The Book of Isaiah in the Bible is the longest of the prophetic books, spanning a time
period of approximately 200 years. (Newland, 167) One reading the Bible might not realize that
this beloved book by both Jews and Christians alike is not the work of one great prophet, but also
his followers or disciples. The book is believed to have three authors known as Isaiah (Isaiah of
Jerusalem), Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah, all having different visions and purpose given the
situation of God’s chosen people at the time they were writing. The chapters 40 – 55 attributed to
Deutero-Isaiah are also known as the “Book of Consolation” (Boadt, 366). These chapters give
hope to the Jewish people when they are in exile in Babylon, and encouragement that Israel will
be restored. The word “servant” is interpreted in different ways in Second Isaiah but most
interestingly is the way “servant” is referred to in the passages known as the Servant Songs,
42:1-6; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12. These particular passages prophesy of a complicated figure
to come, a “suffering servant,” chosen by God to not only free the Jews, but to bring the One,
True God to the entire world.
It is important to the understanding of Deutero-Isaiah’s prophesy and its’ overall message
to first examine the historical background at the time of his writing. In Second Isaiah, the reader
sees that the pre-exile prophesies about the destruction of Jerusalem have come true. The
Israelites’ home has been destroyed, along with their precious temple and they are living in exile
under the Babylonians. (New Jerome Commentary, 329). However, life in Babylon for the
Jewish people was not horrible. Although they were in exile and were captives, they were not
slaves. They were given freedom to start their own businesses and build their own homes.
(Newland 201). However, the Jews were not given the freedom to practice their own religion.
Only temples dedicated to the Babylonian gods were allowed. This was difficult for the
Israelites, but they needed to do to survive. They retained the sacred words from the Pentateuch
and the previous prophets. During this time, the final versions of these works were conceived
from this period in exile. (Newland 202). As the years went on in exile, the Israelites were slowly
losing hope of returning to Jerusalem. They needed to believe that someone could liberate them.
This is where Deutero-Isaiah foretells of a hero who will come and save them.
After analyzing the historical context in which Isaiah is written one must look at the
authorship of this great work. The author of Deutero-Isaiah is believed to have lived 150 years
after the original Isaiah. It’s easy to distinguish that this author is writing after Jerusalem has
been destroyed because he is addressing those exiled in Babylon. (New Jerome Commentary,
329) However, it seems as though the author is a disciple of Isaiah following a similar religious
thought and using certain words and phrases from Isaiah such as the word “sign” and in
reference to Yahweh, the title “ the Holy One of Israel” (New Jerome, 330). He uses a distinctive
style of writings including poetry, hymns of praise and language that might remind one of a
courtroom discourse (Boadt, 314). The tone in which Second Isaiah is writing is in response to
the plight and feelings of despair the Jewish people are experiencing while in Babylon. Deutero-
Isaiah’s language and tone is one of sorrow, consolation and hope as opposed to warning and
disapproval in First Isaiah (New Jerome Commentary, 330). In First Isaiah, the prophet reveals
his name, “The vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz…” (New American Bible, 782), but the author
remains anonymous in Second Isaiah and prophesied toward the end of the exile.
The great oracles of the prophet, Deutero-Isaiah, arrive in the famous Servant Song
passages. However, these poems are not without controversy or questions. In other parts of
Isaiah, the word “servant”, refers to the Jewish people as a whole, because they were in a
covenantal relationship with God as a chosen people, but in these Servant Song passages it
sounds more like one individual (Boadt, 376). The controversy lies in who is the “servant of the
Lord” intended by the author. One must first look at how the servant is described in all four
poems and what is the servant’s mission. The servant in the first poem is described as one who
brings justice in a passive way, not loud and confronting. In the second song, the servant will
bring forth justice not only to the Jewish people, but to all nations. The servant description gets
deeper and more complex by the third song in that this servant will suffer and be rejected. And in
the last Servant Song passage the servant who is innocent will undergo violence to save other
guilty people. “It is the only instance in the Old Testament of vicarious suffering.” (Boadt 377).
Furthermore, in the Catholic Study Bible, Katherine M. Hayes discusses how in this last poem
the servant is identified with Israel and yet differs from it; Israel is in exile because of their sin
but the servant in these passages has been faithful and thus exalted.
