saul saw that he was acting very wisely, and was afraid of him;" comp. 1 Kings ii. 3, where David says to Solomon: "And keep the charge of the Lord thy God ... in orderthat thou mayest act wisely in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;" Ps. ci. 2, where David, speaking in the name of his family, says: "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way;" and 2 Kings xviii. 7, where it is said of Hezekiah: "And the Lord was with him, and whithersoever he went forth, he acted wisely." According to these fundamental and parallel passages, the expression, "He shall act wisely" refers to the administration of government, and is equivalent to: He shall rule wisely like his ancestor David.Stieris wrong in opposing the view, that the Messiah here presents himself as King. He says: "The King has here stepped behind the Prophet, Witness, Martyr, Saviour;" but in chap. liii. 12, the royal office surely comes out with sufficient distinctness. We must never forget that the different offices of Christ are intimately connected with one another by the unity of the person. Theprosperity and successwhich the Servant of God enjoys, are first brought before us and detailed in what follows; and appear, just as in the fundamental passages quoted, as the consequence of acting wisely: "My Servant shall, after having, through the deepest humiliation, attained to dominion, administer it well, and thereby attain to the highest glory." To the words: "He shall act wisely" correspond, afterwards, the words: "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper by His hand," chap. liii. 10. The fact that a person acts wisely is, in a twofold aspect, a fruit of his connection with God:first, because God is the source and fountain of all wisdom, and,secondly, because from God the blessing proceeds which always accompanies his doings. The ungodly is by God involved in circumstances which, notwithstanding all his wisdom, make him appear as a fool. Compare only chap. xix. 11: "The princes of Zoan become fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish; how can ye say unto Pharaoh: a son of the wise am I, a (spiritual) son of the (wise) kings of ancient times?" comp. ver. 13; Job xii. 17, 20; Eccles. ix. 11. In the second clause the Prophet puts together the verbs which denote elevation, and still addsמאד"very" in order most emphatically to point out the glory of the exaltation of the Servant of God.
Ver. 14. "As many were shocked at thee--so marred from man was His look, and His form from the sons of man--Ver. 15.So shall He sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut theirmouths on account of Him, for they who had not been told, they see, and they who did not hear, they perceive."
Ver. 14 contains theprotasis, ver. 15 theapodosis. The former describes the deep humiliation, the latter the highest glorification of the Servant of God. Thesoin ver. 14 begins a parenthesis, in which the reason why many were shocked is stated, and which goes on to the end of the verse. In keeping with the dramatic character of the prophetic discourse, the Lord addresses His Servant in ver. 14: "At thee;" while, in ver. 15, He speaks of Him in the third person: "He shall sprinkle;" "on account ofHim" This change has been occasioned by the parenthetical clause which contains a remark of the Prophet, and in which, therefore, the Servant of God could not but be spoken of in the third person.HävernickandStierrefuse to admit the existence of a parenthesis. Their reasons: "Parentheses are commonly an ill-invented expedient only," and: "It is not likely that the same particle should have a different signification in these two clauses following immediately the one upon the other," are not entirely destitute of force, but are far-outweighed by counter-arguments. They say that theapodosisbegins with the firstכן, and that in ver. 15 a secondapodosisfollows. But no tolerable thought comes out in this way;--it is hard to co-ordinate twoapodoses,--and the transition from the 2d to the 3d person remains unaccounted for.שמם"to be desolated" is then transferred to the spiritual desolation and devastation, and receives the signification "to be horrified," "to be shocked."--Who the many are that are shocked and offended at the miserable appearance of the Servant of God, appears from chap. xlix. 4, according to which the opposition to the Servant of God has its seat among the covenant people; farther, from the contrast in ver. 15 of the chapter before us, according to which the respectful surrender belongs to theGentiles; and farther, from chap. liii. 1, where the unbelief of the former covenant-people is complained of; from vers. 2-4, where even the believers from among Israel complain that they had had difficulty in surmounting the offence of the Cross.