Isaiah 9 is talking about someone who is already born, not some future messianic figure. It’s only later that Christians, convinced of Jesus’ Messiahship, sought to reinterpret these verses to support their theology.Here is Ehrman regarding Isaiah 9:“That this is referring to the king of Israel is obvious by the final line. This is a…

It is a misunderstanding & somewhat antisemitic to claim that Jews purposefully don’t read Isaiah 53 because they “know” it’s about “Jesus”. At this time the prophetic Haftarot had not yet been established, but it was possible, nonetheless, to read different texts from Nebi’im that illustrated the Torah text of the Sabbath (see, e.g., Megillah…

Most modern scholars are convinced that the “Suffering Servant” in this poem—extending from Isa 52:13–53:12—is the same figure as in Isa 41:8, 44:1–2, 21 and 45:4: the “Servant” is explicitly identified as “Israel.” These “songs” are written sometime shortly after the Persian conquest of Babylon, and reflect on the displaced remnant of Judah that has…

The Role of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 – Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman primarily(keep in mind, Jesus being and fulfilling Isaiah 53 doesn’t genuinely have a contradiction on Islam if we view it more past it)The Hebrew Bible’s Isaiah 52:13-53:12 section, which Christians also refer to as the Old Testament, describes the…

Structure: Another proposal that treats the hymns as key evidence but draws significantly different conclusions about composition is that of Ulrich Berges. Also drawing on what he identifies as the major structural devices—that is, the hymns and instructions to depart—Berges identifies four primary layers of development in chapters 40–55.20 He considers the hymns “the most…

First, the superscription functions as a heading not only for chapters 1–12 or 1–39 but for the entire book of Isaiah. Second, although the book is called a prophetic “vision,” only a few parts of it fit the term. In other words, the superscription expresses a certain— and presumably late—understanding of the prophetic mission; the…

Although chapters of Isaiah 40-55 in the Bible seem to deny the “existence of other gods” at first reading, they do not deny the reality of other divine beings. In fact, this section uses rhetoric that implies the incomparability of God’s power. “I don’t think Second-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) really questions the existence of other gods.…

Parthenos doesn’t necessarily always mean “virgin.” It’s similar to the word “maid” or”maiden” in English. A young, unmarried woman, who by implication is usually assumed to be a virgin, but not by strict definition. Thayer’s also says the word can sometimes refer to a newly married woman or a bride, and can also refer to…

Length process of formation, starting as oracles.

Anyone who has read through Isaiah has come across the hauntingly beautiful poetry of Isaiah 34. This apocalyptic poem, which scholars now believe was a late addition to the book, appears to describe the destruction of Edom by the Nabateans in the 5th century BCE¹.Verses 12 through 16 describe the desolation of the land:The satyrs…