Forschungen zum Alten Testament2. Reihe

Edited by

Bernd Janowski (Tübingen) · Mark S. Smith (New York)Hermann Spieckermann (Göttingen)

31

Fredrik Hägglund

Isaiah 53 in the Light ofHomecoming after Exile

Mohr Siebeck

Fredrik Hägglund, born 1967; 1995 ordained in the church of Sweden; 2003–2007doctoral student at the University of Lund; currently priest in the church of Sweden inBorås Caroli.

ISBN 978-3-16-149773-5ISSN 1611-4914 (Forschungen zum Alten Testament, 2. Reihe)

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio-graphie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

© 2008 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany.

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permittedby copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly toreproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems.

The book was printed by Laupp & Göbel in Nehren on non-aging paper and bound byBuchbinderei Nädele in Nehren.

Printed in Germany.

e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-151129-5

Preface

Finally to leave this manuscript for printing is filled with both joy and anguish. Now it is no longer possible to make any more adjustments to the text. The book is finished and it is now up to any reader to embrace it or ex-clude it. However, the struggle to understand Isa 53 will never be finished. Every Eastertide and particularly on Good Friday, a new endeavour begins to understand the poem in the light of the suffering of Jesus. That is how-ever another issue. This thesis is an attempt to understand the historical aim of Isa 53. It is only an attempt, and the questions will probably be even more numerous at the end of the work than they were at the beginning. I am grateful that I have received the financial support to enable me to under-take this adventure and to have had the opportunity to struggle with Isa 53.

I am not only grateful for the financial support, but also for all the support from the people around me, which has been equally important. First, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Professor Fredrik Lindström, and to my assistant supervisor Professor Kirsten Nielsen. With their knowledge and interest in my project, they have been excellent advisors and interlocutors.

My sincere thanks goes also to the members of Old and New Testament seminars at Lund, as well as to the members of OTSEM (A Nordic-German network for Old Testament studies; Epistemologies and Methods). Friends there have given much inspiration and response on parts of my thesis. I am especially grateful to Dr. Göran Eidevall for reading the whole manuscript and for giving me many valuable suggestions, which have improved the outcome of this study.

When the analytical part had been completed, the toughest part began: to produce a readable book. I am obliged to all those who have helped me to improve my manuscript, especially to Kristofer Wollein Waldetoft, Elisabeth Jönsson, and Gerd Swensson. I am also grateful to the editors of the series Forschungen zum Alten Testament, Prof. Dr. Mark S. Smith, Prof. Dr. Bernd Janowski and Prof. Dr. Hermann Spieckermann, for ac-cepting this work for publication. Needless to say, I am responsible for any remaining errors or oddities. My final and deepest gratitude goes to my family, to my wife and to our two children.

Borås 2008 Fredrik Hägglund

Contents

Preface .........................................................................................................V Contents .................................................................................................... VII

Part One Introduction

Chapter 1. What is the Aim of This Study? ...................................................3 1. The Structure of This Study..................................................................4  Chapter 2. Methods and Definitions .............................................................7  

Chapter 3. Terminology ..............................................................................11 1. Vicarious Suffering or Stellvertretung? ..............................................11 2. Exclusion and Embrace ......................................................................15 Exclusion..............................................................................................16 Embrace ...............................................................................................18 3. Reconciliation, Atonement and Vicarious Suffering ...........................19 4. Conclusion .........................................................................................20 Chapter 4. The Identities.............................................................................22 1. The Identity of the Servant .................................................................22 2. The Identity of the “We” ....................................................................28 3. Conclusion .........................................................................................32

  

Part Two Exclusion and Embrace

 Chapter 5. Isaiah 53, Text and Translation ..................................................35    

Chapter 6. Isaiah 53, The Structure and Form.............................................46 1. The Structure ......................................................................................46

Contents VIII

The First Part.........................................................................................46 The Second Part .....................................................................................47 The Third Part .......................................................................................48 Conclusion and Figure .............................................................................49 2. The Form............................................................................................50  

