The Suffering Servant 52: 13-17 Analysis

25-33; North, The Suffering Servant in Deutero-Isaiah, 1-27; Muilenburg, Isaiah 40-66, 614-31. 91 his task? How do the task and rewards of the suffering servant relate to the plural servants? In order to answer these questions, it is crucial to discuss in detail the task and rewards of the suffering servant in 52:13-53:12 because this theme ultimately suggests a possible solution to the relationship between the singular servant and plural servants in 54:17.

The Suffering Servant and Its Rewards (52:13-53:12)
In this section we will explore the nature of the task of the suffering servant and its rewards for the people. We also will eximne the beneficiaries of the ministry of the suffering servants.

The Task of the Suffering Servant (52:13-53:12)

38Cf. F. D. Lindsey, “Isaiah’s Songs of the Servant,” Bibliotheca Sacra 140

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Second, there are many examples that illustrate that the preposition !mi speaks of sin in the causal sense (Ps 38:19; 44:17; 55:4; 107:17; Lam 4:13), which we can render as “on account of.” 39 Thus, contrary to Whybray’s claim, we should not rule out the usage
of !mi in the causal sense in v. 5. The prepositional phrases Wnyte_nOwO[]m,e Wn[eêv'P.mi in v. 5 show that the suffering of the servant was not due to the unpopular mission of the servant, but for the sake of the sins of the “we.”

Third, the verbs afn, lbs in v. 4 suggest a deeper insight into the servant’s task as the substitutionary suffering for the people’s sin. The servant carried not only the consequences of the sins (sicknesses and sorrows) of the people but also the sin itself (cf. v. 11). Delitzsch explains the usage of these terms as follows,

When construed with the accusative of the sin, it signifies to take the debt of sin upon one’s self, and carry it as one’s own, i.e. to look at it and feel it as one’s own (e.g. Lev. V. 1, 17), or more frequently to bear the punishment occasioned by sin, i.e. to make expiation for it (Lev. xvii. 16, xx. 19, 20, xxiv. 15), and in any case in which the person bearing it is not himself the guilty person, to bear sin in a mediatorial capacity, for the purpose of making expiation for it (Lev. X.

Childs rightly maintains,

When seen in the light of the unfolding drama of God’s plan to redeem Israel in chapters 40-55, the vicarious role of the servant lies at the very heart of the prophetic

39Jan L. Koole, Isaiah III: Isaiah Chapters 49-55, 293-94.

40Franz Delitzsch, Isaiah (vol. 2 of Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1973), 316. Childs also claims, “This is the sense of the servant’s vicarious role in carrying the sins of the nation (“our sins”). There is nothing automatic or intrinsic in the servant’s act that would result in forgiveness,” in Isaiah, 418.