CHAPTER LI. 1-16.

Ver. 1. "_And I put my words in thy mouth, and cover thee in the shadow of mine hand, that thou mayest plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth, and say unto Zion: Thou art my people._"

The discourse in chap. li. to lii. 12 is not addressed to the whole of Israel, but to the _election_. They are, in chap. li. 1, called those that follow after righteousness, that seek the Lord; in ver. 7, those who know righteousness, in whose heart is the law of the Lord. These the Prophet seeks to comfort and strengthen by pointing to the future glorious mercies of the Lord.

The Section chap. li. 4-8 comforts the elect by the coming of the salvation, by the dominion of the people of God over the whole world; points to the foundation of these successes, viz., the eternity of the salvation and righteousness for the Church; and exhorts them that, having this eternal salvation before them, they might patiently bear the temporal reproach of the world given over to destruction.

In vers. 9-11, the Church calls upon the Lord to do as He had promised; and this prayer, founded upon His almighty love, which in times past had so gloriously manifested itself, passes over, at the close, into hope and confidence.

In vers. 12-16 follows the answer of the Lord, who exhorts the Church to be stedfast, by reminding her that her opponents are weak mortals, while the omnipotent God is her protector; and announces that, with the same omnipotence which He manifests in nature, He would soon bring about her deliverance, [Pg 258] and that Ho would do so by His Servant, in whom all His promises should be Yea and Amen, and whom at the close Ho addresses, committing to Him the work of redemption. According to the current opinion, the discourse in ver. 16 is addressed to the people. But, in that case, we must also make up our minds to view the Infinitive with [Hebrew: l] a Gerund, "planting," or "by planting,"--a supposition which is beset with great difficulties. It was only by an inconsistency that _Stier_, who, in chap. xlix. rejects this view, could here agree to it. And, farther, it is obvious that the words at the close: "Thou art my people," are the _words_ which, according to the commencement of the verse, are put into the mouth of the speaker, and that hence, the planting of heaven and earth, which prepares for this speaking, belongs to Him. If this be not supposed, one does not at all see to what the: "I put my words in thy mouth," is to refer. What farther militates against this explanation is the unmistakable relation of the passage before us to chaps. xlix., l., which it is impossible to refer to the people. The same reason is also against the supposition of _Gesenius_ and _Umbreit_, that the discourse is addressed to the prophetical order. Nor is it defensible to explain: "to plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth," by: to establish the new state of Israel. To these arguments it may be added that, according to this explanation, the words: "Thou art my people," are unsuitable; for Israel was not the people of the Prophet, but the people of God and of His Servant. The discourse is addressed rather to the Messiah, compare the parallel passages, chap. xlix., especially ver. 2, and chap. l., especially vers. 4 and 5. Considering the dramatic character of the whole section, the change of the person addressed is a circumstance of very little importance; and chap. lix. 21, where the word of God is put into the mouth of Jacob, is parallel in appearance only. Even _a priori_ we could not expect that, in this context, treating, as it does, of the personal Messiah, the whole section, chap. li. 1 to lii. 12, should lack all reference to the Messiah. By the words: "I put my word in thy mouth," the Messiah is appointed to be, in the highest sense, the speaker of God; the realization of the divine counsels is committed to Him. For the fact that it is not mere words which are here treated of, but such as are living [Pg 259] and powerful, like those which God spoke at the creation, becomes evident by the circumstance that the planting of heaven and earth is attributed to the Servant of God as bearer of His words,--a thing which cannot be done by the ordinary word; comp. Isa. xl. 4, according to which the Messiah smites the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slays the wicked with the breath of His lips.--_I cover thee in the shadow of mine hand_, designates the divine protection and providence which are indispensable in order that the Servant of God may fulfil His vocation to be God's speaker. The words form an accessory thought only: I appoint thee my speaker whom, as such, I will keep and protect in order that thou, etc.;--for that which follows is that which the Servant of God is to _perform_ as His Speaker. By the word of Omnipotence committed to Him, He plants a new heaven, and lays the foundation of a new earth, and invests Zion with the dignity of the people of God.--To plant the heaven and lay the foundation of the earth, is equivalent to founding a _new_ heaven, a _new_ earth; comp. chaps. lxv. 17, lxvi. 22; Rev. xxii. For, as long as the old heaven and the old earth exist, a planting and founding activity cannot take place in reference to heaven and earth. All that is created, in so far as it opposes the Kingdom of God, is unfit for being an abode of the glorified Kingdom of God, and must be shaken and broken to pieces, in order that this Kingdom may enter into its natural conditions, and find a worthy abode. The activity of God and His Servant, necessary for this purpose, will most completely take place at the end of days, at the [Greek: palingenesia] announced by the Lord, Matt. xix. 28; compare what is said in chap. xi., in reference to the entire change of the conditions of the earth. But in a preparatory manner, this activity pervades all history. The heaven, according to the _usus loquendi_ of Scripture, and also of Isaiah, is not only the natural heaven, but also the heaven of princes, the whole order of rulers and magistrates, (comp. my remarks on Rev. vi. 13), whose form and relation to the Kingdom of God underwent a great change, even at the first appearance of Christ.--The _saying_, according to the preceding: That thou mayest plant, &c., is not to be referred to the mere announcing; but, according to the frequent _usus loquendi_, it includes the performing also, just as _e.g._, in ver. 12, the [Pg 260] comforting is effected by a discourse _in deeds_. The distinction between, and separation of word and deed belongs to human weakness. God speaks and it is done; and what holds true of His word, applies also to the word of His Servant, which he has put into His mouth.

