Isaiah 53 is part of the Servant Song cycle in Deutero-Isaiah (ch. 40-55). Deutero-Isaiah was written in the late exilic and early post-exilic period. The first portion was probably written c. 540 BC, i.e. shortly before Cyrus conquered Babylon (as the text draws on the Cyrus Proclamation yet does not reflect what happened when Babylon fell). The Servant Songs may have been written a decade or two later. Trito-Isaiah (ch. 56-66) dates even later, to the fifth century BC. The servant is usually understood as representing Israel, although the fourth song seem to pertain either to an individualized personification of Israel or an actual individual (speculative suggestions have included Zerubabbel, Haggai, Zechariah, or someone unknown to history). Answer from zanillamilla on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/academicbiblical › when was the ''book of isaiah'' written? has the translation been altered to fit the ''messianic prophecy'' agenda?
r/AcademicBiblical on Reddit: When was the ''Book of Isaiah'' written? Has the translation been altered to fit the ''Messianic Prophecy'' agenda?
June 3, 2019 -

I have been reading about Isaiah 53 and how the original scroll didn't say ''pierced'' but rather another thing. Apart from that, it doesn't seem to be talking about the Messiah in the least but rather about Israel as a nation (through the metaphor and duality of Israel a.k.a. Jacob). I also wonder: was this book written after the Babylonian Exile? If it was, I'm assuming it was written to give the Jewish people hope for a better tomorrow and as an explanation of why ''God woul allow such things to happen''. What do you say?

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Bart Ehrman Blog
ehrmanblog.org › home › does isaiah 53 predict jesus’ suffering and death or has isaiah 53 been debunked?
Does Isaiah 53 Predict Jesus' Suffering and Death or Has Isaiah 53 Been Debunked? - The Bart Ehrman Blog
September 10, 2025 - Nope, not true at all. Next time ask them for the references. If they give them to you, look them up. And pay close attention to when the sources were written! There is no reference to Isaiah 53 as messianic prior to Christianity.
Discussions

