The label given by biblical scholars to four passages in the book of Isaiah which speak of the ministry of "my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight" (42:1). The relevant passages are:
First Servant Song: 42:1-4.
Second Servant Song: 49:1-6.
Third Servant Song: 50:4-9.
Fourth Servant Song: 52:13-53:12.
These passages were first isolated and thought of as thematically linked by the radical Lutheran scholar Bernhard Buhm (1847-1928), but have since been adopted almost universally by the Christian Church as a "thematically unified" corpus and interpreted christologically as pointing to Jesus and His person and ministry, so that, e.g., C. R. North could entitle the Third and Fourth songs as "The Gethsemane of the Servant," and "The Man of Sorrow" respectively.
The First Song (42:1-4) is set within the context of universal chaos and falsehood; "I look but there is no one . . . to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them. See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their messages are but wind and confusion" (41:28-29). Against this background, the Lord points to a future "servant" who "will bring justice to the nations . . . he will not falter or be discouragd till he established justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope" (42:1-4).
The Second Song (49:1-6) takes up where the First Song leaves off (cf., the reference to "the islands" in each case) and enlarges on our view of the Servant. If the First Song is biographical (framed in the third person) this Song is autobiographical (in the first person).
Like the Second Song, the Third Song (50:4-9) is also autobiographical but there is no explicit reference to the Servant. "It is the attached comment (10-11) that reveals who the speaker was" (J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah,398). Again we see how, against the "no man . . . no one" of v2, there is someone—the Servant—who does listen and obey, one who "know[s] the word that sustains the weary . . . [who] "offer[s] my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard . . ." (v4-6). Now for the first time we see, at the heart of the Song, the Servant as a "suffering servant."
We reach the climax of Isaiah's depiction of the Servant in the Fourth Song (52:13-53:12) where he is depicted as "despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed" (vv3-5).
But who exactly is this Servant? This was a question already of interest in the very earliest days of the Christian church when the Ethiopian eunuch, reading the Fourth Servant Song, asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" (Acts 8:34). Few questions in OT theology since has generated as much scholarly discussions and reflections. Evangelicals, following the example of Philip, naturally see the prophecy of the Servant as fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and this is plentifully reflected in the sumptious citations of these texts in the Gospels to affirm its validity, and relived in the Scripture readings and liturgy esp. for Holy Week (in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, the four Songs are assigned to be read consecutively from Monday to Friday of the week). If we are right in doing this, we need to remember that this is a "prophetic interpretion." Historically, the Servant has been—not unfairly—identified with the prophet Isaiah himself, as the eunuch wondered. At some points it may also be legitimate to identify the Servant with Israel. In interpreting and preaching them, therefore, it is important that we a) remain aware of these different possible layers of perspective (even if we say nothing about them in our sermons proper) and b) read the Songs within the literary contexts within which we find them in the book of Isaiah and not think that they actually constituted a unified corpus of their own. As one scholar wisely warned, we should not be "Duhmed."
Further Reading:
P. E. Satterthwaite, R. S. Hess, and G. J. Wenham, eds., The Lord's Anointed. Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Texts. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.
Duane Lindsey, The Servant Songs: A Study in Isaiah. Chicago: Moody Press: 1985. This is a collection of the author's articles first published in Biblitheca Sacra.
Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, Vol XIV (Leiden: Brill, 1967).
This is a scholarly work that assumes you are somewhat familiar with the scholarship of the book of Isaiah. It is included here for those who really need (or think they do) to know as much as possible.
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Resources:
American Bible Society, "The Servant Songs in Isaiah"
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Davy Ellison, "Who's the Mystery Guest in Isaiah's Servant Songs?" The Gospel Coalition (US). 10 June, 2020.
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G. P. Hugenberger, "The Servant of the Lord in the 'Servant Songs' of Isaiah: a Second Moses Figure," in The Lord's Anointed. Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Texts ed. by P. E. Satterthwaite, R. S. Hess, and G. J. Wenham (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 105-140.
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D. F. Payne, "The Servant of the Lord: Language and Interpretation," Evangelical Quarterly 43.3 (1971): 131-143.
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David Payne, "The Meaning of Mission in Isaiah 40-55," in Mission and Meaning. Essays Presented to Peter Cotterell ed. by A. Billington, T. Lane, M. Turner, (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1995), 5-11.
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J. Nicholas Reid, "The Servant Songs of Isaiah" Tabletalk Magazine, Oct 2019.
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Bible Study Resources:
Isaiah's Servant Songs: 4 studies for small groups, individuals and 1:1. claytonfopp.com
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Bourne Baptist ChurchThe Servant Songs - Life Group Notes
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Scottish Bible Society, Isaiah Servant Songs, Lectio Divina Bible Study Resource.
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