CHAPTERS LII. 13-LIII. 12.

This section forms the climax of the prophecies of Isaiah, of prophetism in general, of the whole Old Testament, as appears even from the circumstance that the Lord and His Apostles refer to no part of the Old Testament so frequently and so emphatically as to this,--a section which, according to _Luther's_ demand, every Christian should have committed _verbatim_. Christ is here, with wonderful clearness, described to us in His highest work--His atoning suffering.

In vers. 13-15 of chap. lii. Jehovah speaks. These verses contain a short summary of what is enlarged upon in chap. liii. The very deepest humiliation of the Servant of God shall be followed by His highest glorification. In consequence of the salvation wrought out and accomplished by Him, the nations of the earth and their kings shall reverently submit to Him. In chap. liii. 1-10, the Prophet utters the sentiments of the _elect_ in Israel. At first, in His humiliation, they had not recognized the Redeemer; but now they acknowledged Him as their Redeemer and Saviour, and saw that He had taken upon Him His sufferings for our salvation, and that they had a vicarious character. The commencement forms, in ver. 1, the lamentation that so many do not believe in the report of the Servant of God, that so many do not behold the glory of God manifested in Him. In vers. 2 and 3, we have the cause of this fact, viz., the appearance of the Divine, in the form of a Servant--the offence of the cross. In lowliness, without any outward splendour, the Servant of God shall go about. Sufferings, heavier than ever befel any man, shall be inflicted upon Him. In vers. 4-6, the vicarious import of these sufferings is pointed out. The people, seeing his sufferings, [Pg 261] and not knowing the cause of them, imagined that they were the well-merited punishment of His own transgressions and iniquities. But the Church, now brought to believe in Him, see that they were wrong in imagining thus. It was not His own transgressions and iniquities which were punished in Him, but ours. His sufferings were voluntarily undergone by Him, and for the salvation of mankind, which else would have been given up to destruction. God himself was anxious to re-unite to himself those who were separated from Him, and who walked in their own ways. To the vicarious import of the sufferings of the Servant of God corresponds, according to ver. 7, His conduct: He suffers quietly and patiently. In vers. 8-10 we have the reward which the Servant of God receives for His passive obedience. God takes Him to himself, and He receives an unspeakably great generation, ver. 8, the ominous burial with the rich, ver. 9, numerous seed and long life, and that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand; ver. 10. In vers. 11 and 12, the Lord again appears as speaking, and confirms that which has been declared by the faithful Church.

The two verses of the close, together with the exordium, chap. lii. 13-15, occupy five verses--five being the signature of the half and incomplete. The main body, ten verses, is divided into seven referring to the humiliation and suffering, and three referring to the exaltation of the Servant of God. The seven are, as usual, divided into three and four. In the three verses, the suffering of the Servant of God is exhibited; in the four, its cause and vicarious import.

By the "_Behold_," with which the prophecy opens, the Prophet intimates that we have here before us a vision beheld by him in the spirit. As the period in which the Prophet beholds the vision, we have to suppose the time between the suffering and the glorification of the Servant of God. The glorification is described chiefly by Futures, the suffering by Preterites; but, from the fact that this stand-point is not strictly adhered to, it is evident that we have to do with a stand-point which is purely ideal.

