Go to Related Reading
About this book

Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 53

1 Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord’s power revealed through him? 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.⁠ 3 He was despised and rejected by people,⁠ one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 4 But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain;⁠ even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.⁠ 5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.⁠ 6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. 7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth.⁠ Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,⁠ like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth.⁠ 8 He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. 9 They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. 10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,⁠ once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life,⁠ and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.⁠ 11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.⁠ “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.⁠ 12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death⁠ and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 53:2 and 1 Samuel 9:2

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

1 Samuel highlights Saul’s beauty, following a pattern in the Hebrew Bible that links attractiveness to leadership and divine favor. Isaiah appears to reject this tradition, describing the suffering servant figure without beauty or majesty.

Passages

Isaiah 53:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord’s power revealed through him? 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 3 He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

1 Samuel 9:2

Hebrew Bible
1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish was a prominent person. 2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people. 3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

References

"... The silence of gospel authors contrasts with the practice of biblical authors who consistently featured commentary on the appearance of Jesus’ biblical ancestors ... Joseph was “handsome and good-looking” (Genesis 39:6). Saul “was a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he” (1 Samuel 9:2). David, the future king, possessed “lovely eyes and a handsome appearance” (1 Samuel 16:12). Physical attractiveness continues down the Davidic line with Absalom: “In all Israel there was no one to be praised for his beauty so much as Absalom” (2 Samuel 14:25), and Adonijah: “He was also a very handsome man” (1 Kings 1:6). Commentary on the physical appearance of prominent leaders and acknowledgment of their handsomeness seem to be consistent features of Jewish sacred literature completely omitted in the gospel accounts of Jesus. Psalm 45:2 offers one indication why the description of physical appearance might be significant in the identification of Israel’s leaders: “You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever”. Male leaders are handsome because they are the recipients of God’s grace; biblical authors recognised this outward sign of physical attractiveness as an indicator of divine favour and fitness for leadership ... maybe the gospel authors followed the prediction of the prophet Isaiah that the suffering servant would have “no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2) ..."
Maurice Ryan, “What Did Jesus Look Like? Reclaiming Jesus the Jew in Art and Religious Education,” Journal of Religious Education 69 (2021): 239–252.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

Isaiah 53:2 and 1 Samuel 9:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library