Chapter 7. Isaiah 53, Exclusion and Embrace .............................................52 1. Isaiah 53:4–6 ......................................................................................52 Isaiah 53:4a “Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases” .............53 Isaiah 53:4b “yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted” .....55 Isaiah 53:5a “But he was wounded because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities” ................................................................56 Isaiah 53:5b “the discipline for our wholeness was upon him, and by his bruises there was healing for us” ...................................................56 Isaiah 53:6a “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way” .....................................................................................61 Isaiah 53:6b “yet YHWH has laid on him the iniquity of us all”.............................66 Conclusion ............................................................................................67 2. Isaiah 53 and Sin Offering..................................................................67 Conclusion ............................................................................................73 3. Isaiah 53 and Righteousness...............................................................73 Conclusion ............................................................................................77 4. Isaiah 53 and Intercession ..................................................................77 Conclusion ............................................................................................80

Chapter 8. The Phrase /wu acn in the Old Testament ................................82 1. Leviticus 10:17...................................................................................86 2. Leviticus 16:22...................................................................................87 3. Ezekiel 4:4–8......................................................................................89 4. Ezekiel 18...........................................................................................91   5. Exodus 28:38; Numbers 14:34; 18:1, 23 ............................................93 6. Conclusion .........................................................................................94 Chapter 9. Isaiah 53, The Terms of Embrace That Are Not Used ...............95 1. The term rpk .....................................................................................95 Phinehas ...............................................................................................96 Moses ..................................................................................................97 2. Sacrificial Language...........................................................................98 About Slaughter .....................................................................................98

Contents IX

3. Terms for Intercession ........................................................................99 4. Conclusion .......................................................................................102 Chapter 10. Reconciliation in Isaiah 40–55 ..............................................103 1. Isaiah 40:2 ........................................................................................104 2. Isaiah 43:3b–4 ..................................................................................108 3. Isaiah 43:22–28 ................................................................................ 110 4. Isaiah 44:21–22 ................................................................................ 113 5. Isaiah 48:8–11 .................................................................................. 114 6. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 116

Part Three The Constexts

 Chapter 11. Isaiah 53 in the Book of Isaiah ..............................................121 1. Isaiah 53 in Isaiah 40–55..................................................................124 2. Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 1–39 .................................................................131 3. Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 56–66 ...............................................................137 4. Conclusion .......................................................................................139 Chapter 12. The Geographical Domicile of Isaiah 40–55 .........................141 1. The Traditional View .......................................................................141 2. A Contemporary View ......................................................................144 3. Stages of Exile..................................................................................144 4. The Complaint in Isaiah 40:27 .........................................................149 5. The Ruins .........................................................................................151 6. Isaiah 40–55 and the Idols ................................................................152 7. Conclusion .......................................................................................154 Chapter 13. The Conflict...........................................................................156 1. The Impossible Homecoming ...........................................................157 The Myth of Return in Recent Refugee Studies ...........................................159 The Problematic Homecoming ................................................................162 To Be at Home .....................................................................................163 Conclusion ..........................................................................................164 The Conflict in the Old Testament ............................................................164 Conclusion ..........................................................................................169 The Conflict in Isaiah 40–55 ...................................................................169 The Conflict in Isaiah 56–66 ...................................................................171

Contents X

Conclusion ..........................................................................................172

Part Four Conclusion

Chapter 14. Conclusion.............................................................................175 Bibliography .............................................................................................179 Index of references ...................................................................................190 Author Index.............................................................................................198

Part One

Introduction

Chapter 1

What is the Aim of This Study?

When I first started my undergraduate study of the Old Testament, I was provoked by the fact that there are so many unsolved puzzles in one of the Old Testament texts, which is most important for the understanding of the New Testament, Isa 53.1 In order better to understand the problems in the text, I wrote my first minor paper on the subject of a collective or an indi-vidual interpretation of Isa 53. While doing so, I encountered the work of Whybray, in which he questions the central issue of the vicarious suffering of the servant.2 First I thought Whybray was entirely wrong. However, when I reread his study I realised that whether or not the suffering of the servant has the quality of atonement or not, it can actually be questioned. Whybray’s work can at least not be as easily dismissed as is sometimes the case.3

