Commentaire sur Isaïe 53:13

Who would have believed our report So will the nations say to one another, Were we to hear from others what we see, it would be unbelievable.

Who hath believed, etc. Then the Non-Israelites shall say, Who would have believed, that it would turn out as we have heard.

the arm of the Lord like this, with greatness and glory, to whom was it revealed until now?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed, as it has been revealed to Israel.

And he came up like a sapling before it This people, before this greatness came to it, was a very humble people, and it came up by itself like a sapling of the saplings of the trees.

And he grew up, etc. That Israelite who is the servant of the Lord,¹That is, the prophet. or the whole nation of the Israelites, grew up²A. V., For he shall grow up.

and like a root he came up from dry land.

before him, that is, before the Lord,

neither form had he in the beginning, nor comeliness.

as a tender plant—comp., his branches shall spread (Hosea 14:7)—

and we saw him that he had no appearance. Now shall we desire him? And when we saw him from the beginning without an appearance, how could we desire him? Now shall we desire him? This is a question.

and as a root out of dry land, that neither produces fruit, nor distinguishes itself by its size.

He hath no form. This expression has the same meaning as the phrase ותארו מבני אדם and his form was marred more than that of the sons of men (52:14).

ולא מראה ולא נחמדהו ═ ולא מראה ונחמדהו there is no beauty, nor do we desire him; the negation לא before מראה, refers also to נחמדהו; comp. Prov. 21:14

Despised and rejected by men was he. So is the custom of this prophet: he mentions all Israel as one man, e.g., (44:2), “Fear not, My servant Jacob”; (44:1) “And now, hearken, Jacob, My servant.” Here too (52:13), “Behold My servant shall prosper,” he said concerning the house of Jacob. יַשְׂכִּיל is an expression of prosperity. Comp. (I Sam. 18:14) “And David was successful (מַשְׂכִּיל) in all his ways.”

וחדל אישים He ceased to be counted with men.³A. V., And rejected of men.

and as one who hides his face from us Because of their intense shame and humility, they were as one who hides his face from us, with their faces bound up in concealment, in order that we not see them, like a plagued man who hides his face and is afraid to look.

איש מכאבות A man of sorrows. The servant of the Lord, or the whole nation of the Israelites; in the latter case איש is to be compared with the same word in the phrase יי איש מלחמה (Exod. 15:3),⁴Comp. I. E. on 40:26, and Note 59. and to be explained a being; it is in the construct state. Sorrows, grief. The troubles which Israel has to suffer during the exile are meant.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. Even in our days there are people who turn aside at the sight of a Jew, lest they may be obliged to assist him.

Indeed, he bore our illnesses Heb. אָכֵן, an expression of ‘but’ in all places. But now we see that this came to him not because of his low state, but that he was chastised with pains so that all the nations be atoned for with Israel’s suffering. The illness that should rightfully have come upon us, he bore.

Surely he hath borne, etc. The summary of this verse is: We have caused him grief, and he has borne it; he has endured our sorrow, that is, the sorrow which we have inflicted upon him, and we thought that he was stricken, etc.

yet we accounted him We thought that he was hated by the Omnipresent, but he was not so, but he was pained because of our transgressions and crushed because of our iniquities.

נגוע Stricken. Comp. נגע plague (Lev. 13:5).

מֻבֵּה Smitten of. It is in the construct state. Smitten of God and afflicted.

While we deserved to be afflicted with all this grief, because our religion is false, it came instead upon Israel, who follow the true religion. Comp. All we like sheep have gone astray (ver. 6)

the chastisement of our welfare was upon him The chastisement due to the welfare that we enjoyed, came upon him, for he was chastised so that there be peace for the entire world.

מחולל Slain.⁵A. V., Wounded. Comp. חלל slain (Deut. 21:1).

The chastisement of our peace was upon him. The chastisement was inflicted upon him for the purpose of prolonging our peace, as we see; for With his stripes we are healed.