משחת, properly "corruption," stands here asabstractum pro concreto, in the signification, "corrupted," "marred." As to its form, it is in thestatus constructuswhich, in close connections, can stand evenbefore Prepositions. From the correspondingחדל אישיםin chap. liii. 3, it appears that the Preposition stands here only for the sake of distinctness, and might as well have been omitted. Theמןserves for designating the distance, "from man," "from the sons of men," so that He is no more a man, does no more belong to the number of the sons of men. The correctness of this explanation appears from chap. liii. 3, and Ps. xxii. 7: "I am a worm and no man." As regards the sense of the whole parenthesis, many interpreters remark, that we must not stop at the bodily disfiguration of the Servant of God, but that the expression must, at the same time, be understood figuratively. Thus, Luther says: "The Prophet does not speak of the form of Christ as to His person, but of the political and royal form of a Ruler, who is to become an earthly King, and does not appear in royal form, but as the meanest of all servants; so that no more despised man than He has been seen in the world." But the Prophet evidently speaks, in the first instance, of the bodily appearance only; and we can the less think of a figurative sense, that bodily disfiguration forms the climax of misery, and that, in thispart, thewholeof the miserable condition is delineated. Even the severe inward sufferings are a matter of course, if the outward ones have risen to such a pitch. How both of these go hand in hand is seen from Ps. xxii. These interpreters are, farther, wrong in this respect, that they refer the pretended figurative expression solely to the lowliness and humility of the Messiah, and not, at the same time, to Hissufferingsalso. Thus, among the ancient interpreters, it was viewed byJerome: "The horrid appearance of His form is not thereby indicated, but that He came in humility and poverty;" and among recent interpreters byMartini: "The sense of the passage does not properly refer to the deformity of the face, but to the whole external weak, poor, and humble condition." But, for that, the expression is by far too strong. Mere lowliness is no object of horror (comp. 1 Cor. i. 23, according to which it is theCrosswhich offends the Jews); it does not produce a deformity of the countenance; it cannot produce the effect that the Servant of God should, as it were, cease to be a man. All this suggests an unspeakablesufferingof the Servant of God, and that, moreover, a suffering which, in the first instance,manifested itself upon His own holy body.Farther--We must also take into consideration that thesprinkling, in ver. 15, has for its background the shedding of blood, and is the fruit of it, at first concealed. If any doubt should yet remain, it would be removed by the subsequent detailed representation of that which is here given in outline merely. The sole reason of that narrow view is, that interpreters did not understand the fundamental relation of the section under consideration to the subsequent section; that they did not perceive that, here, we have in a complete sketch what there is given in detail and expansion.--Ver. 15. The verbנזהoccurs in very many passages, and signifies inHiphil, everywhere, "to sprinkle." It is especially set apart and used for the sprinkling with the blood of atonement, and the water of purification. When "the anointed priest" had sinned, he took of the blood of thesacrifice, andsprinkledit before the vail of the sanctuary, Lev. iv. 6; comp. v. 16, 17. The high priest had, every year, on the great day of atonement, to sprinkle thebloodbefore the Ark of the Covenant, in order to obtain forgiveness for the people. Lev. xvi. 14, comp. also vers. 18, 19: "And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it (the altar) with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel." In the same manner the verb is used of the sprinkling of blood upon the healed leper, Lev. xiv. 7, and frequently. According to Numb. xix. 19, thecleanperson shallsprinkleupon the unclean, on the third day, and on the seventh day, "with the water in which are the ashes of the red heifer" when any one has become unclean by touching a dead body. The outward material purification frequently serves in the Old Testament to denote the spiritual purification. Thus,e.g., in Ps. i. 9: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;" Ezek. xxxvi. 