While working on my first paper on Isa 53, I also discovered that the scholarly discussion of the text is, to quite a significant extent, dominated by the more technical issues: Who is the servant?, How can we translate the difficult language in the text?, and so forth. This focus is natural. The text is complex and translation is the first complicated task of every study thereof. Furthermore, the anonymity of the servant makes us wonder who it is that the text describes. In addition, there are many other issues. Since Duhm, for example, we must also discuss the relationship between the ser-vant songs and the rest of Isa 40–55.4 Such questions are evoked by the

1 I will use Isa 53 to signify the whole section Isa 52:13–53:12. 2 Roger Norman Whybray, Thanksgiving for a Liberated Prophet: An Interpretation

of Isaiah Chapter 53 (JSOTsup vol. 4; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1978). 3 See for example the work of John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan

(JSOTSup vol. 265; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 125. He dismisses Whybray’s attempt to question a vicarious suffering in Isa 53 by stating that Whybray has no expla-nation of the use of the word <va other than to suggest that the text is corrupt. Likewise Bernd Janowski, Stellvertretung: Alttestamentliche Studien zu einem theologischen Grundbegriff (SBS vol. 165; Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1997), 77–78, who stud-ies a similar problem, only refers to and dismisses the work in one footnote. However, the work of Whybray is more important than such treatments indicate.

4 Bernhard Duhm, Das Buch Jesaja (Göttingen: 1922). His theory is forcefully ques-tioned by Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, A Farewell to the Servant Songs: A Critical Exami-nation of an Exegetical Axiom (Scripta minora Regiae Societatis humaniorum litterarum Lundensis vol. 3; Lund: Liber/Gleerup, 1983).

Part One: Introduction  4

text and must be addressed in this study as well. Still, if all the technical issues are allowed to overshadow the aim of the text, we have a real problem.

The main question in this study is therefore: What problem does Isa 53 address and seek to answer? I ask this as a historical question and it is the historical aim of the text that I will search for. There are however many other issues that follow from this basic question, which also have to be attended to. These involve the questions raised above. I also have to ask: Who is addressed by the text? What is the problem or the conflict behind the text? and so forth.

My hypothesis is that the text gives an answer to why the return did not become as glorious as it is described in Isa 40–52. I claim that Isa 53 should be understood from its literary context, first in Isa 52:7–54:17, secondly in Isa 40–55 and thirdly from the horizon of other important parts of the entire book of Isaiah. I also argue that when we read Isa 52:7–54:17 as a unit, it shows a sequence of events. The whole section gives an image of the glorious return (Isa 52:7–12), the astonishment of the kings and the nations (Isa 52:13–15), the embrace of the suffering of those who return as suffering on behalf of the “we” (Isa 53:1–10), and this finally leads to joy for Zion, who has hitherto been barren (Isa 54:1–17). Moreover, the sec-tion in Isa 52:7–54:17 functions as a bridge between the glorious return described in Isa 40:1–52:10 and the less glorious reality recorded in Isa 55–66. As a result, I understand the problem behind Isa 53 as a conflict between the people in the land and those who return from the exile. The conflict is based on a reluctance of the people at home to receive the returnees. The solution given in Isa 53 is that the people at home will embrace the suffering of the returnees as a suffering for their guilt. Had this occurred, the situation could have become as glorious as that described in Isa 54, and the mother, Zion, could have rejoiced. However, instead of the joy described in Isa 54, the reality is coloured by the conflicts described in Isa 56–66.

1. The Structure of This Study

The main theme of this study deals with the historical aim of Isa 53. The focus will therefore be on central historical matters of the text, but, before I begin working with the text itself, there are two introductory issues that must be discussed. In chapter two I will discuss some aspects of the methods employed in the present work, and in chapter three I will establish the use of terms about exclusion and embrace used in this study. This is especially important because Isa 53 is a text of significance for the Christian

