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By Root 1235 0

the political turmoil and foreign intrigues swirling around Judah in the time of the Assyrian empire. References to events long after he lived were certainly added by a later writer or writers who edited Isaiah. Most scholars now consider it a composite of at least three separate narratives that attained its present form as late as 180 BCE.

Like other prophets, Isaiah combines warnings of doom about Jerusalem’s wicked ways with hopes for prosperous times. He announces a coming judgment and arrival of a messianic era when a king from David’s line will rule in peace and righteousness.

BIBLICAL VOICES

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call him Immanuel. (Isa. 7:14 KJV)

Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)

What is the difference between a “virgin” and a “young woman”?

The two translations of a single verse above provide another clear case of “Whose Bible Is It?” Variations in languages and the failure to convey the precise meaning or sense of words in translation has cause trouble for centuries. Often these misunderstanding and mistranslations account for fundamental differences in the way Jews and Christians perceive the Scriptures. For Christians, much of what happens in their Old Testament is seen in relationship to prophecies of the coming of Jesus. Jewish readers obviously don’t make those connections. A perfect example of the Jewish-versus-Christian understanding, or interpretation, of the Scriptures, is found in the prophecy Isaiah made to King Ahaz around 735 BCE. Like English, Hebrew uses different words for “virgin” and “young woman.” A young woman might be a virgin but she doesn’t have to be. Jewish commentators point out that Isaiah was specifically telling King Ahaz that his wife, the “young woman” of the verse, would soon bear another son. That son was Hezekiah, who was a devout and good king, loyal to traditions and obedient to the laws.

Christian readers and the author of Matthew’s Gospel saw something else in Isaiah’s words—not just a prophecy of a new prince for Israel but a future messianic deliverer they believed was Jesus. In the two accounts of his miraculous birth in the New Testament, Jesus was born to Mary, said to be a virgin. One of those accounts, in the Gospel of Matthew, repeated the errant Greek translation of “virgin” when Isaiah’s prophecy was used to refer to Mary, mother of Jesus. In other words, whether or not Mary was a virgin, she did not have to be a virgin to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy, which spoke only of a young woman. While some modern Christian scholars have begun to debate the concept of the “virgin birth” more vigorously (see page 361), Isaiah’s original words clearly refer to a “young woman” or “maiden” and not a virgin.

BIBLICAL VOICES

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isa. 42:1)

I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. (Isa. 50:6)

See, my servant shall prosper;

he shall be exalted and lifted up

and shall be very high. (Isa. 52:13)

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed. (Isa. 53:5)

The righteous one, my

servant, shall make many

righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isa. 53. 11)

Who is the “suffering servant?”

As with the “virgin” birth Isaiah prophesied, Christians and Jews differ on another key portion of Isaiah’s prophecies, found scattered throughout Isaiah chapters 42, 49, 50, 52, and 53 in songs that speak of a “suffering servant of God.” When Isaiah speaks of a despised, rejected man of suffering who is led like a lamb to slaughter, Christians see another symbolic prophecy of Jesus. The verses describe specific sufferings that reflect the torture Jesus endures before his death on the cross. The “suffering servant” not only suffers