The "Third Song of the Suffering Servant" (Isa 50:4-11) – the canonical text and its parallel in the Targum Jonathan

Adrian Skutnik

Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet Opolski
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2841-0215

Abstract

The Suffering Servant of the Lord shown in four excerpts from the Book of Isaiah is both fascinating and extremely mysterious. This article, entitled The Third Song of the Servant of the Lord (Isa 50:4-11), a canonical text and its parallel in Jonathan's Targum, is intended to bring the person of the Servant closer to the person of the Servant through a detailed analysis of a passage from Chapter 50 of this prophetic book of the Old Testament. Point 1 presents the historical background and the theological climate in which the individual songs were created. Deutero-Isaiah, the anonymous prophet who collected and edited the thoughts of the so-called Isaiah School, was active during the Babylonian captivity. He proclaimed the consolation of the nation and the gracious love of the only God who used the person of the Persian ruler, Cyrus II the Great, to save his chosen nation from captivity. With the times of captivity in mind, the Third Song of the Servant of the Lord was written, the detailed analysis of which is reflected in point 2. From it emerges an image of a servant chosen by God, whose intimate relationship with the Creator intertwines with unjust suffering. However, trust in God's help strengthens the Servant's commitment to the mission entrusted to him. In point 3, the biblical text is enriched by the Jewish tradition of the Aramaic translations, the so-called targumim. These translations were a necessary help for the nation, which after returning from captivity only spoke Aramaic. In addition to its translating function, targumim also served the purpose of interpreting the biblical text, introducing necessary explanations and clarifications, and their revision in rabbinical schools helped to maintain the Orthodox Jewish theology. In Jonathan's Targum, the Servant of the Lord is a prophet whose task is to teach the Torah to those who have departed from God's commandments. So it will be easier not only to theological study of one of the Old Testament texts, but also to get to know the mysterious Servant who in the prophetic word became the image and prototype of the incarnate Word – Jesus Christ.

Keywords:

Deutero-Isajah, Suffering Servant of the Lord, Targum Jonathan, Aramaic Bible