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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] Isaiah 53 read within the book as a whole
  • Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 22:10:16 -0500

Dear Liz,

>> HH: Isaiah 55:4 speaks abstractly of the Davidic king, who was
originally a witness to the nations of God's power. The word L)MYM
("people") generally indicates the nations in general in Isaiah. God
in Isa 55:5 might address the future Davidic king, even though he has
not yet arisen. I agree with you that the sentiments in isaiah 55:5
are like those in Psalm 18:43-45 and that the meaning is similar. But
I think that while it may seem logical to apply Isaiah 55:5 to Cyrus,
it does not work. God made an eternal covenant with the house of
David. Cyrus was not in the house of David. To turn the Davidic
promises over to Cyrus in any permanent way would break God's promise
> to the house of David.

The difficulty with your proposal here is that the speaker says:
Hen, Behold, Look!, See! The addressee is right there, right in front
of the speaker. This is not some Davidic king of the far-off future,
this is the hear and now.

HH: But I believe that the Servant passages describe the coming Messiah. There are quite a number of these passages, and some short texts may belong to this grouping despite lacking the word "servant" (e.g., Isa 48:16). Some of these passages have the Servant speak in the first person. In other places the Lord addresses the Servant as present. Yet I believe he is a figure of prophecy.

>> HH: A second possibility for Isaiah 55:5 might be that the second
person masculine singular addressee is the nation Israel.

What would the point of that be? That a nation that Israel doesn't
know comes running to it? This is royal imagery, as we see
in the psalm.

HH: Well, if israel were the ruling nation, then this would seem to be a meaningful assertion:

Deut. 28:1 ΒΆ If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
Deut. 28:13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom

HH: And this is a theme in Isaiah:

Is. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD's land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

Is. 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed."

Is. 60:3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Is. 60:10 "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.

Is. 60:11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations - their kings led in triumphal procession.

Is. 60:16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Is. 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

HH: In my opinion it is not that good to identify the Servant with Cyrus, although there are many similarities that the reader is to notice. There are differences between them. This is a passage from my dissertation:

Yet the two figures are distinguishable, for Cyrus is from a far country (Isa 41:1-3; 45:1-3; 454:13; 46:11) while the Servant is identified with Israel (49:1-5). Cyrus is ignorant of God (45:4-5), but the Servant is exceptionally close to God (50:4). Cyrus appears as a warrior (41:2-3, 25; 45:1-2), but the Servant is meek and bears suffering (43:2; 49:4, 7; 50:5-6; 52:14; 53:1-12).

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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