Could the Jewish people (Israel as a nation) be the suffering servant of Isaiah 53?
Norman contends that “the Jewish people are the suffering servant of God” and that Isaiah 53 speaks of the nation of Israel.4 In support of this idea he suggests that: (1) ‘servant’ in chapters 41 – 52 of Isaiah refers exclusively to the Jews – “Isaiah identified the ‘servant’ as Jacob and Israel … the idea that the servant is the Jewish people in Chapters 41 through 49, and that Isaiah would suddenly turn the servant into the Messiah in Chapter 53 without warning defies logic.” 5 (2) the speakers (i.e. first person plural) in chapter 53 are the Gentile kings referred to in chapter 52 – “… the speakers through-out Chapter 53 are the Gentile kings introduced at the end of Chapter 52.” 6″Remember that in Chapter 53, the ‘we’ are these Gentiles and the ‘he’ is Israel (the Jewish People). 7 (3) God chose the Jewish people to be his servant nation. Response to point (1) As in the case of chapter 53, Norman ignores the fact that Jewish authorities have also applied several of the servant