Chapter 1: What is the Aim of This study 5

understanding of the vicarious and atoning suffering of Jesus, and most of the terms used in this study have a range of interpretations in Christian theology. The great and varied symbolic universe associated with terms such as atonement, expiation, reconciliation, vicarious suffering, and so on makes it particularly important to establish the use of these terms in the present investigation. There is also a historical issue that will be discussed in the introduction. In chapter four I will establish my understanding of the identities of the servant and of the “we”. The identity of the servant is one of the singularly most discussed exegetical questions in the Old Testament. Despite, or maybe because of, this there is no consensus among scholars, and the arguments in favour of most interpretations are brilliant. This leads to despair about the possibility of finding a final answer to this question. Still, the problem must be addressed, and the conclusion reached in this study is not a new attempt to solve an old problem. Although I argue for a collective interpretation, it is not a total farewell to individual interpreta-tions of the servant songs. I do not rule out the possibility that some of the songs have been open to other interpretations before they were incorpo-rated in this book. I will argue that the image of the suffering servant de-scribes the people in exile who, in Isa 40:1–52:12 had been expected to return, and the “we” are the people in the land who encounter those who return.

When I have established these fundamental issues, I will turn to part two, Exclusion and Embrace. The heading is intended to capture the cen-tral issue in Isa 53, i.e. both the former and the present understanding of the suffering servant held by the “we”. In this section I will first establish the text and the translation of Isa 53 that I will use in this study, and then I will discuss the structure and the form of the text. These topics, which will be further discussed in chapters five and six, are import in order to deter-mine the central issues of the text.

The servant’s suffering is a major concern in Isa 53. The encounter with the work of Whybray has made me realise that the meaning of the suffer-ing of the servant must be further defined. Chapter seven is an attempt to establish what notions of exclusion and embrace are expressed in Isa 53. The analysis of Isa 53 shows that it is doubtful that Isa 53 really does illus-trate an atoning suffering.5 In chapter eight I will examine the phrase acn /wu, “to carry iniquity”. This is a phrase, which is important for the under-standing of the suffering of the servant as an atoning suffering. Since, in the scholarly discussion, the servant’s suffering has often been understood as atoning suffering, it is interesting to compare the language in Isa 53

5 An atoning suffering is a traditional interpretation of Isa 53. Cf. for example Josef Scharbert, Heilsmittler im Alten Testament und im alten Orient (QD vol. 23/24; Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1964), 205–212, 296.

Part One: Introduction  6

with expressions employed in other Old Testament texts that describe atonement, and particularly texts in which atonement is reached through the actions or the suffering of other persons. In chapter nine, I will there-fore analyse expressions of exclusion and embrace that are not used in Isa 53. I believe that this can also say something about the words and expres-sions that are used in Isa 53. In chapter ten I turn to the context of Isa 53 in the rest of Isa 40–55. Since the present study questions the understanding of the servant’s suffering as an atoning suffering, it is also interesting to examine the rest of Isa 40–55 in order to establish what is said about reconciliation and atonement here. My point is that it is more likely that atonement should be a central issue in Isa 53 if the removal of guilt is a problem in the rest of Isa 40–55 as well. In the second part I will try to show that a central issue in Isa 53 is the “we” group’s embrace of the servant’s suffering as a suffering caused by their guilt. I believe that this is a more important issue in Isa 53 than the issue of atonement.

In part three, The Contexts, I try to show why such an embrace of the suffering of the servant is a central issue. It is in this part that I will try to answer my main question: What problem does Isa 53 address and seek to answer? In order to do this I will analyse three major contexts for Isa 53. First, there is the literary context, both in the book of Isaiah as a whole and especially in Isa 40–55, which I will address in chapter eleven. Closely connected to the literary contexts is the dating of the text, which will also be discussed in this chapter. The second major context is the geographical domicile and the question of which group is addressed by the text, which I will consider in chapter twelve. I will argue that it is the people at home, who are addressed by Isa 53, as well as by significant parts of the rest of Isa 40–55. The third context concerns the social conditions, to which I will turn in chapter thirteen. Here the relationship between those who return and the people at home is of significant interest. The hypothesis advocated in this study is that the problem behind the text is the conflicts between the people in the land and the ones who return from exile. It is therefore essen-tial to explore such conflicts and their impact on texts of the Old Testa-ment. The conflict is examined through modern refugee studies as well as through analyses of texts from various parts of the Old Testament, and fi-nally the conflict reported in Isa 40–55 and 56–66 will be studied.

