Who Are The "We" Of Isaiah 53?
Who is speaking?
Isaiah 53 is in the form of a confession. People confess they initially didn’t correctly see who the suffering servant was and what he did for them. But then they do see he was suffering because of their sins and on their behalf. His death atones for them.
“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way but the L-RD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6).
The answer to the question “Which people are speaking here?” is very important for the interpretation of Isaiah 53.
The gentile nations?
In verse 1 we read, “Who has believed that what we have heard?” Rashi, who identified the suffering servant with Israel, says the nations are the ones speaking in this text. He comments: “So will the nations say to one another, were we to hear from others what we see, it would be unbelievable.”
But is this identification of the speakers correct? When we read the immediate context, we see why this is problematic. Just prior to “Who has believed that what we have heard?” Isaiah has been speaking of the nations and their kings. But they are described as “Those who were not told” and “Those who did not hear” (Isaiah 52:15). This implies a contrast with people who DID hear.
And just what did those people hear? In this context, it is the message G-d is giving concerning His servant. G-d is giving a message about the extraordinary exaltation and supreme suffering of His servant. This will have an extraordinary effect on many gentiles. Despite the fact they initially didn’t hear about the servant, they eventually come to understand who he was and what he did (see Isaiah 52:13-14).
But if the gentiles are initially not hearing this message, then who are the original recipients of the message? It can only be the people of Israel.
In Isaiah 52:14 G-d apparently directly addresses His people: “just as many were astonished at you.” Here He compares the shock of many who saw Israel’s suffering with the shock of seeing the suffering of the servant.
Israel led into confession by the prophet
The gentiles have just been labeled as “those who were not told” and “those who didn’t hear” in the same context in which Israel is addressed. We conclude it is not likely the gentile nations are the ones saying, “Who has believed what we have heard?”
It is much more likely the prophet is leading his own people into a confession. The prophet is saying that at first Israel has a hard time understanding G-d message. The Jewish people have a problem seeing who the servant was and what G-d actually did through him. But then Isaiah leads his people into a confession so Israel’s eyes may be opened to recognize the incredible work Messiah accomplishes when “by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).
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