Christians identify this prophesy of the Suffering Servant as Jesus Christ. However, as
stated earlier, scholars offer other suggestions and questions concerning who the servant is and
what is his message. The Jewish people were looking for someone to liberate them and restore
them to Jerusalem. If looking at these passages from a literal sense, Second Isaiah might just be
talking about Cyrus of Persia, who literally does liberate the Jewish people from exile in
Babylon. The question others have about this theory is why would God pick a Gentile who is
polytheistic to raise up Israel. If Cyrus didn’t believe in the One, True God, how could he bring
God to other nations? Other scholars make note that Moses, in Deuteronomy, is often referred to
as the “servant of Yahweh.” Moses also had to deal with suffering and was many times rejected
by the Israelites. It is possible that Deutero-Isaiah wanted to remind the Jewish people in exile
that God’s prophet Moses took his people out of slavery and led them into the Promised Land
and that God wouldn’t forget about them in exile either. Boadt refers to this as the “new exodus”
(Boadt 373). Another interesting idea about the servant is that perhaps it’s the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was suffering through separation from his people in exile, but remained faithful to God,
even when people wanted to end his life. Perhaps Deutero-Isaiah is making reference to himself,
autobiographically. (Boadt, 377)
There are other well-known prophets speaking for God during the Babylonian exile such
as Jeremiah, Nahum, the Authors of Lamentations, and Ezekiel to name a few (Written on our
Hearts p 196). Jeramiah and Ezekiel were writing before the exile and during it, whereas
Deutero-Isaiah was writing toward the end of the exile. These prophets, like Deutero-Isaiah,
were beginning to have the Jewish people change their religious thoughts about how they saw
their relationship with God, thus providing hope. (Barton,369) The commentary in The Biblical
World, Influence of the Babylonian Exile on the Religion of Israel, by George A. Barton,
discusses how Jeremiah tries to change the thinking of the Jewish people in exile. Pre-exile, he
warns the Jews of the destruction of Jerusalem if they didn’t change their ways. During the exile
however, he tries to convince the Jewish people that the covenantal relationship with God is not
based on the city of Jerusalem, but what’s in the heart (Barton, p 370). This would be a new
covenant. This change in mindset would provide the Jewish people in exile and thereafter with a
religion based on their inward relationship with God not the outward institution (Barton, p 370).
This would be the kind of religion to sustain them in the future throughout their trials and
tribulations. Ezekiel has a similar message to Jeremiah and offers hope to the people in exile and
a new covenantal relationship with God based on fidelity. Ezekiel 36:26 states, “I will give you a
new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and
giving you natural hearts (New American Bible, 198). Deutero-Isaiah takes this one step further
to say that it is not just the heart of the Jewish people that must be in a relationship with God but
all men in all nations.
Theologically, one must look to the spiritual senses to understand the deeper meaning of
Second Isaiah’s prophesy and to get to the heart of The Servant Songs. In the allegorical sense,
the prophesy of the mysterious Suffering Servant in the Servant Songs is in fact Jesus Christ; the
One who will bring salvation to people of all nations through his undeserved suffering as
redemption for their sins. These passages are so deep and meaningful that they are reflected in
the New Testament showing the connection with the Passion, Death and Glorification of Christ.
(The Catholic Study Bible, p988) Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophesies in
the Servant Songs.
In the moral sense, one can learn a lot from Second Isaiah’s prophesy. We see the sins of
the Jewish people and their failure to listen God’s word spoken through the prophets which lands
them homeless, desperate, in despair and without hope. But God’s promise of redemption and to
restore Israel keeps them going. The same is true of man today. Man’s self-centeredness and
sinfulness leads him away from God, but if he has a change of heart God always forgives and
takes him back. Finally, in looking at the Servant Song poems anagogically, one sees that God’s
love is so great for humanity that He would send his Only Begotten Son to suffer and die for the
redemption of the sins of humanity. He loves humanity so much that He wants man to live with
Him forever in Heaven.
In conclusion, Deutero-Isaiah’s prophesy during the time of the Babylonian Exile offers
the Jewish people hope and consolation during their time of despair. Looking deeper into the
prophesy of this great prophet, one finds the prediction of something greater than the Jewish
people could ever have foreseen. It required a different way of looking at their covenantal
relationship with God and showed them, with God, anything is possible. This Messianic
prophesy was not the prediction of a king like Cyrus or even David to liberate the Jewish people,
but something more unpredictable and profound. The Servant Song poems prophesy of the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, coming to the world to free all people from sin and death by His Cross and
Resurrection. Through Jesus’ sacrifice he restores mankind to a right relationship with God so as
to have eternal life.