The section forms, in a formal and material point of view, a whole by itself; but, notwithstanding its absolute independence, it must stand in a certain connection with what precedes and what follows. Let us, therefore, now consider the relation [Pg 262] in which it stands to the portions surrounding it. Its relation to what goes before is thus strikingly designated by _Calvin_: "After Isaiah had spoken of the restoration of the Church, he passes over to Christ, in whom all things are gathered together. He speaks of the prosperous success of the Church, at a time when it was least to be expected, which calls them back to their King, by whom all things are to be restored, and exhorts them to expect Him." The preceding section begins with chap. li. 1. We have already stated the contents up to li. 16. Vers. 17-23 are closely connected with the preceding, in which salvation and mercy were announced to the Church of God. This announcement is here continued in new forms. Chap. lii. 1-6: As the Lord had formerly delivered His people out of the hand of Egypt and Asshur, so, now too, He will deliver them. Zion appears under the image of a woman imprisoned, fettered, lying powerlessly in a miserable garment, on a dirty floor, and is called upon to arise, to strengthen herself, to throw off her bands, to put on festive garments, inasmuch as the time of her deliverance from the misery is at hand. Vers. 7-10: In the last words of ver. 6, the Lord had announced that He was already at hand for the redemption of His Church. This salvation now presents itself vividly to the spiritual eye of the Prophet, and is graphically described by him. He beholds a messenger hastening with the glad tidings to Jerusalem; _watchmen_, who are standing on the ruins of Jerusalem in longing expectation, discover him at a distance, and exultingly call upon the ruins to shout aloud for joy.[1] "How beautiful"--so verse 7 runs--"upon the mountains the feet of the Messenger of joy, that announceth peace, that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth." In Rom. x. 15, the Apostle refers this passage to the preaching of the Gospel. That is more than mere application; it is real explanation. The deliverance from Babylon is only the first faint beginning of the salvation, which the Prophet has before his eye in its [Pg 263] whole extent. As the substance of the salvation, the circumstance that Zion's God reigneth, is intimated. There is, in this, an allusion to the formula which was used in proclaiming the ascension of earthly kings to the throne. Even this allusion shows that the point here in question is not the continuous government of the Lord, but a new, glorious manifestation of His government, as it were a new ascension to the throne. This "the Lord reigneth," found a faint beginning only of its confirmation and fulfilment in the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of Israel; but as to its full import, it is Messianic. In Christ, the Lord has truly assumed the government, and will still more gloriously reign in future.--Ver. 8: "The _voice_ of thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, they shout together; for they see eye to eye that the Lord returneth to Zion." The watchmen are ideal persons, representatives of the truth that the Lord is around His people, and that the circumstances of His Church are to Him a constant call to help; or they may be viewed as the holy angels who, as the servants of the watchmen of Israel, form the protecting power for the Church. These watchmen continue to stand even on the destroyed walls; for, even in her misery, the Lord is Zion's God. The anxious waiting eye of the watchmen, and the mercy-beaming eye of God returning to Zion meet one another. The returning here is opposed to the forsaking, over which Zion had lamented in chap. xlix. 14. Instead of the concealed presence of the Lord during the misery, which, to the feeling, so easily appears as entire absence, there comes the presence of God manifested in the salvation. This return of the Lord to Zion truly took place in Christ only, Luke i. 68.--Ver. 9: "Break forth into joy, shout together, ye ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord comforteth Jerusalem, redeemeth His people." This call goes far beyond the time of the restoration of Jerusalem after the exile; for, even at that time, the spiritual eye still beheld ruins, where the bodily eye saw firm, walled buildings. The condition of the Kingdom of God was still miserable, the eye of the faithful remained still fixed, with hopes and longings, upon the Future which was to bring, and has brought, _true_ comfort and consolation.--Ver. 10: "The Lord maketh bare His Holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God." The making bare of the arm of the Lord designates the manifestation, by deeds, of [Pg 264] the divine power and glory, such as took place by the sending of Christ, and by the wonderful elevation of the Church over the world,--an elevation which has it roots in Him; comp. chap. liii. 1. In vers. 11 and 12 there is still the exhortation to the Church of the Lord that, by true repentance, she should worthily prepare for the impending salvation.

After the Prophet has, in chap. li. 1 to lii. 12, described the transition of the Church of God from humiliation and sorrow to glorification, it is quite natural that he should now turn from the members to the Head, through whose mediation this transition was to be accomplished, after the same contrast had been exhibited in Himself There is the most intimate connection between the Church of God and His Servant; for, all that He does and suffers. He does and suffers for her; and all that befals her is prefigured by the way in which He has been led by the Lord.

With what follows, too, the section before us stands in a close relation. The glorification of the Servant of God described at the close of chap. liii., is, in Him, bestowed at the same time, upon the Church. Thus chap. liv., in which the Church is comforted by pointing to her future glorification, is connected with the preceding. The Church of the Lord appears here as a woman who, after having been put away by her husband, and after having, for a long time, lived in a childless, sorrowful solitude, is again received by him, and sees herself surrounded by numerous children. The time of punishment is now at an end, and the time of mercy is breaking.

