cheenc03a.pdf

SERVANT OF THE LORD
God, and a relation was established which might
a1,eo.t equ?lly well be called that of serva"tr' and of
sons lco , . z K. 167 Mai. 317, and note, with Mozlev, ,.
the
sense of ownerrhip which pervades Abraham's conduct
to lsaac in Gen.2"). To be advanced to a higher
degree of service, a worshipper of Yahw& mwt receive
from him some special mission. This could also be the
lot of a whole people. A time was doubtlesr coming
when all mankind would bccome the worshipping
servants of the true God ; bur there would still be one
people which was Yahwe's servant by election for a
special object (cp Is. 491.6). viz. Israel. In the olden
time, the people of Ism1 war God's servant only
through its highest representatives-patriiiihs (typically),
prophets, and the idealised David. But in the
poet-exilic age the noblest portions of the people
arsimiiafed more and more the elevating idea that
Israel itself was in the highest senre Yuhwe's servant.
See lsnln~
ii., 9 18 ; cp M~sslnx, 99 3 3
None of the passages containing the phrase '&d
Yabwi (Servant of Yahwh) presents any special difia,
Jer, 276 4314 culty except Jer. [259] 276 43 10, and
some of those in Ir. 40-55. There
parrages we have now to consider. (a) As to those in
Jer. relative to Xebuchadrezzar (the phmse in 259 has
been interpr~lated).~ there is of course nothine ~eculiar
in the idea that the movements of the great &Guerorr
known to the Israelites were fore-ordained by Yahw&
(cp 1s. lo5 f 15 3726) Thereir, however, somestrangenesr
in Nebuchadrezzar'r being called by Yahwe 'my
servant,' considering that whatever else the phrase
' Yahwe's servant' may mean in an" soecial -e, it
tuw 8!th ~~v~:r~~~l8t~rt~
vx.?;pt ?~.pac-:otly in ihcse p%$>age$
'f lrr . Y.?hrr r is ,rm.pzr it Ir j>o$.~lc fur nlodc:rni
1 . 1111 ,:.,:,I : ~ . , r ~ h 8" ZeL.t:;halrer&?:. ' but there rr
no evidence &at the lsraeiiles were ever tempted to do
so, and in particular that they ever Looked forward (cp
Ir.4536) to Nebucbadrezrar'r becoming a convinced
wornhipper of Yahwk; indeed, the narratives of Daniel
and of Judith appear to make thir king a symbol of
the opponent of the God of the Jews, Antiochw
Epiphaner. Besides thin, it is probable that when Jer.
27 (in its present form) and 43 were written, the title
'my servant' was already a standing appendage to
'Irrael' (cp Jer. 30x0 46qj). Are we prepared to
reconcile the double assignment of this title to Nebuchadrezzar
and to Irrael bv the assumotion of Duhm that
the title 'my servant' was conferred, according to
Hebrew thinkers. on Nebuchadrerzar for the period
during which Israel's claim to be Yahwe's earthly representative
war in abeyance? There surely . oueht - to be
some more satirfyingtheo~~ than this.'
(6) As regards the passages, Ezek. 28.5 37.55 Jer.
30x0 4617 11.418 42rofi . 43.0 441 f: 21 451 4810.
3, aEnate there is no doubt &at the ti& ,my
pasasgea in servant ' is here applied to Ule pople
E8ek, Jer, of Ism1 (Is. 418 4421) or-the rynony-
Pnd II,)Isai& mous term -Jacob (Ezek. Jer. Is.
441 f 454 48s). It is also plain
from the pasrages in Is. 40-55 that the title suggested
this idea-that Israel was not only devoted to the
worship of Yahwh, but also 'chosen' by God to receive
certain uoiaue marks of favour 111 ,.. ~ ..-
m Is.43- . 45n'
.called' .formed,' 'made' are also used), beginning
with the deliverance froin Egypt and the journey under
divine guidance into Canaan and closing with the
1 On the ure of Obed or Ebed in Hebrew, and 'AM in
Arabic in the formation of proper names, cp N*MBS, * 37;
we. Held.,? 2 s
1 See Gierebrecht'r commentary.
8 See Rascri, BdyZanirr rrnd Arsyrin, Zj5, fl: Che.
opr. 280.