25: "And I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness." In all those passages there lies, everywhere, at the foundation an allusion to the Levitical purifications (the two last quoted especially refer to Numb. xix.); and this allusion is by no means so to be understood, as if he who makes the allusion were drawing the material into the spiritual sphere. On the contrary, he uses as a figure that which is, in the law, used symbolically. All the laws of purification in the Pentateuchhave a symbolical and typical character. That which was done to the outward impurity was, in point of fact, done to thesinwhich the people of the Old Testament, well versed in the symbolical language, beheld under its image. Hence, here also, thesprinklinghas the signification ofcleansingfrom sin. The expression indicates that Christ is the true High Priest, to whom the ordinary priesthood with its sprinklings typically pointed. The expression is a summary of that which, in the following chapter, we are told regarding the expiation through the suffering and death of the Servant of God. The words: "When His soul maketh a sin-offering," in ver. 10, and: "He shall justify," in ver. 11, correspond. Among the ancient expositors, this translation is followed by the Syriac and Vulgate, theaspergetof whichJeromethus explains: "He shall sprinkle many nations, cleansing them by His blood, and in baptism consecrating them to the service of God." In the New Testament, it is alluded to in several passages. Thus, in 1 Pet. i. 2, where the Apostle speaks of theῥαντισμὸς αἵματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.Farther, in Heb. x. 22:ἐῤῥαντισμένοι τὰς καρδίας ἀπὸ συνειδήσεως πονηρᾶς; xii. 24:καὶ αἵματι ῥαντισμοῦ κρεῖττον λαλοῦντι παρὰ τὸν Ἅβελ, and also in chap. ix. 13, 14. Among Christian interpreters, this view was always the prevailing one, was indeed the view held by the Church.Schröder observ. ad origin. Hebr.c. viii. § 10, raised some objections which were eagerly laid hold of, and increased by the rationalistic interpreters. Even some sound orthodox expositors allowed themselves to be thereby dazzled.Stierdeclares "that, for this time, he must take the part of modern Exegesis against the prevailing tradition of the Church." Yet his disrelish for the doctrine of the atonement held by the Church has no doubt exercised a considerable influence in this matter; andHofmann, too, in so decidedly rejecting this explanation, which rests on such strong arguments, and is not touched by any weighty counter-arguments, seems not to have been guided by exegetical reasons only. But let us submit these objections to a closer examination. 1. "The verb ought not to be construed with the Accusative of the thing to be sprinkled, but withעל."Reinke(in his Monograph on Is. liii.) brings forward, against this objection, the passage Lev. iv. 16, 17; but he is wrong in this, inasmuch asאתis there not thesign of the Accusative, but a Preposition.את ףניin the signification "before," is, elsewhere also, very frequently used. But evenGeseniusis compelled to agree withSimonis.[2]and to acknowledge that, in the proper nameיזיהthe verb is connected with an Accusative. The deviation is there still greater, inasmuch as theKalis, at the same time, used transitively. But even apart from that, such a deviation cannot appear strange. It has an analogy in chap. liii. 11, whereהצדיק, which everywhere else is construed with the Accusative, is followed byל; and likewise inרפא, followed byלin chap. liii. 5. The signification of the verb, in such cases, undergoes a slight modification.הזהwithעלmeans "to sprinkle;" with the Accusative, "to sprinkle upon." This modification of the meaning has the analogy of other languages in its favour. In the Ethiopic, the verbנזח, which corresponds to the Hebrewנזה, is used of the sprinkling of both persons and things; Heb. ix. 19, xi. 28; Ps. li. 9. In Latin, we may say:spargere aquam, but alsospargere corpus aqua;aspergere quid alicui, but alsore aliquem,conspergere,perspergere,respergere quem. "Why should not this be allowed to the Jews also,"--remarksKöcher--"who have to make up for the defect of compound verbs by the varied use of simple verbs?" But the Prophet had a special reason, in the liberty specially afforded by the higher style, for deviating from the ordinary connection. Theעלhad to be avoided, because, had it been put, the perception of the correspondence of the subsequentעליוwith theעליך, in ver. 14, would have become more difficult.