Chap. lii. 13. "_Behold, my Servant shall act wisely, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high._"

[Hebrew: hwkil] always means "to act wisely" (LXX. [Greek: sunêsei]; _Aquil. Sym._: [Greek: episthêmonisthêsetai]), never "to be successful" (the Chaldean, whom most of the modern interpreters follow, renders it by [Hebrew: iclH]), and this ascertained sense (comp. Remarks on Jer. iii. 15; xxiii. 5, where the verb is used of the Messiah, just as it is here), must here be maintained so much the more, that our passage evidently refers to David, the former servant of God. Of him it is said in 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15: "And David was acting wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. And Saul saw that he was acting very wisely, and was afraid of him;" comp. 1 Kings ii. 3, where David says to Solomon: "And keep the charge of the Lord thy God ... in order [Pg 265] that thou mayest act wisely in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;" Ps. ci. 2, where David, speaking in the name of his family, says: "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way;" and 2 Kings xviii. 7, where it is said of Hezekiah: "And the Lord was with him, and whithersoever he went forth, he acted wisely." According to these fundamental and parallel passages, the expression, "He shall act wisely" refers to the administration of government, and is equivalent to: He shall rule wisely like his ancestor David. _Stier_ is wrong in opposing the view, that the Messiah here presents himself as King. He says: "The King has here stepped behind the Prophet, Witness, Martyr, Saviour;" but in chap. liii. 12, the royal office surely comes out with sufficient distinctness. We must never forget that the different offices of Christ are intimately connected with one another by the unity of the person. The _prosperity and success_ which the Servant of God enjoys, are first brought before us and detailed in what follows; and appear, just as in the fundamental passages quoted, as the consequence of acting wisely: "My Servant shall, after having, through the deepest humiliation, attained to dominion, administer it well, and thereby attain to the highest glory." To the words: "He shall act wisely" correspond, afterwards, the words: "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper by His hand," chap. liii. 10. The fact that a person acts wisely is, in a twofold aspect, a fruit of his connection with God: _first_, because God is the source and fountain of all wisdom, and, _secondly_, because from God the blessing proceeds which always accompanies his doings. The ungodly is by God involved in circumstances which, notwithstanding all his wisdom, make him appear as a fool. Compare only chap. xix. 11: "The princes of Zoan become fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish; how can ye say unto Pharaoh: a son of the wise am I, a (spiritual) son of the (wise) kings of ancient times?" comp. ver. 13; Job xii. 17, 20; Eccles. ix. 11. In the second clause the Prophet puts together the verbs which denote elevation, and still adds [Hebrew: mad] "very" in order most emphatically to point out the glory of the exaltation of the Servant of God.

Ver. 14. "_As many were shocked at thee--so marred from man was His look, and His form from the sons of man_--Ver. 15. _So shall He sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their_ [Pg 266] _mouths on account of Him, for they who had not been told, they see, and they who did not hear, they perceive._"