6 See C;f. Bid. on Jer. 21 s.
fi In the same paisage occur5 the phrare .my senrant David'
(i.r., thc first of a new line of Dzwid~c ruler$, ar 8413).
8 SO in 659 15 21 'I'"? is a synonym for ??? Cp Sellin,
Studir" iur Entrt.-gasch. dju. Gemrindr, 181.
4399
SERVANT OF THE LORD
deliverance from Babylon (?) and the wonderful events
which were to foliuw. Uid the title also suggest the
idea of a mission entrusted to Israel? It is true that in
41 11-16 Israel is described as a conqueror ; that in 443-5
it is promised that Vahwk'r spirit (ni6h) shall be poured
out upon Israel's offspring, and that even foreigners
shall aspire to kome adopted members of Israel, also
that in 43roj the servants of Yahwh whom he has
chosen (read y y ) are called upon to act a3 witnesses to
the prophetic veracity of their God. But these stntementr
can only be said to contain germs which might
develop into the idea of Israel's mission ; upon the
whole the Israel of these passages (and of the cognate
ones in Ezek. and Jer.) has to rnanifest YahwCs gloly
(cp Is. 437) rather by being than by doing, and to receive
God's blessing for itself rather than to make them
fruitful for other peoples, though certainly the thrr
pmapes. 41x1-16 43101: and 443-5, if read in the light
of other passages, seem to suggest that a second stage
in Israel's renewed life may be preparing, characterised
by earnest activity and the exercise of moral influence.
Israel, then, as it parses out of the furnace of
captivity, receives honourable titlei from its God. We
must not, however, exaggerate the merits of the bearers
of these high titles. Israel is highly favoured ; but the
description of Israel in Is. 40-55 is by no means
nltogether idealistic. First, as regards the part. It
will be necessary to leave out of account the strong
and also the stern, danlnatory clauses of chap. 48.
inasmuch as all there are certainly later interpolations.
and are therefore oniy interesting for the history of the
expansion of the prophetic writing. But we may and
must refer to 40s 522+f: 4333.28 476 501 511), a3
implying grievous failures on the part of Israel. In
fact, the prophet of consolation could only carry out his
object by making the calamities of Israel intelligiblei.e.,
by reminding Ismel of i& earlier infidelity towards
ie righteous God.
Nor is this description idealistic as regards the present.
According to the Second Isaiah, it is weakness of faith
that is Israel's chief fault, and since faith is the stretchedout
hand which receives God's blessings, it is necessary
for the heralds of deliverance to arouse men out of the
torpor of despondency by rebuking their dirtiust of
God. To Israel at large 'it seemed ar if Yahwk'r
recent action had been aimless, as if he had begun by
spending g ~ pains t on the education of Israel, and
then forgotten Israel's right to protection (4027 4914
6'31~-14). and as if the source either of Yahwk'r compassion
or of his heroic deeds had been dried up, ro
that he tamely .,gave his glory to another god" (428
481. 6315):' Kindly and persuasive inrtructionr were
therefore essential to prrpnre the exiled Israelites for
their iiigh destiny. Idealism was pernlisrible in pictures
of future salvation, but not in descriptions of the state
of Yahwcs people either in the past or in the prerent.
It may be doubted, however, whether such kindly
persuasiveness would have been consistent with calling
the whole body of ailed Israelites 'blind' and ' deat '
The commentators reem here to have fallen into error.
They tell ur that the words (42.8-n. RV).-
'Hear, ye deaf' and look. ye blind, that ye may isc. Who
is blind, but my skrvant? or deaf, as my merwnger that I rend?
who is blind as he thzt fir nt peace [with me] and blind ar the
~onl.3 rennnt? ~hou seest many things, dur thou ohsenen
not: his ears are opn, but he hearah nor;-
refer to the Israelites, whom Yahwh reproaches for their
spiritual insensibility (chap. 2918). And thir is
supposed to be confirmed by 438, where we read
(EV).-
Bring forth the blind people that have ep., md the deafthat
have ears.-