Finally part four, Conclusion, brings the analytical parts of this study to an end and moulds them into a synthesis of the interpretation of the aim of Isa 53.

1 E.g. David J. A. Clines, I, He, We and They: A Literary Approach to Isaiah 53

(JSOTSup vol. 1; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1976), 59–65. 2 Roy F. Melugin, “On Reading Isaiah 53 as Christina Scripture,” in Jesus and the

Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins (ed. William R. Farmer and William H. Bellinger; Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press, 1998), 57.

3 See Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), 8, for an example to indicate that not even a simple statement is as unambiguous as it might seem at first sight.

4 Melugin, “On Reading Isaiah 53,” 57. Cf. also Paul Ricoeur, The Rule of Metaphor: The Creation of Meaning in Language (Routledge Classics London: Routledge, 2003), 377.

Chapter 2

Methods and Definitions

As already stated, the main theme of this thesis is a historical question. The methods employed are mainly the historical-critical methods. However, the use of these methods must be defended, since scholars have questioned whether or not it is appropriate to apply these methods to Isa 53, partly because the text is not a carrier of information. This means that it is impos-sible to talk about the meaning of the text, since the text has multiple meanings.1 Furthermore, Melugin questions the use of historical-critical methods by arguing that the language of Isa 53 is: “too cryptic to allow for a univocal understanding of textual meaning”.2 I agree that the text of Isa 53 carries multiple meanings, but that is also the case of any simple text of information.3 Moreover, I fully agree that various methods can highlight important and new aspects of the text, but I also believe that all these methods depend at least to some extent on historical-critical analysis.

The criticism levelled against the traditional methods is important. The historical-critical approach has its limits, both because of the questions asked and the limited possibilities to find any answers, but I do not think that historical-critical methods necessarily stand in total opposition to more literary methods or to any other methods. A text does not only refer to something. It also creates a world, into which the reader is invited to enter.4 On the other hand, a text is also interpreted by means of its histori-cal background, or rather, by our images of the historical background. Our knowledge of the traditions, conflicts, and not least of the language colours our understanding of every text. The aim of this study is to paint a picture

Part One: Introduction  8

of a possible historical background to Isa 53, and to interpret the text against this background. I do not imply that it is the single meaning of the text that will be expressed. Furthermore, it is not only the literary theories that make us aware of the multiple meanings. The redaction-historical approach, which is one of the traditional historical-critical approaches, has also showed how a text can be reused and reinterpreted by rather limited means.5 These multiple meanings are, however, at another level compared to more modern literary theories. My aim is to answer a historical ques-tion. I will use the methods that I find most useful in each part of the study, which means that I will use different methods in the different parts of the thesis, and I will not be restricted to traditional historical-critical methods only.

In the second part I will begin the analysis of the text by mainly apply-ing the tradition-historical approach in order to determine the patterns of thought, which are presupposed by, and incorporated into, the text.6 The pattern of thought is, however, not a fixed pattern. Metaphorical studies have revealed an openness of the imagery to reinterpretation and reuse. I believe that the traditions have been kept in memory because they can be applied to different situations and still remain meaningful.7 This is particu-larly true of Isa 40–55, where we find a fresh reuse of old traditions in a new situation. Unfortunately, form-criticism, which has been very helpful and important for the study of the rest of Isa 40–55, has been of limited value for the study of Isa 53.8 This is a unique text, which makes it almost impossible to determine its exact form. Even so, I will discuss briefly the character of the text and the forms that have probably influenced Isa 53. This second part could almost be described as a close reading of the text, in both a limited meaning and with a special focus of the terminology. Such reading puts more emphasis on the particular than on the general details, since it pays close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order, in which sentences and ideas unfold to the reader.9

5 On Isa 40–55, see among others the work of Reinhard Gregor Kratz, Kyros im Deu-

terojesaja-Buch: Redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zu Entstehung und Theologie von Jes 40-55 (FAT vol. 1; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1991). See Odil Hannes Steck, Old Testament Exegesis: A Guide to the Methodology (Resources for Biblical Study vol. 39; Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1998), for a survey of the traditional historical-critical methods.