--2. It is asserted that it is against the connection; that the contrast toמשםinduces us to expect something corresponding.Becksays: "A change in those who formerly abhorred the Servant is to be expressed here, nota deed by the Servant himself." If there were here, indeed, a contrast intended to the many who formerly were shocked, we might answer that, indirectly, the words: "He shall sprinkle," suggest, indeed, an opposite conduct of the "many Gentiles." No one is cleansed by the Servant of God, who does not allow himself to be cleansed byHim. But no one will desire to be cleansed by Him, who does not put his whole trust in Him, who does not recognize Him as his King and Lord. To the contempt and horror with which the Jews shrink back from the Messiah in His humiliation, would thus be opposed the faithful, humble confidence, with which the heathens draw near to the glorified Messiah. But the fact that the real contrast to theשממוis notיזה, but ratherיקפצו, is clearly shown byעליו, which corresponds withעליך. Theיזהcorresponds rather to: "He was disfigured." Just as this states the cause of their being shocked, so in: "He shall sprinkle," the cause of the shutting of the mouth is stated. This is also seen from a comparison of chap. liii. 3, 4. His sufferings appeared formerly as the proof that He was hated by God. Now that the vicarious value of His suffering manifests itself, it becomes the reason of humble, respectful submission. Just as, formerly, many were shocked at Him, because he was so disfigured, so, now, even kings shall shut their mouth at Him on account of His atonement. Moreover, one does not exactly see how this reason could be brought forward, as, in a formal point of view, there is, at all events, "a deed by the Servant himself" before us, in whatever way we may view theיזה.--3. "Ifsprinklingwere meant to be equivalent to cleansing by blood, the matter of purification could not be omitted. If it were objected to this, that the noun 'blood' might easily be supplied from the verb's being ordinarily used of cleansing with blood, the objection would be of no weight, inasmuch as sprinkling was done not only with blood, but also with water and oil." But the sprinkling withoil, denoting sanctification, appears only quite isolated, and has for its foundation the sprinkling with blood, comp. Exod. xxix. 21: "And thou shalt take of the blood which is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and he shall be hallowed." The sprinkling withwaterhas likewise the shedding of blood for its foundation. It was done with such water only, as had in it the ashes of the sin-offering of the red heifer. But the Prophet has certainly on purpose made no express mention of the blood, because that water, too, should be included. This fact, that the sprinkling here comprehends both, was perceived by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. ix. 13, 14:εἰ γὰρ τὸ αἷματαύρων καὶ τράγων καὶ σποδὸς δαμάλεως ῥαντίζουσα τοὺς κεκοινωμένους ἁγιάζει πρὸς τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς καθαρότητα· μᾶλλον τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ... καθαριεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων εἰς τὸ λατρεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι.The defilement by dead bodies, against which the water of purification was specially used, is the most significant symbol of sinners and sins.--4. "It is, in general, not probable that the Servant of God, who farther down is described as a sacrificial beast (!),--who, by taking upon Himself the sins of His people, dies for them, should here appear as the High Priest justifying them." ThusUmbreitargues. But in opposition to this view, it is sufficient to refer to: "He shall justify," in chap. liii. 11, which is parallel to "He shall sprinkle." That which, in the typical sacrifices, is separated, is, in the antitypical, most closely connected. Even at the very first beginnings of sacred history, it was established for all times, that the difference between him who offers up, and that which is offered up, should not go beyond the territory of animal sacrifice. But there is the less ground for setting aside the reference to the priestly office of the Messiah, that, even before Isaiah, David, in Ps. cx. 4, designates Christ as the true High Priest on account of the atonement to be made by Him; and, after Isaiah, Zechariah says in chap. vi. 13: "And He sitteth and ruleth upon the throne, and He is a Priest upon His throne."--It has now become current to deriveיזהfromנזהin the signification "to leap"--"He shall cause to leap. This explanation made its appearance at first in a very cautious way."Martinisays: "I myself feel how very far from a right and sure interpretation that is, which I am now, but very timidly, to advance, regarding the sense of the received readingיזה." By and by, however, expositors hardened themselves against the decisive objections which stand in the way of it. These objections are the following. 