Ver. 14 contains the _protasis_, ver. 15 the _apodosis_. The former describes the deep humiliation, the latter the highest glorification of the Servant of God. The _so_ in ver. 14 begins a parenthesis, in which the reason why many were shocked is stated, and which goes on to the end of the verse. In keeping with the dramatic character of the prophetic discourse, the Lord addresses His Servant in ver. 14: "At thee;" while, in ver. 15, He speaks of Him in the third person: "He shall sprinkle;" "on account of _Him_" This change has been occasioned by the parenthetical clause which contains a remark of the Prophet, and in which, therefore, the Servant of God could not but be spoken of in the third person. _Hävernick_ and _Stier_ refuse to admit the existence of a parenthesis. Their reasons: "Parentheses are commonly an ill-invented expedient only," and: "It is not likely that the same particle should have a different signification in these two clauses following immediately the one upon the other," are not entirely destitute of force, but are far-outweighed by counter-arguments. They say that the _apodosis_ begins with the first [Hebrew: kN], and that in ver. 15 a second _apodosis_ follows. But no tolerable thought comes out in this way;--it is hard to co-ordinate two _apodoses_,--and the transition from the 2d to the 3d person remains unaccounted for. [Hebrew: wmM] "to be desolated" is then transferred to the spiritual desolation and devastation, and receives the signification "to be horrified," "to be shocked."--Who the many are that are shocked and offended at the miserable appearance of the Servant of God, appears from chap. xlix. 4, according to which the opposition to the Servant of God has its seat among the covenant people; farther, from the contrast in ver. 15 of the chapter before us, according to which the respectful surrender belongs to the _Gentiles_; and farther, from chap. liii. 1, where the unbelief of the former covenant-people is complained of; from vers. 2-4, where even the believers from among Israel complain that they had had difficulty in surmounting the offence of the Cross. [Hebrew: mwHt], properly "corruption," stands here as _abstractum pro concreto_, in the signification, "corrupted," "marred." As to its form, it is in the _status constructus_ which, in close connections, can stand even [Pg 267] before Prepositions. From the corresponding [Hebrew: Hdl aiwiM] in chap. liii. 3, it appears that the Preposition stands here only for the sake of distinctness, and might as well have been omitted. The [Hebrew: mN] serves for designating the distance, "from man," "from the sons of men," so that He is no more a man, does no more belong to the number of the sons of men. The correctness of this explanation appears from chap. liii. 3, and Ps. xxii. 7: "I am a worm and no man." As regards the sense of the whole parenthesis, many interpreters remark, that we must not stop at the bodily disfiguration of the Servant of God, but that the expression must, at the same time, be understood figuratively. Thus, Luther says: "The Prophet does not speak of the form of Christ as to His person, but of the political and royal form of a Ruler, who is to become an earthly King, and does not appear in royal form, but as the meanest of all servants; so that no more despised man than He has been seen in the world." But the Prophet evidently speaks, in the first instance, of the bodily appearance only; and we can the less think of a figurative sense, that bodily disfiguration forms the climax of misery, and that, in this _part_, the _whole_ of the miserable condition is delineated. Even the severe inward sufferings are a matter of course, if the outward ones have risen to such a pitch. How both of these go hand in hand is seen from Ps. xxii. These interpreters are, farther, wrong in this respect, that they refer the pretended figurative expression solely to the lowliness and humility of the Messiah, and not, at the same time, to His _sufferings_ also. Thus, among the ancient interpreters, it was viewed by _Jerome_: "The horrid appearance of His form is not thereby indicated, but that He came in humility and poverty;" and among recent interpreters by _Martini_: "The sense of the passage does not properly refer to the deformity of the face, but to the whole external weak, poor, and humble condition." But, for that, the expression is by far too strong. Mere lowliness is no object of horror (comp. 1 Cor. i. 23, according to which it is the _Cross_ which offends the Jews); it does not produce a deformity of the countenance; it cannot produce the effect that the Servant of God should, as it were, cease to be a man. All this suggests an unspeakable _suffering_ of the Servant of God, and that, moreover, a suffering which, in the first instance, [Pg 268] manifested itself upon His own holy body. _Farther_--We must also take into consideration that the _sprinkling_, in ver. 15, has for its background the shedding of blood, and is the fruit of it, at first concealed. If any doubt should yet remain, it would be removed by the subsequent detailed representation of that which is here given in outline merely. The sole reason of that narrow view is, that interpreters did not understand the fundamental relation of the section under consideration to the subsequent section; that they did not perceive that, here, we have in a complete sketch what there is given in detail and expansion.--Ver. 15. The verb [Hebrew: nzh] occurs in very many passages, and signifies in _Hiphil_, everywhere, "to sprinkle." It is especially set apart and used for the sprinkling with the blood of atonement, and the water of purification. When "the anointed priest" had sinned, he took of the blood of the _sacrifice_, and _sprinkled_ it before the vail of the sanctuary, Lev. iv. 6; comp. v. 16, 17. The high priest had, every year, on the great day of atonement, to sprinkle the _blood_ before the Ark of the Covenant, in order to obtain forgiveness for the people. Lev. xvi. 14, comp. also vers. 18, 19: "And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it (the altar) with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel." In the same manner the verb is used of the sprinkling of blood upon the healed leper, Lev. xiv. 7, and frequently. According to Numb. xix. 19, the _clean_ person shall _sprinkle_ upon the unclean, on the third day, and on the seventh day, "with the water in which are the ashes of the red heifer" when any one has become unclean by touching a dead body. The outward material purification frequently serves in the Old Testament to denote the spiritual purification. Thus, _e.g._, in Ps. i. 9: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;" Ezek. xxxvi. 