6 See Steck, Old Testament Exegesis, 121–142, for a discussion of the method. 7 Cf. Kirsten Nielsen, “‘From Oracles to Canon’ – and the Role of Metaphor,” SJOT

17, no. 1 (2003): 22–33. 8 There have been many suggestions about the form of Isa 53. I still believe that Roy

F. Melugin, The Formation of Isaiah 40–55 (BZAW vol. 141; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1976), 74, is probably right in suggesting that the structure, as far as we can know, is a new creation.

9 See further Eagleton, Literary Theory, 37–38.

Chapter 2: Methods and Definitions 9

The third part is dominated by an attempt to place the text in its historical settings. The first setting is the texts with which Isa 53 interacts. Therefore the relationship between Isa 53 and the rest of the book of Isaiah will be discussed. During the last decades, there has been a significant discussion about the growth of both Isa 40–55 and of the whole book of Isaiah.10 The works in this field are helpful, both by separating texts and by bringing them together. However, the identification of literary disunity is a rather uncertain enterprise, since we do not have many witnesses to the growth of the text. Whenever literary disunity is detected, the next uncertain venture is to order the texts chronologically, both in relation to one another and to known historical facts. Both these steps are somewhat speculative, which makes the results even more uncertain. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is hard to find any consensus regarding the details among scholars. On the other hand, the book of Isaiah has grown over several centuries. Since I am searching for a historical interpretation, the dates of the various texts are import. Nevertheless, and because of the ambiguity involved, I will mainly rely on work that has already been done in this field and I will build on the conclusions of previous scholars.11 This is however not as simple as it sounds. Because of the lack of consensus regarding the details, and the risk of dating texts in accordance with my interpretation, I will seek to avoid any dating of details as far as possible and I will focus instead on the broader patterns. Regarding the relationship between Isa 53 and Isa 1-39, I will mainly focus on some metaphors that are important in both parts. By using specific images, Isa 53 recalls preceding texts, images, and ex-periences and also reinterprets these images in a new situation.

The historical setting is the next important question. I will search for both the geographical location of the text and for the social conflicts that might have coloured the historical setting and the texts themselves. In this part, I will use some works that study contemporary experiences, espe-cially refugee studies in order to determine further the historical realities related to Isa 53. The intention is to gain greater insight from the experi-ences of people in similar situations. Hopefully, these experiences can help

10 Klaus Kiesow, Exodustexte im Jesajabuch: Literarkritische und motivgeschicht-

liche Analysen (OBO vol. 24; Fribourg Suisse; Gottingen: Editions Universitaires; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979), Kratz, Kyros im Deuterojesaja-Buch, Jürgen van Oor-schot, , Von Babel zum Zion: Eine literarkritische und redaktionsgeschichtliche Unter-suchung (BZAW vol. 206; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1993), Hugh Godfrey Maturin Williamson, The Book Called Isaiah: Deutero-Isaiah's Role in Composition and Redaction (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), and Zoltán Kustár, “Durch seine Wunden sind wir geheilt”: Eine Untersuchung zur Metaphorik von Israels Krankheit und Heilung im Jesajabuch (BWANT vol. 154; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2002), among others.

11 The debate between synchronic and diachronic readings will be further addressed in the third part.

Part One: Introduction 10

us to understand the historical situation that has coloured our text better. In my search for the geographical domicile, I will for example examine vari-ous stages that people in exile might go through and I will then relate these stages to Isa 40–55. In chapter thirteen, entitled The Conflict, I will use research on contemporary repatriation in order to understand which con-flicts might have emerged between those who returned and those who had stayed at home. The lessons from these conflicts will then be used to seek to understand what possible conflicts might have coloured Isa 40–55 as well as other parts of the Old Testament.

I will mostly refer to the text of Isa 40–55, and not to an unnamed prophet or to any persons behind the text, since a considerable part of Isa 40–55 was already a literary entity at the time when Isa 53 was composed. I will also argue that Isa 53 was probably composed for its present context. Hence, I understand Isa 53 as a literary product that belongs in its present literary context, and I will neither rule out nor take into account any previous possible interpretations.12 I use the term Deutero-Isaiah as a technical term for the person or the persons behind the text as well as for the meaning employed by various scholars when I refer to their works.