1. The Hebrewusus loquendiis inנזהso sure, that we are not entitled to take the explanation from the Arabic. The verb is, in Hebrew, never used except offluids. InKal, it does not mean "to leap," but "to spatter," Lev. vi. 20 (27): "And upon whose garment isspatteredof the blood;" 2 Kings ix. 33; Is. lxiii. 5. InHiphil, it is set apart and used exclusively for the holy sprinklings; and the more frequently it occurs in this signification, the less are we at liberty to deviate from it. 2. "He shall make to leap" would be far too indefinite,--a circumstancewhich appears from the vague and arbitrary conjectures of the supporters of this view.Gesenius, in his Commentary,Stier, and others, think of a leaping for joy, in support of which they have quoted theKamus, according to which the verb is used of wanton asses! According toGeseniusin theThesaurus,Hofmann, and others, the Gentiles are to leap up, in order to show theirreverencefor the Servant of God. According toHitzigand others, it is to leap forastonishment, while, according toUmbreitand others, it is forjoyful admiration. One sees that the mere "He shall make to leap" is in itself too meaningless; and interpreters are obliged to make the best addition which they can.--3. According to this explanation, no cause is assigned by which the homage of the Gentiles is called forth; and that cause can the less be omitted, that the horror of the Jews is traced back to its cause. The parenthesis in ver. 14 lacks its antithesis; and that this antithesis must lie inיזה, is rendered probable even by the circumstance, that this word signifies, in a formal point of view, something which the Servant of God does, and not something which the Gentiles do, while we should, by the antithesis toשממו, be led to expect just this.[3]--In theprotasis, the discourse is only of many; here, it is of many nations (Gousset: "It is emphatic, so that it comprehends all, and denotes, at the same time, that they are numerous"), and of kings. This is quite natural; for it was only members of the covenant-people who felt shocked, while the reverence is felt by the whole Gentile world.--Theshutting of the mouthoccurs elsewhere, too, repeatedly, as a sign of reverence and humble submission. The reference ofעליוtoעליך, shows thatEwaldis wrong in explaining it by "besides Him." Since the precedingעלdesignated the object of the horror,--the substratum of it--it must here, too, designate the substratum of the shutting of the mouth, and "over Him," be equivalent to: "on account of Him," "out of reverence for Him."--In the exposition of the last words, the old translations differ. We may explain them either: "They to whom it had not beentold, see;" thus the LXX.:οἷς οὐκ ἀνηγγέλη περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὄψονται, καὶ οἱ οὔκ ἀκηκόασι, συνήσουσι, whom Paul follows in Rom. xv. 21. (In that context, however, the difference of the two explanations is of no consequence; the passage would be equally suitable, even according to the other interpretation.) Or, we may explain them: "That which had not been told them, they see," &c. Thus the other ancient translations explain. According to the first view, the connection would be this: For, in order that ye may not wonder at my speaking to you of nations and kings, they who, &c. According to the second view, the ground of the reverence of the heathen kings and their people is stated. That which formerly had not been told to them, had not been heard by them, is the expiation by the Servant of God. By Him they receive a blessing not formerly hoped for or expected, and are thereby filled with silent reverence towards the Author of the gift. We decide in favour of the former view, according to which chap. lxvi. 19: "That have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory," is parallel. The contrast, in our verse, to those who did not hear and who now perceive, is, in the subsequent verse, formed by those who do hear, and do not believe. The words: "Who had not been told, who did not hear," refer to the Messianic announcement which was given to Israel only, and from which the Gentiles were excluded.[4]
Upon this sketch, there follows in chap. liii. 1-10, the enlargement. First, in vers. 1-3 that is expounded which, in ver. 14 had been said of the many beingshocked, and of thecause. The commentary uponשממו"they were shocked," is given in ver. 1: a great portion of the Jews do not believe in the salvation which had appeared. The enlargement of: "so marred," &c., is given in vers. 2, 3. The cause of theunbelief is, that the glory of the Servant of God is concealed behind humiliation, misery, and shame.
Chap. liii. 1: "Who believes that which we hear, and the arm of the Lord, to whom it is revealed?"