25: "And I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness." In all those passages there lies, everywhere, at the foundation an allusion to the Levitical purifications (the two last quoted especially refer to Numb. xix.); and this allusion is by no means so to be understood, as if he who makes the allusion were drawing the material into the spiritual sphere. On the contrary, he uses as a figure that which is, in the law, used symbolically. All the laws of purification in the Pentateuch [Pg 269] have a symbolical and typical character. That which was done to the outward impurity was, in point of fact, done to the _sin_ which the people of the Old Testament, well versed in the symbolical language, beheld under its image. Hence, here also, the _sprinkling_ has the signification of _cleansing_ from sin. The expression indicates that Christ is the true High Priest, to whom the ordinary priesthood with its sprinklings typically pointed. The expression is a summary of that which, in the following chapter, we are told regarding the expiation through the suffering and death of the Servant of God. The words: "When His soul maketh a sin-offering," in ver. 10, and: "He shall justify," in ver. 11, correspond. Among the ancient expositors, this translation is followed by the Syriac and Vulgate, the _asperget_ of which _Jerome_ thus explains: "He shall sprinkle many nations, cleansing them by His blood, and in baptism consecrating them to the service of God." In the New Testament, it is alluded to in several passages. Thus, in 1 Pet. i. 2, where the Apostle speaks of the [Greek: rhantismos haimatos Iêsou Christou]. Farther, in Heb. x. 22: [Greek: erhrantismenoi tas kardias apo suneidêseôs ponêras]; xii. 24: [Greek: kai haimati rhantismou kreitton lalounti para ton Abel], and also in chap. ix. 13, 14. Among Christian interpreters, this view was always the prevailing one, was indeed the view held by the Church. _Schröder observ. ad origin. Hebr._ c. viii. § 10, raised some objections which were eagerly laid hold of, and increased by the rationalistic interpreters. Even some sound orthodox expositors allowed themselves to be thereby dazzled. _Stier_ declares "that, for this time, he must take the part of modern Exegesis against the prevailing tradition of the Church." Yet his disrelish for the doctrine of the atonement held by the Church has no doubt exercised a considerable influence in this matter; and _Hofmann_, too, in so decidedly rejecting this explanation, which rests on such strong arguments, and is not touched by any weighty counter-arguments, seems not to have been guided by exegetical reasons only. But let us submit these objections to a closer examination. 1. "The verb ought not to be construed with the Accusative of the thing to be sprinkled, but with [Hebrew: el]." _Reinke_ (in his Monograph on Is. liii.) brings forward, against this objection, the passage Lev. iv. 16, 17; but he is wrong in this, inasmuch as [Hebrew: at] is there not the [Pg 270] sign of the Accusative, but a Preposition. [Hebrew: at pni] in the signification "before," is, elsewhere also, very frequently used. But even _Gesenius_ is compelled to agree with _Simonis_.[2] and to acknowledge that, in the proper name [Hebrew: izih] the verb is connected with an Accusative. The deviation is there still greater, inasmuch as the _Kal_ is, at the same time, used transitively. But even apart from that, such a deviation cannot appear strange. It has an analogy in chap. liii. 11, where [Hebrew: hcdiq], which everywhere else is construed with the Accusative, is followed by [Hebrew: l]; and likewise in [Hebrew: rpa], followed by [Hebrew: l] in chap. liii. 5. The signification of the verb, in such cases, undergoes a slight modification. [Hebrew: hzh] with [Hebrew: el] means "to sprinkle;" with the Accusative, "to sprinkle upon." This modification of the meaning has the analogy of other languages in its favour. In the Ethiopic, the verb [Hebrew: nzH], which corresponds to the Hebrew [Hebrew: nzh], is used of the sprinkling of both persons and things; Heb. ix. 19, xi. 28; Ps. li. 9. In Latin, we may say: _spargere aquam_, but also _spargere corpus aqua_; _aspergere quid alicui_, but also _re aliquem_, _conspergere_, _perspergere_, _respergere quem_. "Why should not this be allowed to the Jews also,"--remarks _Köcher_--"who have to make up for the defect of compound verbs by the varied use of simple verbs?" But the Prophet had a special reason, in the liberty specially afforded by the higher style, for deviating from the ordinary connection. The [Hebrew: el] had to be avoided, because, had it been put, the perception of the correspondence of the subsequent [Hebrew: eliv] with the [Hebrew: eliK], in ver. 14, would have become more difficult.--2. It is asserted that it is against the connection; that the contrast to [Hebrew: mwM] induces us to expect something corresponding. _Beck_ says: "A change in those who formerly abhorred the Servant is to be expressed here, not _a deed by the Servant himself_." If there were here, indeed, a contrast intended to the many who formerly were shocked, we might answer that, indirectly, the words: "He shall sprinkle," suggest, indeed, an opposite conduct of the "many Gentiles." No one is cleansed by the Servant of God, who does not allow himself to be cleansed by [Pg 271] Him. But no one will desire to be cleansed by Him, who does not put his whole trust in Him, who does not recognize Him as his King and Lord. To the contempt and horror with which the Jews shrink back from the Messiah in His humiliation, would thus be opposed the faithful, humble confidence, with which the heathens draw near to the glorified Messiah. But the fact that the real contrast to the [Hebrew: wmmv] is not [Hebrew: izh], but rather [Hebrew: iqpcv], is clearly shown by [Hebrew: eliv], which corresponds with [Hebrew: eliK]. The [Hebrew: izh] corresponds rather to: "He was disfigured." Just as this states the cause of their being shocked, so in: "He shall sprinkle," the cause of the shutting of the mouth is stated. This is also seen from a comparison of chap. liii. 3, 4. His sufferings appeared formerly as the proof that He was hated by God. Now that the vicarious value of His suffering manifests itself, it becomes the reason of humble, respectful submission. Just as, formerly, many were shocked at Him, because he was so disfigured, so, now, even kings shall shut their mouth at Him on account of His atonement. Moreover, one does not exactly see how this reason could be brought forward, as, in a formal point of view, there is, at all events, "a deed by the Servant himself" before us, in whatever way we may view the [Hebrew: izh].