The meaning of this verse is: God will in future visit those nations that trouble Israel with punishment (comp. Joel 4:21): but at present the chastisement of our peace is upon him; for it is well known that so long as Israel is in exile, the heathen peoples will enjoy happiness; while of the time of our deliverance it is predicted, And there will be a time of trouble (Dan. 12:1); moreover, when the angels said, All the earth is dwelling in peace; one of them asked, How long wilt Thou not pity Jerusalem ? (Zech. 1:11, 12), because he thought that so long as the heathen people have peace, Jerusalem would not find mercy.

We all went astray like sheep Now it is revealed that all the heathens (nations [mss.]) had erred.

All we like sheep, etc. At last they will acknowledge the truth; that it was an error to think him smitten of God (ver. 4), comp. Surely our fathers have inherited lies, etc. (Jer. 16:14).

accepted his prayers He accepted his prayers and was appeased concerning the iniquity of all of us, that He did not destroy His world. accepted...prayers Heb. הִפְגִּיעַ, espriad in O.F., an expression of supplication.

הפגיע Hath laid. Lit. Hath caused to meet; comp. ויפגע and he alighted (Gen. 28:11).

עון Lit. iniquity; here it means the punishment for the iniquity. Comp. עון punishment (1 Sam. 28:10; Gen. 15:16;⁶The passage referred to is כי לא שלם עון האמרי for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full (A.V.). It requires, however, to be proved that עון in this passage means punishment. Lam. 4:6). Some explain הפגיע he caused to pray; עון has, according to their opinion, the usual meaning iniquity; and the sense of the whole phrase is: God will accept the prayer of Israel, that peace shall be on earth. Comp. And seek the peace of the city, etc. (Jer. 29:7). But עון in this sense, joined with הפגיע בו, is rather an unusual construction.⁷If פגע ב means to pray to, the meaning of the Hiphil הפגיע ב is, to cause to pray to, and also, to accept the prayer, if the noun governed by the preposition ב is the same as the subject to the verb הפגיע; and הפגיע בר is to be translated, He caused to pray to Himself; if, therefore, the phrase הפגיע בו is followed by a noun in the accusative, this must express either the person who is caused to pray, or the object of the prayer. The accusative עון is neither the one nor the other, since in the latter case, not the iniquity but the atonement for the iniquity, not the punishment, but the cancelling of the punishment, (not עון but כפרת עון) is the object of the prayer.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted Behold he was oppressed by taskmasters and people who exert pressure.

נגש He was oppressed. It is Niphal.

and he was afflicted with verbal taunts, sorparlec in O.F.

Yet he opened not his mouth. This requires no explanation; for this is the case with every Jew in exile; when he is insulted he dares not reply, especially the pious one who devotes himself only to the service of God, and does not care for worldly prosperity; nor does he know any prince or chief whom to ask for assistance, when oppressed by man. The phrase Yet he does not open his mouth, is repeated to express the continuity of this fact.

yet he would not open his mouth He would suffer and remain silent like the lamb that is brought to the slaughter, and like the ewe that is mute before her shearers.

and he would not open his mouth This refers to the lamb brought to the slaughter.

From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken The prophet reports and says that the heathens (nations [mss., K’li Paz]) will say this at the end of days, when they see that he was taken from the imprisonment that he was imprisoned in their hands and from the judgment of torments that he suffered until now.

He was taken, etc. God redeemed Israel; namely, those of them that were righteous.

and his generation The years that passed over him.

God took them from prison, where they were kept

who shall tell? The tribulations that befell him, for from the beginning, he was cut off and exiled from the land of the living that is the land of Israel for because of the transgression of my people, this plague came to the righteous among them.

by the judgments of vengeance.

ישוחח Shall declare. Comp. שיח speak (Job. 12:8). Who could have told his generation that this could happen, since they were already as cut off out of the land of the living.

For the transgression of my people was he stricken. Every nation will think: Israel was stricken because of our sins; comp. he was slain for our transgressions (ver. 5). The construction of the sentence is: For the transgression of my people plagues came over them. להם═למו To them, that is, to the Israelites.

And he gave his grave to the wicked He subjected himself to be buried according to anything the wicked of the heathens (nations [mss., K’li Paz]) would decree upon him, for they would penalize him with death and the burial of donkeys in the intestines of the dogs.