The Prophet, whose spiritual eye is just falling upon the large, the enormously large number of unbelievers, overlooks, at the moment, the other aspect, and, in his grief, expresses that which took place in a largeportiononly, in such a manner as if it were general. Similar representations we elsewhere frequently meet with,e.g., Ps. xiv. 3 (compare my Commentary); Jer. v. 1--שמועהis commonly understood in the signification, "message" or "discourse." But in favour of the explanation: "That which is heard by us,"q.d., "that which we hear," there is, in the first instance, theusus loquendi. The word never occurs in any other than its original signification, "that which is heard," and in the signification, "rumour," which is closely connected with the former. In Isa. xxviii. 9, a passage which is most confidently referred to in proof of the signification,institutio,doctrina,שמועהis that which the Prophet hears from God. The mockers who exclaim: "Whom will he make to understandשמועה?" take, with a sneer, out of his mouth the word upon which chap. xxi. 10: "That which I have heard of the Lord of Hosts, I declare unto you," forms a commentary,Ἀκοήtoo, by which, in the New Testament,שמועהis rendered, has not at all the signification, "discourse," "preaching."Ἀκοήin Rom. x. 16, 17, is not the preaching, but the hearing, as is shown by theμὴ οὐκ ἤκουσανin ver. 18. Theἀκοή, according to ver. 17:ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Θεοῦ, is the passive to the active to the word of God. "Who believes ourἀκοή, our hearing,"i.e., that which we hear, which is made known to us by the Word of God. In a passive sense,ἀκοήstands likewise in the passages Matt. iv. 24, xiv. 1, xxiv. 6, whichStiercites in support of the signification "discourse," "preaching;" it is that which has been heard by some one, "rumour," "report." In Heb. iv. 2 (as also in 1 Thess. ii. 13)λόγος ἀκοῆς, is the word which they heard. That passage:οὐκ ὠφέλησεν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐκείνους, μὴ συγκεκεραμένους τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἀκούσασι, may simply be considered as a paraphrase of our: Who believes that which we hear. A second argument in favour of our explanation: "That which we hear" lies in the relationto the preceding, which, only when thus explained, arranges itself suitably: "Those understand what they formerly did not hear; Israel, on the contrary, does not believe that which they have heard." Of great importance,finally, is the circumstance, that it is only with this interpretation that the unity of the speaker in vers. 1-10 can be maintained. In the sequel, theweeverywhere refers to thebelieving Church. But, for this reason, it is difficult to think here of the order of the teachers, which must be the case when we translate: "Who believes our preaching." It has been objected that, even in this case, no real change of subject takes place, but that, in both cases, the Prophet is speaking, with this difference only, that, in ver. 1, he numbers himself among the proclaimers of the message, while, in ver. 2 ff., he reckons himself among the believing Congregation. But we shall be obliged not to bring in the Prophet at all. In ver. 2 ff., the speaker is the believing Church of theFuture, in the time after the appearance of the Saviour, and just so, in ver. 1, the preaching, if it should be spoken of at all, cannot belong to the Prophet and his contemporaries, but to those only who came forward with the message of the manifested Saviour; just as in John xii. 38; Rom. x. 16, our verse is referred to the unbelief of the Jews in the manifested Saviour. The cause of the unbelief over which ver. 1 laments is indeed, according to vers. 2 and 3, the appearance of the Saviour in the form of a Servant, and His bitter suffering. That, then, must first have taken place, before the unbelief manifested itself.[5]Stierrightly remarks: "Between 'the arm of God,' and ourselves, aשמועה] is placed as the medium, and the point is to believe in it." It is the gospel, the tidings of the manifested Saviour. By the side of the joy over the many Gentiles who with delight hear and understand the message of the Servant of God, there is the sorrow over the many in Israel who do not believe this message.--Thearm of the Lordcomes into consideration as the seat of His divine power; comp. chap. xl. 10, li. 5-9, lii. 10.According to the context, the manifestation of this power in Christ is here spoken ofStiersays: "In this Servant, the redeeming arm manifests itself, personifies itself Christ himself is, as it were, the outstretched arm of the Lord." In Rom. i. 16, the Gospel is designated asδύναμις θεοῦ εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι.גלהis elsewhere commonly construed withאלorל, here withעל. This indicates that the revealing of the arm of the Lord is of asupernaturalkind, such an one as conies down from above. The Lord has revealed His arm, His power and glory, as He has manifested them in the mission of His servant,in the eyes of all(comp. chap. lii. 10: "The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God"); but it is really seen by those only whose eyes God opens. The deeds of God, even the most manifest, always retain the nature of a mystery which remains concealed to the worldly disposition. God can be recognised only by God. Of the ungodly it holds true: "With seeing eyes they do not see, and with hearing ears they do not hear." What was thecauseof this unbelief in the Son of God, we are told in the sequel. It is the appearance of the Divine in the form of a servant, which the gross carnal disposition cannot understand, and by which it is offended. This offence which, according to the sequel, even the God-fearing had to overcome, is, for the ungodly, a lasting one.