There is no prophecy that the messiah will be killed. Think about it -- a messianic prophecy is something that can only happen in the lifetime of the messiah -- things including: A. Build the Third Temple (Yechezkel / Ezekiel 37:26-28). B. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 43:5-6). C. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 2:4) D. Spread universal knowledge of the G-d of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "G-d will be King over all the world -- on that day, G-d will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9). If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be "The Messiah." How many people are killed -- even in a given year? 400,000 and 500,000 people were murdered worldwide -- murder is not the only way people are killed either (accidents, manslaughter, etc.). The photo is of some of the Jews killed in the Holocaust. It is the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem is the Jewish People's memorial to each and every Jew who perished in the Holocaust Being killed is not a messianic prophecy. It is easy enough to understand why Christians would think that Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8 is about Jesus being killed -- but that reason has to do with mistranslation of the rest of this verse. Most Christian translations including the NIV and KJV say that the servant was cut off from the land of the living FOR the sins of others. Vicarious atonement. This is a mistranslation of Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8., it does not say the servant is killed for the sins of others. Being cut off from the living land means exiled from Israel (which never happened to Jesus), not killed. . . but by far the mistranslation of "for" others instead of "because of" completely changes the meaning of the passage. G-d clearly tells Moses that each of us is responsible for our own sins. That is why even in qorban (sacrifices) each of us must bring our OWN individual qorbanot / sacrifices. We must be there when it is killed. We must watch it die. We must be part of the process -- no one can "vicariously" do it for us in some distant place from which we are removed. This is true for individual sins. There are also communal offerings which are for the entire nation, for Jews are judged both as a people and as individuals. No one can atone for another person. Torah vehemently FORBIDS human vicarious atonement (e.g., Sh'mot / Exodus 32:31-33; Bamidbar / Numbers 35:33; D'varim / Deuteronomy 24:16; M'lachim Beit / 2 Kings 14:6; Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:29 [30 in a Christian translation]; Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 18:4,20; T'hillim / Psalms 49:7). Human sacrifices are strictly forbidden in Torah (e.g., Vayikra / Leviticus 18:21, 24-25; D'varim / Deuteronomy 18:10; Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 7:31, 19: 5; and Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 23:37, 39). The servant who suffers vicariously does so because of the evil done by others to him (them), not "for" them. The suffering of good people is witnessed by others who, hopefully, will learn from the evil being done to innocent people. This is where the missionary's attempt to claim that one person, Jesus, is the servant falls apart. Isaiah describes many fates for the servant from long life to death. . . these would be contradictory if applied to only one person. In reality Isaiah is speaking of one PEOPLE (the Jewish people) who are comprised of millions of people -- thus throughout time many fates have befallen the Jewish people and there is no contradiction of being freed from captivity in one instance and being killed with the rich in another. . . Indeed, Isaiah uses the plural when he speaks of people being executed. Isaiah tells us that the servant is removed from the living land (it does not say "killed") -- and also tells us that the servant is a man of pains and accustomed to illness (verse 3) and (submitted) to his executions (PLURAL) for committing no crime (verse 9) -- but also lives a long life. . . Read "if his soul would acknowledge guilt he would see offspring and live long days and the desire or HaShem would succeed in his hand." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:10. The servant is promised long life if he admits his wrongdoing. One person cannot live a long life, succeeding while at the same time being subject to lengthy debilitating illness, being executed (PLURAL -- not singular. . . multiple executions) and so on -- but one PEOPLE made up of millions of people can have all of these things happen to them. The very last word in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8 is plural -- לָֽמוֹ / lamo. Let's look at the last part of the passage from the Christian translation NIV: "For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished." The important words are "for" which is incorrect and "he" (was punished) which is also incorrect. The pertinent word is לָֽמוֹ / lamo -- which means "to them." THEM, not "him" or "he." The servant is described as more than one (plural) -- "a plague came upon THEM" the Hebrew text, and they translate as follows:
Yet again the list maker is making a claim not supported by the words of the prophet Isaiah. The Christian translations ignore who is speaking and ignore the fact that the suffering one is PLURAL (not one person). If the servant is killed it is many people -- executions (PLURAL) for committing no crime (verse 9) and a plague came לָֽמוֹ / to them that was my people's sin. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8. Them, plural, not "he." Jesus (SINGULAR) cannot be the plural servant. The important phrase in the passage for the claim that the servant is killed comes from "from the land of [their] life" and refers to Jews living in our land -- Israel. The exact wording in Isaiah is מֵאֶֽרֶץ חַיִּים means "from the land of [their] life" --- that is "from the land where they lived." You may notice this is not the translation favored by missionaries (and the iteration found in a few Jewish translations as well) "from the land of the living." This is grammatically incorrect: "from the land of the living", is a mistranslation because חַיִּים means LIFE rather than "living" and the definite article הֵ / "the" is absent. This is incorrect, and leads to the misconception that the servant is killed (what is the opposite of the land of the living? The answer to the unlearned would seem to be "death"). The exact expression in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8 is מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (mei'Eretz chaYYIM), מֵאֶרֶץ is / mei'Eretz = from the land חיים / chaYYIM = living The exact phrase appears in two other place in the T'nach: Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 11:19: "Let us destroy his food with wood, and let us cut him off מֵאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים / from the land of the living, and let his name no longer be remembered." It is also found in T'hillim / Psalms 52:7: "G-d, too, shall tear you down forever; He will break you and pluck you from [your] tent, and uproot you מֵאֶ֖רֶץ חַיִּ֣ים / from the land of the living forever." Similar phrases are found often in the T'nach to refer to the land of Israel, including "Whose graves are set in the utmost part of the Pit, and whose company was around its grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who cast destruction in בְּאֶ֥רֶץ חַיִּֽים / the land of the living. . . who cast their destruction in בְּאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים / the land of the living. . . their destruction was cast in בְּאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֗ים / the land of the living. . . for they cast their destruction in בְּאֶ֥רֶץ חַיִּֽים / the land of the living.. . . for the destruction of the mighty was in בְּאֶ֥רֶץ חַיִּֽים / the land of the living." Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 32:23 - 27. See also: T'hillim / Psalm 116:9: "I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living." From the Orthodox Union (Tehillm / Psalm 116): "David walks before G-d in the land of the living. (Rashi says this means Israel, where the "living G-d" is worshiped, as opposed to the "dead" idols of foreign lands.)" Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem) Kilayim 9:3: "“I shall walk before G-d in the land of the living." (T'hillim / Psalm 116:9). "Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said in the name of Bar Kafra, ‘The land whose dead will live first in the days of the Messiah.’ And what is the reason? ‘He (G-d) gives neshama to the people upon it’ (Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:5). But if this is the case, our rabbis in the Diaspora will lose out! Rabbi Simi said, ‘G-d will smooth out the ground before them, and they will roll like bottles, and when they arrive in Eretz Yisrael their souls will return to them.’ And what is the reason? ‘And I (G-d) will place you on your soil and give spirit to you, and you will live’ (Y'chezkel / Ezekiel 37:14).” R' David Kimchi (the Radak) stated that "the lands of the living" are the cities of the Land of Israel, and are called so because their inhabitants are healthy and strong due to the fine air and climate. He quotes the Talmud, Tractate P'sahim, Folio 118a. The land of Israel is called is מֵאֶֽרֶץ חַיִּים / mei'Eretz chaYYIM which means "from the land of [their] life" and אֶרֶץ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ Eretz HaKodesh -- land of the holiness (see Zechariah 12:16). My point is that throughout the T'nach and other Jewish writings Israel is spoken of as אֶֽרֶץ חַיִּים / Eretz ChaiYYIM -- land of life and in Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8 the prophet is not saying the servant will be killed, he is saying that the servant will be exiled from the land. Jesus was not exiled from the land -- he was murdered by the Romans. What if the Christian interpretation: that Jesus was taken from captivity and prison and killed is a correct one? "So what"? Yet again we have something that has happened to far too many people throughout the ages and around the world. Simply being executed, taken from a prison (and the Christian bible never claims that Jesus was in a prison) is meaningless -- it is far too generic to apply to only one human ever: the messiah. Read the passage: "Now that he has been released from captivity and judgment who could have imagined such a generation? For he had been removed from the living land, an affliction upon them that was my people's sin." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:8. Here is a translation along with the Artscroll Stone Edition footnotes at the bottom of each response to aid in your understanding of the passage. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My servant will succeed; he will be exalted and become high and exceedingly lofty. 14 Just as multitudes were astonished over you (saying) "His appearance is too marred to be a man's, and his visage to be human, 15 so will the many nations exclaim about him, and kings will shut their mouths (in amazement) for they will see that which had never been told to them, and will perceive things they had never heard. 53:1 Who would believe what we have heard! For whom has the arm of HaShem been revealed? 2 In the past he grew like a sapling or like the root from dry ground; he had neither form nor beauty. We saw him, but without a desirable appearance. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to being sick. As one from whom we would hide our faces; he was despised and we had no regard for him. 4 But in truth it was our ills and he carried our pains -- but we had regarded him diseased, stricken by G-d and afflicted! 5 He was wounded as a result (because of) our rebellious transgressions, and oppressed as a result our iniquities. The chastisement upon him was for our benefit, and through his wounds we were healed. 6 We have all strayed like sheep each of us turning his own way and HaShem inflicted upon him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was persecuted and afflicted but did not open his mouth; like a sheep being led to the slaughter or a ewe that is silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 he was removed far away from the land where they lived and a plague came upon them (לָֽמוֹ / lamo) through the transgression of my people (the gentile nations). He submitted to the grave with the wicked and joined with the wealthy in his executions (בְּמֹתָ֑יו / b'motav) 9 He submitted himself to his grave like evil men; and the wealthy (submitted) to his executions for committing no crime and with no deceit in his mouth. 10 HaShem desired to oppress him and He afflicted him; if his physical being would acknowledge guilt he would see offspring and live long days and the desire or HaShem would succeed in his hand. 11. He (he servant) would see (the purpose) and be satisfied with his life's (not immortal soul) distress. With his knowledge My servant will cause the multitudes to be righteous; it is their וַעֲוֹנתָם / iniquities (for impulsive, lustful wrongdoings) that he will carry. 12. Therefore, I will assign him a portion in public and he will divide the mighty as spoils -- in return for having poured out his life for death and being counted among the wicked, for he bore the sin of the many, and prayed for the wicked. Footnotes from Artscroll Stone Edition: Isaiah 52:13 i.e. G-d's servant the people of Israel (Rashi) 52:15 Just as Israel had once been astonishingly degraded, so it will astonish the nations by its exaltedness when the time of redemption arrives. 53:1-3 this is the prophecy foretelling what the nations and their kings will exclaim when they witness Israel's rejuvenation. The nations will contrast their former scornful attitude toward the Jews (vv. 1-3) with their new realization of Israel's grandeur (vv 4-7). 53:5 we brought suffering upon Israel for our own selfish purposes; it was not, as we had claimed, that G-d was punishing Israel for its own evil behavior. 53:6 We sinned by inflicting punishment upon Israel. Such oppression is often described as "Hashem's punishment" (see 10:5, Habakkuk 1:12), for He decreed that it should happen (Abarbanel). 53:8 When Israel's exile is finally ended the nations will marvel that such a generation could have survived the expulsion from "the land of the living, i.e. Israel, that the nations had sinfully inflicted upon it. 53:9 Ordinary Jews chose to die like common criminals, rather than renounce their faith; and wealthy Jews were killed for no reason other than to enable their wicked conquerors to confiscate their riches (Radak). 53:10 That is, Israel. G-d replies to the nations that Israel's suffering was a punishment for its own sins; and when the people realize this and repent, they will be redeemed and rewarded. 53:11 Israel will teach the nations of G-d's righteousness.
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