Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 53 describes a figure who carries the illnesses and pains of other people. Debating what the Messiah will be called, Rabbinic tradition in tractate Sanhedrin draws on that verse to name him the leper of the house of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 53:4
Hebrew Bible
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.
Sanhedrin 98b
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
Rav says: The world was created only for the sake of David, by virtue of his merit. And Shmuel says: It was created by virtue of the merit of Moses. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: It was created by virtue of the merit of the Messiah. Apropos the Messiah, the Gemara asks: What is his name? The school of Rabbi Sheila says: Shiloh is his name, as it is stated: “Until when Shiloh shall come” (Genesis 49:10). The school of Rabbi Yannai says: Yinnon is his name, as it is stated: “May his name endure forever; may his name continue [yinnon] as long as the sun; and may men bless themselves by him” (Psalms 72:17). The school of Rabbi Ḥanina says: Ḥanina is his name, as it is stated: “For I will show you no favor [ḥanina]” (Jeremiah 16:13). And some say that Menaḥem ben Ḥizkiyya is his name, as it is stated: “Because the comforter [menaḥem] that should relieve my soul is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16). And the Rabbis say: The leper of the house of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi is his name, as it is stated: “Indeed our illnesses he did bear and our pains he endured; yet we did esteem him injured, stricken by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). Rav Naḥman says: If the Messiah is among the living in this generation, he is a person such as me, who already has dominion over the Jewish people, as it is stated: “And their prince shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from their midst” (Jeremiah 30:21), indicating that the redeemer is already in power. Rav says: If the Messiah is among the living in this generation, he is a person such as our saintly Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who was renowned for his sanctity, piety, and Torah knowledge. If the Messiah is among the dead he is a person such as Daniel, the beloved man.
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Verse 22 quotes verbatim Isaiah 53:9, verse 23 alludes to Isaiah 53:7, verse 24 quotes Isaiah 53:5, and verse 25 quotes Isaiah 53:6. It is doubtless Jesus who is the suffering servant of the Lord here; being without sin, he takes upon himself the sins of all humankind and leads them to justice and life. Rabbinic Judaism does acknowledge the idea of the suffering Messiah, but these occasions are extremely rare. The only reference that provides a direct link between the Messiah and Isaiah 53 can be found in the Babylonian Talmud in a discussion about the names of the Messiah: The Rabbis say: His [the Messiah’s] name is “the leper (hiwra) from the house of Rabbi,” as it is written: “Surely he has borne our infirmities (holayenu/holyenu) and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken (nagua‘), struck down by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). ...”
Schäfer, Peter
The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other
(pp. 252-253) Princeton University Press, 2012
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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