--3. "If _sprinkling_ were meant to be equivalent to cleansing by blood, the matter of purification could not be omitted. If it were objected to this, that the noun 'blood' might easily be supplied from the verb's being ordinarily used of cleansing with blood, the objection would be of no weight, inasmuch as sprinkling was done not only with blood, but also with water and oil." But the sprinkling with _oil_, denoting sanctification, appears only quite isolated, and has for its foundation the sprinkling with blood, comp. Exod. xxix. 21: "And thou shalt take of the blood which is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and he shall be hallowed." The sprinkling with _water_ has likewise the shedding of blood for its foundation. It was done with such water only, as had in it the ashes of the sin-offering of the red heifer. But the Prophet has certainly on purpose made no express mention of the blood, because that water, too, should be included. This fact, that the sprinkling here comprehends both, was perceived by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. ix. 13, 14: [Greek: ei gar to haima] [Pg 272] [Greek: taurôn kai tragôn kai spodos damaleôs rhantizousa tous kekoinômenous hagiazei pros tên tês sarkos katharotêta. mallon to haima tou Christou ... kathariei tên suneidêsin hêmôn apo nekrôn ergôn eis to latreuein Theô zônti.] The defilement by dead bodies, against which the water of purification was specially used, is the most significant symbol of sinners and sins.--4. "It is, in general, not probable that the Servant of God, who farther down is described as a sacrificial beast (!),--who, by taking upon Himself the sins of His people, dies for them, should here appear as the High Priest justifying them." Thus _Umbreit_ argues. But in opposition to this view, it is sufficient to refer to: "He shall justify," in chap. liii. 11, which is parallel to "He shall sprinkle." That which, in the typical sacrifices, is separated, is, in the antitypical, most closely connected. Even at the very first beginnings of sacred history, it was established for all times, that the difference between him who offers up, and that which is offered up, should not go beyond the territory of animal sacrifice. But there is the less ground for setting aside the reference to the priestly office of the Messiah, that, even before Isaiah, David, in Ps. cx. 4, designates Christ as the true High Priest on account of the atonement to be made by Him; and, after Isaiah, Zechariah says in chap. vi. 13: "And He sitteth and ruleth upon the throne, and He is a Priest upon His throne."--It has now become current to derive [Hebrew: izh] from [Hebrew: nzh] in the signification "to leap"--"He shall cause to leap. This explanation made its appearance at first in a very cautious way." _Martini_ says: "I myself feel how very far from a right and sure interpretation that is, which I am now, but very timidly, to advance, regarding the sense of the received reading [Hebrew: izh]." By and by, however, expositors hardened themselves against the decisive objections which stand in the way of it. These objections are the following. 1. The Hebrew _usus loquendi_ is in [Hebrew: nzh] so sure, that we are not entitled to take the explanation from the Arabic. The verb is, in Hebrew, never used except of _fluids_. In _Kal_, it does not mean "to leap," but "to spatter," Lev. vi. 20 (27): "And upon whose garment is _spattered_ of the blood;" 2 Kings ix. 33; Is. lxiii. 5. In _Hiphil_, it is set apart and used exclusively for the holy sprinklings; and the more frequently it occurs in this signification, the less are we at liberty to deviate from it. 2. "He shall make to leap" would be far too indefinite,--a circumstance [Pg 273] which appears from the vague and arbitrary conjectures of the supporters of this view. _Gesenius_, in his Commentary, _Stier_, and others, think of a leaping for joy, in support of which they have quoted the _Kamus_, according to which the verb is used of wanton asses! According to _Gesenius_ in the _Thesaurus_, _Hofmann_, and others, the Gentiles are to leap up, in order to show their _reverence_ for the Servant of God. According to _Hitzig_ and others, it is to leap for _astonishment_, while, according to _Umbreit_ and others, it is for _joyful admiration_. One sees that the mere "He shall make to leap" is in itself too meaningless; and interpreters are obliged to make the best addition which they can.--3. According to this explanation, no cause is assigned by which the homage of the Gentiles is called forth; and that cause can the less be omitted, that the horror of the Jews is traced back to its cause. The parenthesis in ver. 14 lacks its antithesis; and that this antithesis must lie in [Hebrew: izh], is rendered probable even by the circumstance, that this word signifies, in a formal point of view, something which the Servant of God does, and not something which the Gentiles do, while we should, by the antithesis to [Hebrew: wmmv], be led to expect just this.[3]--In the _protasis_, the discourse is only of many; here, it is of many nations (_Gousset_: "It is emphatic, so that it comprehends all, and denotes, at the same time, that they are numerous"), and of kings. This is quite natural; for it was only members of the covenant-people who felt shocked, while the reverence is felt by the whole Gentile world.--The _shutting of the mouth_ occurs elsewhere, too, repeatedly, as a sign of reverence and humble submission. The reference of [Hebrew: eliv] to [Hebrew: eliK], shows that _Ewald_ is wrong in explaining it by "besides Him." Since the preceding [Hebrew: el] designated the object of the horror,--the substratum of it--it must here, too, designate the substratum of the shutting of the mouth, and "over Him," be equivalent to: "on account of Him," "out of reverence for Him."--In the exposition of the last words, the old translations differ. We may explain them either: "They to whom it had not been [Pg 274] told, see;" thus the LXX.: [Greek: hois ouk anêngelê peri autou, opsontai, kai hoi ouk akêkoasi, sunêsousi], whom Paul follows in Rom. xv. 21. (In that context, however, the difference of the two explanations is of no consequence; the passage would be equally suitable, even according to the other interpretation.) Or, we may explain them: "That which had not been told them, they see," &c. Thus the other ancient translations explain. According to the first view, the connection would be this: For, in order that ye may not wonder at my speaking to you of nations and kings, they who, &c. According to the second view, the ground of the reverence of the heathen kings and their people is stated. That which formerly had not been told to them, had not been heard by them, is the expiation by the Servant of God. By Him they receive a blessing not formerly hoped for or expected, and are thereby filled with silent reverence towards the Author of the gift. We decide in favour of the former view, according to which chap. lxvi. 19: "That have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory," is parallel. The contrast, in our verse, to those who did not hear and who now perceive, is, in the subsequent verse, formed by those who do hear, and do not believe. The words: "Who had not been told, who did not hear," refer to the Messianic announcement which was given to Israel only, and from which the Gentiles were excluded.[4]

