1. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 1 of 15 Who Is the Suffering Servant in “Isaiah 53”? Part I – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? A Counter-Missionary Education Lesson by Uri Yosef, Ph.D., Director of Education Virtual Yeshiva of the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. [The full article on this topic is located here - http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa53JP.pdf]http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa53JP.pdf Copyright © Uri Yosef 2015 for the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. All rights reserved Counter-Missionary Education

2. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 2 of 15 Introduction The Book of Isaiah contains four passages of exceptional expressive beauty and great religious depth, which are known as the Four Servant Songs: 1. Isaiah 42:1-4 2. Isaiah 49:1-6 3. Isaiah 50:4-9 4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 The Fourth Servant Song, commonly referred to as "Isaiah 53", is one of the most important so-called “proof texts” in the Christian messianic vision, in which the “Suffering Servant” is identified as Jesus. The New Testament, with its many references to “Isaiah 53”, provides for believing Christians a record of the fulfillment of the prophecy of a suffering and dying Messiah and his eventual return, triumph, and glory. It is interesting to note that, while the majority of Christians subscribe to this view on "Isaiah 53“, not all adhere to it. In the next series of lessons the Fourth Servant Song will be subjected to a rigorous analysis by applying a well-known and widely used methodology from the domain of research and discovery – the Scientific Method – which has been adapted to suit the process. In the first set of lessons the Scientific Method will be used to test the validity of the Jewish perspective of “Isaiah 53”. In a subsequent set of lessons the same methodology will be used to test the validity of the Christian interpretation.

3. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 3 of 15 The Scientific Method The Scientific Method is a methodology commonly used by researchers for Investigating phenomena in the natural, physical, and social sciences, and in other disciplines as well. The methodology consists of four primary stages: * The Application stage will not be used in the analysis of “Isaiah 53” since the results obtained here apply only to this specific situation and, unlike scientific research, these cannot be generally applied to widen the scope of the study. Observation Application* Generalization Verification Collecting, recording, and organizing the data/observations Formulating a hypothesis from the collected data/observations Testing the validity of the hypothesis to see if it represents a scientific law Using the scientific law to predict, with certainty, a wider range of information

4. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 4 of 15 Segment 1 – Isaiah 52:13-15 The King James Version (KJV) translation is shown with pointers to cross-referenced passages in the New Testament. These references are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). However, the corresponding passages below the table are quoted from the KJV for consistency.

5. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 5 of 15 Collecting, recording, and organizing the data In the first segment of “Isaiah 53”, the prophet, speaking for God, describes an unnamed servant. The Hebrew term עַבְדִּי (av DI ), My servant, in the opening verse of this segment clearly indicates this unnamed servant is a servant of God, which forms the first data element collected and recorded in this stage: From a statistical perspective, a sample of one observation is inadequate for carrying out any kind of meaningful analysis. This is also true here and, therefore, before we can advance to the next stage of the Scientific Method, additional data elements are required. Observation Stage

6. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 6 of 15 Collecting, recording, and organizing the data (continued) All instances in the Hebrew Bible of the expression עַבְדִּי that refer specifically to a servant of God are shown in the table below.

7. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 7 of 15 Collecting, recording, and organizing the data (continued) Extracting the “useful data” from the “raw data” in the table: - 1 st Iteration – Select the 13 instances of עַבְדִּי in the Book of Isaiah - 2 nd Iteration – Focus on the area that includes the 4 Servant Songs: namely, Chapters 41-54 Results: - 4 cases do not name anyone: Isaiah 42:1,19, 52:13, 53:11 - 1 case does not explicitly name Israel but the context unambiguously indicates the reference is to Israel: Isaiah 43:10 - 8 cases explicitly name Israel: Isaiah 41:8,9, 44:1,2,21(2x), 45:4, 49:3

8. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 8 of 15 Collecting, recording, and organizing the data (continued) The 9 cases in which Israel is identified as God’s servant form a statistically valid sample of "data“. This sample leads to a second data element: A third and final data element is obtained by studying the two adjacent chapters to the Fourth Servant Song – Isaiah 52:1-12 and Isaiah 54 – and noting that their subject is indisputably the restored and redeemed [nation of] Israel:

9. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 9 of 15 Formulating a hypothesis from the collected data Reviewing the data elements: Formulating the hypothesis: What happens next? Our hypothesis is only a preliminary identification of the servant as Israel. This proposed explanation must now be tested, which will be done in the next stage of the Scientific Method. Hypothesis: Israel is the servant in the Fourth Servant Song (“Isaiah 53”) Generalization Stage

10. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 10 of 15 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 1  Question: Does Israel (as God's servant) "fit" into Isaiah 52:13?  Answer: YES! Verification Stage Note: Although Isaiah wrote the text and is the narrator, the 15 verses of the Fourth Servant Song actually comprise more than one “voice”. Therefore, it is critically important to identify whose “voice” is represented, i.e., who the “speaker” is, at each verse throughout the analysis. Who is speaking?The “voice” is that of God. What is the message?God's servant, Israel, will be exalted – an event that will cause much surprise among the (Gentile) nations. [The usage of the singular noun and verbs is not an issue, since Isaiah refers to Israel in both singular and plural terms elsewhere.]

11. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 11 of 15 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 1 (continued)  Question: Does Israel (as God's servant) "fit" into Isaiah 52:14?  Answer: YES! Who is speaking?The “voice” is that of God What is the message?This is how the (Gentile) nations habitually looked down upon [the nation of] Israel; people who were thought of as being disfigured and "sub-human", people whose God was not with them.

12. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 12 of 15 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 1 (continued) Who is speaking?The “voice” is that of God What is the message?In the end, as Israel prospers and takes its rightful place in God's plan, it will cause much surprise and astonishment among the (Gentile) nations. They will be stunned when they see that Israel is the one who is exalted in the end. The intensity of the surprise these (Gentile) nations will experience will not only startle them, it will cause them to be dumbfounded. They will perceive events that were previously beyond their imagination, and they will realize that they were mistaken all along.

13. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 13 of 15 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 1 (continued) The Hebrew word יַזֶּה (ya ZEH ) is a conjugated form of the root verb נזה ( NUN - ZA yin- HEH ), which can take on the meanings [to] sprinkle, [to] shake, [to] drip. There are 24 instances of the verb throughout in the Hebrew Bible. An issue of translation KJV TranslationJewish TranslationHebrew Text shall he sprinkleshall he cause … to be startled יַזֶּה

14. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 14 of 15 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 1 (continued) Attributes of the applications of the verb נזה in the Hebrew Bible: In 23 of the 24 cases three things are specified in the passage or nearby text - the substance being sprinkled: blood, or oil, or water - where the substance is sprinkled - the agent (who does the sprinkling, or the source of the sprinkling) In 1 case, Isaiah 52:15 (#8 in the table), only one thing is specified - the agent, the entity referred to as עַבְדִּי Consequently, the word יַזֶּה at Isaiah 52:15 cannot describe the physical act of “sprinkling” as do the other 23 applications of the verb. Rather, the appearance of this entity, עַבְדִּי, My servant, is what will cause those who are present to shake or tremble, perhaps from fear – a common reaction to being startled or surprised. The shock of the (Gentile) nations upon witnessing the exaltation of Israel is foretold elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 41:11, Jeremiah 16:19, Micah 7:15-16, Psalms 48:5-7), and they will realize that God is with Israel (Zechariah 8:23).  Question: Does Israel (as God's servant) "fit" into Isaiah 52:15?  Answer: YES! Translation issue resolved!  shall he sprinkle shall he cause … to be startled יַזֶּה

15. March 25, 2015Isaiah 53 – The Jewish Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 15 of 15 Interim Summary – Segment 1: Isaiah 52:13-15 Our hypothesis: Results of the verse-by-verse testing: Hypothesis: Israel is the servant in the Fourth Servant Song (“Isaiah 53”)