Sárospataki Füzetek 16. (2012)
2012 / 3-4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Jaap Dekker: A Szolga és a szolgák Ézsaiás próféta könyvében
JAAP DEKKER Servants of the Lord (Isa 66:5), the wicked have turned out to be the enemies of the Lord himself. Byway of summary, therefore, Isa 66:14b states: ‘it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies. ’ In the last verse of the book, Isa 66:24, the earlier warnings to the wicked reach their climax, when the Servants of the Lord are finally separated from the enemies of God and look at the bodies of the people who have rebelled against the Lord. The third part of the book of Isaiah then has made clear who may belong to the Servants of the Lord, constituting the spiritual offspring of the Servant. Implicitly it invites its readers to join this offspring of the Servant. The line of separation does not run between Israel and the foreign nations any more, but now runs between those who are contrite and humble in spirit and the wicked. Only the first may appropriate all the promises given to the Servants of the Lord. 8. Conclusion By way of conclusion I ascertain that it is important not to isolate the Four Servant Songs as identified by Duhm from the totality of Servant texts of which they are part. It is worth reading the Servant texts of Isaiah within the context of the book. Together they tell an important story that is also relevant for understanding the story of Jesus Christ. When in several ways He fulfills the mission of the Servant, He is doing this as the embodiment of Israel and creating by his suffering and death a community that is not restricted to the boundary of Israel. It includes outcasts as well as foreigners, but it excludes those who are not contrite and humble in spirit but prefer to live as the wicked. This community, which in fact presupposes a redefinition of Israel as it is addressed in Isaiah 40-48,21 shares in all God’s promises of peace and righteousness and may understand itself as the spiritual offspring of the Servant. The Souillac Isaiah thus is surely right when he dances, for the Servant Story is still continuing whenever and wherever one recognizes Jesus Christ as fulfilling the Servant’s mission and discovers that he may participate in the community of his spiritual offspring. Absztrakt A Szolga és a szolgák Ezsaiás próféta könyvében Ezsaiás próféta könyvében egy összetett szolga-alakkal találkozunk. A 19. század végétől elterjedt az ún. négy szolga-ének megkülönböztetése a prófétai könyvön belül. Éveken keresztül az a felfogás volt általános, hogy ezeknek az énekeknek a szolgája nem azonosítható a próféta által a könyv egyéb helyein említett szolgával. Ez a feltételezés azonban hitelét vesztette. Az Ézsiás próféta könyvében található összes szolga-szöveg egyetlen történet része. Ez a szolga-történet mindenekelőtt Izraelről szól, arról a nemzetről, mely az Úr szolgájaként adatik a világnak, azzal a rendeltetéssel, hogy igazságot teremtsen és világosság legyen a népek számára. A szolga Izráel azonban 21 Cf. J. Blenkinsopp, ‘The Servant and the Servants in Isaiah and the Formation of the Book’. In: Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah, Leiden 1997, pp. 155-175 (see p. 168). 44 Sárospataki Füzet ek 2012/3-4