Upon this sketch, there follows in chap. liii. 1-10, the enlargement. First, in vers. 1-3 that is expounded which, in ver. 14 had been said of the many being _shocked_, and of the _cause_. The commentary upon [Hebrew: wmmv] "they were shocked," is given in ver. 1: a great portion of the Jews do not believe in the salvation which had appeared. The enlargement of: "so marred," &c., is given in vers. 2, 3. The cause of the [Pg 275] unbelief is, that the glory of the Servant of God is concealed behind humiliation, misery, and shame.

Chap. liii. 1: "_Who believes that which we hear, and the arm of the Lord, to whom it is revealed?_"

The Prophet, whose spiritual eye is just falling upon the large, the enormously large number of unbelievers, overlooks, at the moment, the other aspect, and, in his grief, expresses that which took place in a large _portion_ only, in such a manner as if it were general. Similar representations we elsewhere frequently meet with, _e.g._, Ps. xiv. 3 (compare my Commentary); Jer. v. 1--[Hebrew: wmveh] is commonly understood in the signification, "message" or "discourse." But in favour of the explanation: "That which is heard by us," _q.d._, "that which we hear," there is, in the first instance, the _usus loquendi_. The word never occurs in any other than its original signification, "that which is heard," and in the signification, "rumour," which is closely connected with the former. In Isa. xxviii. 9, a passage which is most confidently referred to in proof of the signification, _institutio_, _doctrina_, [Hebrew: wmveh] is that which the Prophet hears from God. The mockers who exclaim: "Whom will he make to understand [Hebrew: wmveh]?" take, with a sneer, out of his mouth the word upon which chap. xxi. 10: "That which I have heard of the Lord of Hosts, I declare unto you," forms a commentary, [Greek: Akoê] too, by which, in the New Testament, [Hebrew: wmveh] is rendered, has not at all the signification, "discourse," "preaching." [Greek: Akoê] in Rom.