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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 53:3 and Apocalypse of Abraham 29:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Isaiah, the suffering servant is despised and rejected. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham sees a similar figure, a man whom some insult and beat while others worship him, and even Azazel bows down to him and kisses his face.

Passages

Isaiah 53:3

Hebrew Bible
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.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Apocalypse of Abraham 29:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
2 And He said: "I have assigned twelve periods of this godless Age to rule among the pagans and your descendants; and until the end of the times it will be as you saw. 3 And calculate it and understand and look into the picture." 4 And I [looked and] saw a man going out from the left side of the pagans; and men and women and children went out from the side of the pagans in great crowds and worshiped him. 5 And while I was still looking, [many] came out from the right side, and some insulted that man, while some struck him; others, however, worshiped him. 6 [And] I saw how these worshiped him, and Azazel ran and worshiped him, and after kissing his face, he turned and stood behind him.
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

References

“... The man is clearly intended to be Jesus. [...] Cf. Is. liii. 3. [...] The worship of Christ by the Devil (Azazel) is a striking feature in this representation. It is difficult to determine its exact significance here. Does it reflect the Jewish-Christian feeling that the access of so large a part of the heathen world to Christianity endangered the purity of the new faith by inevitably bringing in its train a large admixture of heathenism? It can hardly mean that Azazel had been truly converted. Indeed, his homage is significantly depicted as lip-homage (“kissed his face”; cf. the treacherous kiss of Judas). ...”
G. H. Box with J. I. Landsman, The Apocalypse of Abraham (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1918), PDF 50.

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

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Isaiah 53:3 and Apocalypse of Abraham 29:5

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