Unless otherwise stated, translations from the Old Testament follow the New Revised Standard Version. In a few cases when I propose a different understanding, I offer my own translation, which is then also indicated. I have generally replaced the NRSV term “the LORD” by YHWH. Refer-ences to biblical passages follow the numbering of the BHS. The abbrevia-tions listed in The SBL Handbook of Style have been used. The terms suffering servant and servant song(s) is used without initial capitals in order not to mix up the historical understanding of the servant described in Isa 53 with later meanings proposed by the New Testament and the church. The servant song(s) is used without initial capitals since the theory of Duhm is no longer tenable in its original form.13 Both terms are however still important in the history of interpretation of Isa 40–55 and in some ways these four poems can be treated as a group.

12 See further the discussion below. 13 Duhm, Das Buch Jesaja, the question will be discussed further below.

Part One: Introduction 10

us to understand the historical situation that has coloured our text better. In my search for the geographical domicile, I will for example examine vari-ous stages that people in exile might go through and I will then relate these stages to Isa 40–55. In chapter thirteen, entitled The Conflict, I will use research on contemporary repatriation in order to understand which con-flicts might have emerged between those who returned and those who had stayed at home. The lessons from these conflicts will then be used to seek to understand what possible conflicts might have coloured Isa 40–55 as well as other parts of the Old Testament.

I will mostly refer to the text of Isa 40–55, and not to an unnamed prophet or to any persons behind the text, since a considerable part of Isa 40–55 was already a literary entity at the time when Isa 53 was composed. I will also argue that Isa 53 was probably composed for its present context. Hence, I understand Isa 53 as a literary product that belongs in its present literary context, and I will neither rule out nor take into account any previous possible interpretations.12 I use the term Deutero-Isaiah as a technical term for the person or the persons behind the text as well as for the meaning employed by various scholars when I refer to their works.

Unless otherwise stated, translations from the Old Testament follow the New Revised Standard Version. In a few cases when I propose a different understanding, I offer my own translation, which is then also indicated. I have generally replaced the NRSV term “the LORD” by YHWH. Refer-ences to biblical passages follow the numbering of the BHS. The abbrevia-tions listed in The SBL Handbook of Style have been used. The terms suffering servant and servant song(s) is used without initial capitals in order not to mix up the historical understanding of the servant described in Isa 53 with later meanings proposed by the New Testament and the church. The servant song(s) is used without initial capitals since the theory of Duhm is no longer tenable in its original form.13 Both terms are however still important in the history of interpretation of Isa 40–55 and in some ways these four poems can be treated as a group.

Chapter 3

Terminology

There is an ongoing scholarly discussion about the meaning of the suffering of the servant. In order to discuss that subject we must first decide and define an appropriate terminology, which involves some important problems. One is that different languages have different terms by which to describe the relationships between the servant, the “we”, the many, and God, in Isa 53. This becomes particularly clear when we compare English and German studies, which use different terms that lack exact synonyms in the other language. Another problem is the entire theological universe, which differs as it is connected to these various terms. It is therefore sometimes difficult to know what is intended when different scholars use a specific term. My interest in this chapter is to define a terminology that is suitable for a char-acterisation of the description of the servant’s suffering. Before I attempt a definition, I will examine the terminology applied by two important and influential studies that seek to define the effect of the servant’s suffering. I will do this in order to express the difficulties involved in the choice of any term and also to examine the differences between English and German terminology. Following this survey, I will turn to the terminology applied in this study.

1. Vicarious Suffering or Stellvertretung?

The two works, to which I will turn, seek to define the understanding of the suffering of the servant. Since one is in English and one in German, they also highlight the problems caused by the use of different languages. The works are: Thanksgiving for a Liberated Prophet: An Interpretation of Isaiah Chapter 53 by Whybray and Stellvertretung: Alttestamentliche Studien zu einem theologischen Grundbegriff by Janowski. Here my main interest is in the terms used in theses studies and in the difficulties created by the choice of terms. I will also sum up their results regarding the servant’s suffering. Their exegetical arguments will however be discussed in other places.