The Suffering Servant

[inquiringmind]

Does Isaiah's suffering servant refer only to Messiah Ben David, or does it also refer to Israel, Messiah Ben Joseph (or all God's saints)?

[USU78]

I always thought its primary meaning was more immediate to Isaiah's experience.

[inquiringmind]

I always thought its primary meaning was more immediate to Isaiah's experience.

In what way?

[USU78]

In what way?

King Hezekiah.

[urroner]

Margaret Barker - THE ORIGINAL SETTING OF THE FOURTH SERVANT SONG

Hezekiah’s illness and recovery, together with Isaiah’s interpretations of the affliction, are recorded in

the Fourth Servant Song. Hezekiah’s illness did not give rise to the idea of a ‘suffering servant’, a sin

bearer, a wrath interceptor like Aaron, but rather Isaiah’s second interpretation of the king’s illness

was understood in the light of such a belief. In other words, the suffering figure, the wrath interceptor,

was part of the ancient understanding of atonement and the role of the royal high priest. The fourth

Servant Song contains not only elements of the underlying ideology which enabled Isaiah to make the

second interpretation of the king’s illness, but also elements which reflect the actual circumstances of

Hezekiah’s situation.

[inquiringmind]

Margaret Barker - THE ORIGINAL SETTING OF THE FOURTH SERVANT SONG

Do any of these servant songs have any application to Joseph Smith, his brother, or their martyrdom in Carthage?