Some refer this verse to those Israelites that die in exile; others derive במתיו from במה high place; comp. במתימו their high places (Deut. 33:29), and refer it to the building erected over the grave; so that קברו═במתיו his tomb.

to the wicked According to the will of the wicked, he was willing to be buried, and he would not deny the living God.

רשע═עשיר Wicked.⁸A.V., Rich. The heathen nations that are rich in comparison with Israel are meant. I think that this verse describes the trouble of the Israelites in exile, which is so great, that they long to die with the nations; comp. Let me die with the Philistines (Jud. 16:20). As to ויתן he longed to give;⁹A. V., And be made. And warred.—The passage refers to Balak, King of Moab, who did not, in fact, fight with Israel, but sent for Balaam to curse them. The imperfect used in this sense is called by the grammarians imperfectum conatûs.⁹A. V., And be made. And warred.—The passage refers to Balak, King of Moab, who did not, in fact, fight with Israel, but sent for Balaam to curse them. The imperfect used in this sense is called by the grammarians imperfectum conatûs. comp. וילחם and he intended to fight (Jos. 24:9). That this longing for death is caused by the great pains, may be inferred from the words which follow: because he had done no violence. The heathen nations oppress Israel without cause; he neither deserves such ill-treatment, by any wrong act nor by any ambiguous, deceitful word. If the objection should be made that בׇּמוׂת does not change in the construct state into בְּמוׂת, as is the case in בְּמׂתׇיו, I answer, that this noun has two forms in the plural, like סריס officer: סׇרִיסֵי (Gen. 40:7); and סְרִיסֵי (Est. 6:14)

and to the wealthy with his kinds of death and to the will of the ruler he subjected himself to all kinds of death that he decreed upon him, because he did not wish to agree to (denial) [of the Torah] to commit evil and to rob like all the heathens (nations [mss., K’li Paz]) among whom he lived.

and there was no deceit in his mouth to accept idolatry (to accept a pagan deity as God [Parshandatha]).

And the Lord wished to crush him, He made him ill The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to crush him and to cause him to repent; therefore, he made him ill.

דַּכְּאוׂ To bruise him. It is in form similar to דַּבְּרוׂ, to speak with him (Gen. 37:4). It is Piel.

If his soul makes itself restitution, etc. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I will see, if his soul will be given and delivered with My holiness to return it to Me as restitution for all that he betrayed Me, I will pay him his recompense, and he will see children, etc.” This word אָשָׁם is an expression of ransom that one gives to the one against when he sinned, amende in O.F., to free from faults, similar to the matter mentioned in the episode of the Philistines (I Sam. 6:3), “Do not send it away empty, but you shall send back with it a guilt offering (אָשָׁם).”

החלי He hath put him to grief. It is a verb ל״ה, but conjugated like a verb ¹⁰The Hiphil of the verb ל״א has Hirek in the second syllable followed by יא, e.g. קרא he called, הִקְרִיא, while the Hiphil of the verb ל״ה has Kamez followed by ה, e.g. קרה he met, הִקְרׇה. This distinction is, however, not always adhered to: so here החלִי, the apocopated form of החלִיא, instead of החלׇה the root being חלה.;ל״א comp. תחלואיה אשר חלה the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it (Deut. 29:21). God was pleased to bruise him, to chastise him with exile.

אם תשים אשם נפשו If his soul shall set his guilt¹¹A. V., When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. before him, that is, if he will confess and fear the Lord.¹²The corresponding words of the Hebrew text are יראת השם. But they are not required at all for the explanation of the words in question, and are besides, in no grammatical connection with the preceding words. They are superfluous, and are probably nothing more than a repetition of the succeeding יראה, which was wrongly changed into יראת ה׳. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days. He and his children will enjoy the salvation, which the Lord will grant them. This refers to that generation which will return to God, that is, to the law of God, in the days of Messiah.

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. The true religion shall prosper, all nations will accept it.

From the toil of his soul he would eat and be satisfied, and he would not rob and plunder.

מעמל נפשו יראה ישבע For the travail of his soul he shall see, he shall be satisfied.¹³A. V., He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.

with his knowledge...would vindicate the just My servant would judge justly all those who came to litigate before him.

