Isaiah 53: Before And After Rashi
Older voices
Rashi’s interpretation of Isaiah 53 which identifies the servant with the people of Israel has been very influential. It was followed for instance by the famous interpreters Ibn Ezra and Radak. But Rashi’s interpretation is not the only voice on Isaiah 53 within traditional Judaism.
Nor is Rashi’s interpretation representative of the oldest view. In fact, the identification of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 with Israel is entirely absent in rabbinic literature before Rashi. In Targum Jonathan and the midrashim the servant is rather identified as the Messiah.
Targum and Talmud
Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 52:13 renders “Behold my servant shall prosper” as “Behold my servant the Messiah shall prosper.”[1]
In a passage in Tractate Sanhedrin, the Talmud discusses the names of the Messiah. In that context Isaiah 53 is quoted. We read there:
And the Rabbis say: the leper[2] of the house of the Rabbi is his name, as it is stated “Indeed our illnesses he did bear and our pains he endured; yet we did esteem him injured, stricken by God and afflicted” (Sanhedrin 98b)[3].
Two examples from the Midrashim
In the Midrashim we find the same identification of the servant with Messiah. The first interesting example is from Midrash Tehillim. The Midrash comments here on the following messianic passage in Psalm 2:
As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you (Psalm 2:6-7).
The Midrash says about this decree concerning the Messiah:
I will tell of the decree. The L-RD said to me you are my son. They are told in the decree of the Torah and in the decrees of the prophets and the writings. In the decree of the Torah. It is written in the decree of the Torah “my son, my firstborn is Israel” (Exodus 4:22).[4]
It is written in the decree of the prophets: “Behold my servant shall prosper” (Isaiah 52:13) and it is also written “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my elect in whom my soul is delighted” (Isaiah 42:1).
In the decree of the writings it is written. “The L-RD said to my lord, sit at my right hand” (Psalm 110:1) and it is written “The L-RD said to me you are my son” (Psalm 2:7). And another scripture says: “And behold with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming” (Daniel 7:13). “The L-RD said you are my son.” Rabbi Yudan said all these consolations are in the decree of the King, the King of kings, to fulfill them for the king Messiah.[5]
Another interesting example is Midrash Ruth Rabba on Ruth 2:14: “Come here and eat of the bread and dip your morsel in the vinegar.”
The midrash says:
The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah.
– COME HERE: approach to the royal state.
– AND EAT OF THE BREAD refers to the bread of royalty;
– AND DIP YOUR MORSEL IN THE VINEGAR” refers to his sufferings, as it is said, “And he was pierced because of our transgressions” (Isa.53:5).[6]
Other examples of Midrashim which identify the servant of Isaiah 53 as the Messiah are Midrash Aseret Memrot, Midrash Tanhuma, Midrash Konen, Yalkut Shimoni, Yalkut Chadash, Midrash Samuel and Midrash Bereishit Rabbati.
After Rashi
As influential as Rashi has become, not all rabbis followed his interpretation. Maimonides (the Rambam) for instance understood the Servant of Isaiah 53 to be the Messiah, in agreement with what had been the standard view.[7]
And in the 16th century Rabbi Moshe Alseich said about Isaiah’s prophecy: “I may remark, then that our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of King Messiah, and we shall ourselves adhere to the same view.”[8]
Rashi’s Talmudic commentary
Was Alseich not aware of Rashi’s interpretation? Or did he have in mind that in Rashi’s commentary on the Talmud he endorsed the messianic interpretation of Isaiah?
In the Talmudic Tractate Sanhedrin we find an intriguing passage which says that the Messiah sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses (b. Sanhedrin 98a). Rashi comments on this passage, “He is even stricken himself as is written ‘And He was pierced because of our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5) and our sicknesses he carried’” (Isaiah 53:4)[9]
In the eyes of many, Rashi popularized the view that the Servant is Israel. But we see even he identified the Servant of Isaiah 53 with Messiah in his commentary on the Talmud.
[1] .הא יצלח עבדי משיחא
[2] The name “leper” comes from a very specific interpretation of the word “stricken,”נגוע , in Isaiah 53:4, which is interpreted as being stricken with leprosy.
[3]ורבנן אמרי חיוורא דבי שמו שנאמר ,ישעיה נג ד, אכן חליינו הוא נשא ומכאובינו סבלם ואנחנו חשבנוהו נגוע מוכה אלהים ומעונה
[4] The Midrash in this context clearly is talking about the Messiah. In an interesting way it quotes a verse about Israel but applies it to the Messiah. The thinking apparently is that if Israel is G-d’s firstborn son, how much more the Messiah. What this Midrash does is similar to what we find in Isaiah 49 where the Messiah is also given the title “Israel.” The Midrash also provides a very interesting parallel to the Gospel of Matthew. Mathew also takes a verse which speaks about Israel as G-d’s son and applies it to the Messiah as the ultimate Israel and ultimate son of G-d (Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:15).
[5] אספרה אל חק ה' אמר אלי בני אתה. מסופרין הן בחוקה של תורה, ובחוקה של נביאים, ובחוקה של
כתובים, כתוב בחוקה של תורה בני בכורי ישראל (שמות ד כב), וכתיב בחוקה של נביאים הנה ישכיל עבדי (ישעיה נב יג), וכתוב בתריה הן עבדי אתמך בו בחירי רצתה נפשי (שם מב א), וכתיב בחוקה של כתובים נאם ה' לאדוני שב לימיני (תהלים קי א), וכתיב ה' אמר אלי בני אתה, וכתיב אחר אומר וארו עם ענני שמיא כבר אנש אתה הוא (דניאל ז יג). ה' אמר אלי בני אתא. אמר ר' יודן כל הנחמות הללו בחוקו מלך מלכי מלכים הן לעשותן למלך המשיח...
(Midrash Tehillim, Vilna 1891 Solomon Buber edition).
[6] ,דבר אחר מדבר במלך המשיח 'גשי הלם' קרובי למלכות 'ואכלת מן הלחם' זה לחמה של מלכות 'וטבלת פתך בחומץ' אלו היסורין שנאמר
ישעיה נג ה, והוא מחלל מפשענו
(Midrash Rabbah Ruth, parasha 5).
[7] In his letter to Yemen.
[8] ואמרה בי הנה ז"ל פה אחד קיימו וקבלו כי על מלך המשיח ידבר ואחריהם ז"ל נמשוך...
Sefer Merot Hatzovot, Moshe Alseich (Brooklyn NY: Nechmod printing Corp., 1977) Vol. 1 p. 294
[9] .והוא נמי מנוגע דכתיב והוא מחולל מפשעינו וכתיב חליינו הוא נשא