He shall see the reward of his forbearance, and shall find his desire fulfilled; or he shall enjoy prosperity in such a degree that he will be satisfied, because צדיק עבדי לרבים בדעתו יצדיק By his knowledge he will cause many to be just.¹⁴A. V., Shall my righteous servant justify many. He will teach the nations how to live according to the Law.

and their iniquities he would bear He would bear, in the manner of all the righteous, as it is said (Num. 18:1): “You and your sons shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary.”

And he shall bear their iniquities. Israel will sympathise with the heathen nations in their misfortunes, which have come upon them for their many sins; although they do not sympathise with Israel in his afflictions. The meaning of the phrase might also be this: The Israelites will pray to God for the other nations, and thereby take away their sins; comp. (Zech. 14:18).¹⁵The passage referred to, And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain, there shall be the plague, etc. indicates, according to the opinion of I. E., that the Egyptians (and other nations likewise) shall come up to Jerusalem, and tell the Israelites of their distress; the Israelites will then pray for them, or join them in their prayer, and God will send the relief and comfort prayed for. I approve of the latter explanation, since its correctness is evidenced by the words which follow.

Therefore Because he did this, I will allot him an inheritance and a lot in public with the Patriarchs.

Therefore will I divide him, etc. All commentators agree that in this verse the prophet speaks of those that die for the unity of God, explaining the expression ברבים with the great—comp. רב chief (Est. 1:8)—to signify the prophets, and understand by עצומים the strong the patriarchs. ¹⁶The prophets and patriarchs are the founders of the nation of Israel, therefore the adjectives רבים great, and עצומים mighty are properly applied to them; but there is probably no special reason why the former should refer to the prophets and the latter to the patriarchs, and not the reverse. According to this explanation the meaning of the whole verse is, The merit of those that die for the unity of God, is equal to the merit of the prophets and patriarchs. We know that this is true, but the subject has no connection with the context of this chapter. I explain it as follows: I will certainly give to Israel a portion of the spoil and booty taken from many nations;

he poured out his soul to death Heb. הֶעֱרָה. An expression like (Gen. 24:20), “And she emptied (וַתְּעַר) her pitcher.”

מן עצומים ═ את עצומים of the strong; comp. את העיר from the city (Exod. 9:29).

and with transgressors he was counted He suffered torments as if he had sinned and transgressed, and this is because of others; he bore the sin of the many.

תחת For. The reward for having poured out, etc. הערה He poured out. Some render it, he has discovered; that is, he has done publicly. I think it is to be compared with ותער and she emptied (Gen. 24:20), though of a different conjugation,¹⁷תְּעַר the apocopated form of תְּעׇרֶה is Piel, הֶעֱרָה is Hiphil. and especially with אל תער נפשי do not pour out my soul (Psalm 141:8), and to be rendered he poured out.

and interceded for the transgressors through his sufferings, for good came to the world through him.

ואת And with.

פשעים Transgressors of the word of God.

And with the transgressors he was numbered, etc. Israel was considered like people that transgress the will of God.

And he bare the sin of many. In consequence of the troubles of Israel, the other nations had peace; the punishment which the latter deserved was inflicted upon the former.

And made intercession for the transgressors.

He prayed to God for the transgressors. Comp. Jer. 29:7. By the transgressors, the heathen nations are meant.¹⁸That vexed and illtreated Israel.

I have thus explained the whole passage, on the supposition that it refers to Israel;¹⁹The explanation given in the whole chapter seems to be only a concession made to the general opinion, that these chapters, from xl.—lxvi., have no inner connexion throughout, and that in this portion עבדי my servant refers to Israel. His own opinion is, that the servant of the Lord is the prophet, who was in Babylon in exile with his brethren, illtreated there and insulted not only by the Babylonians, but also by those Israelites, that did not believe in his divine mission, but ultimately, when his words were proved to be true by facts, honoured and respected by all. but my opinion is, that my servant, mentioned here (52:13), is the same as that of 42:1, 49:3, 53:11, the same who says of himself, I gave my back to the smiters, etc. (50:6). In my commentary on chap. xl., I mentioned briefly the leading principle of my opinion, which considers all these chapters (from xl.) as connected with each other.²⁰Comp. I. E. on 40:1, 49:8, 52:13.