prophecy - Does the past tense in the suffering servant song (Isaiah 53) refer to Jesus? - Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange
Isaiah 53:10 tells us of this one that was put to death (vs9} will see his seed, which is in future tense form (naphsho yireh zerah) It appears that many times His Messianic prophecies are written in past tense, speaking to those in the future, as in today, who will look at it as something ... More on hermeneutics.stackexchange.com
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March 22, 2015
How long did it take for Jesus to fulfill his prophecy from the Old Testament?
Based on my reading of the Wikipedia article, Book of Isaiah , ... Some people think that Isaiah 53 was written by the prophet Isaiah himself and date it to about 700 BC or about 730 years before Jesus was crucified. Others think that Isaiah 53 was written by an anonymous writer whom they refer to as Deutero-Isaiah and date it to about 540 BC or about 570 years before Jesus was crucified. What we know for sure is that the oldest extant copy of Isaiah that we have, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, dates from about 150 BC to 200 BC or from about 180 to 230 years before Jesus was crucified. Thus, Isaiah 53 might have been written as much as about 730 years before Jesus was crucified or as little as about 180 years before Jesus was crucified, but probably about 570 years before Jesus was crucified. More on reddit.com
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March 21, 2024
When was the ''Book of Isaiah'' written? Has the translation been altered to fit the ''Messianic Prophecy'' agenda?
Isaiah 53 is part of the Servant Song cycle in Deutero-Isaiah (ch. 40-55). Deutero-Isaiah was written in the late exilic and early post-exilic period. The first portion was probably written c. 540 BC, i.e. shortly before Cyrus conquered Babylon (as the text draws on the Cyrus Proclamation yet does not reflect what happened when Babylon fell). The Servant Songs may have been written a decade or two later. Trito-Isaiah (ch. 56-66) dates even later, to the fifth century BC. The servant is usually understood as representing Israel, although the fourth song seem to pertain either to an individualized personification of Israel or an actual individual (speculative suggestions have included Zerubabbel, Haggai, Zechariah, or someone unknown to history). More on reddit.com
🌐 r/AcademicBiblical
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June 3, 2019
Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22
If you read all of Psalm 22, it's not actually a prophecy about the messiah or about crucifixion, but it's a lament poem about someone who is afflicted by trouble and then vindicated by God. Verse 16 is often mistranslated with the word "pierce" to make it fit a christological context better. (The exact meaning of verse 16 is not known, which is a long-standing problem in biblical studies.) However, the author of Mark made clever use of the images and symbolism in Psalm 22 in his passion story, and of course Jesus is shown to quote a line from it in Aramaic on the cross. The date of authorship of the Psalm is not known. The last portion is generally thought to have been composed later. The oldest surviving manuscript is from the Dead Sea Scrolls. I can't find an exact date, but maybe around 100 BCE. John Day summarizes it in his commentary on Psalms: Psalm 22, an individual lament, is echoed primarily in the gospel passion narratives. Jesus' cry from the cross, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?', cites Ps. 22.1 in Aramaic: it may well be that these words, which have often been found puzzling,have the wider context of the psalm in mind, which ends on a note of vindication and of the universal coming of the kingdom of God (Ps. 22,22-31). Other echoes of this psalm are the deriding of Jesus and the wagging of heads at him (Mk 15.29; Mt. 27.39; Lk. 23.35; cf. Ps. 22.7), the division of Jesus' garments and casting lots for them (Mk 15.24; Mt. 27.35; Lk. 23.34; Jn 19.24; cf. Ps. 22.18) and the demand that God deliver him (Mt. 27.43; cf. Ps. 22.8). One can obviously debate how far these allusions reflect historical episodes and how far they simply represent the reading of these psalm passages into the passion narrative. More on reddit.com
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May 31, 2023
Isaiah 53 is part of the Servant Song cycle in Deutero-Isaiah (ch. 40-55). Deutero-Isaiah was written in the late exilic and early post-exilic period. The first portion was probably written c. 540 BC, i.e. shortly before Cyrus conquered Babylon (as the text draws on the Cyrus Proclamation yet does not reflect what happened when Babylon fell). The Servant Songs may have been written a decade or two later. Trito-Isaiah (ch. 56-66) dates even later, to the fifth century BC. The servant is usually understood as representing Israel, although the fourth song seem to pertain either to an individualized personification of Israel or an actual individual (speculative suggestions have included Zerubabbel, Haggai, Zechariah, or someone unknown to history). Answer from zanillamilla on reddit.com
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Isaiah_53
Isaiah 53 - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - Isaiah 52:13–53:12 makes up the fourth of the "Servant Songs" of the Book of Isaiah, describing a "servant" of God who is abused and looked down upon but eventually vindicated. The original text was written in Biblical Hebrew. This chapter is divided into 12 verses, although the pericope begins in Isaiah 52:13.
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Facebook
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Written approximately 700 years before his birth, Isaiah ...
Craig Groeschel. 768,017 likes · 25,651 talking about this. Welcome to the official Facebook page of Craig Groeschel, founding and senior pastor of Life.Church.
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Isaiah 53
isaiah53.com › home › frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions - Isaiah 53
April 22, 2019 - One of the most important archeological ... and scribal dating studies, place the scroll at 150-100 B.C. This is incontrovertible evidence that Isaiah 53 was written before the time of Jesus....
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Jews for Judaism
jewsforjudaism.org › knowledge › articles › isaiah-53-explained
Jews for Judaism | Isaiah 53 Explained
September 16, 2013 - First, one must read the entire book of Isaiah in context and from an accurate Jewish translation (such as an Artscroll/ Mesorah Publication Bible). It was written by Isaiah who was a prophet from 619-533 B.C.E. In the original text there were ...
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The Master's University
masters.edu › home › isaiah’s message of judgment and grace
Isaiah’s Message of Judgment and Grace - The Master's University
June 4, 2024 - Isaiah is divided into two sections, chapters 1 through 39 and chapters 40 through 66. It is a long, very detailed, and magnificent Old Testament book. It was written about 680 B.C., nearly 700 years before Christ.
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GotQuestions
gotquestions.org › Book-of-Isaiah.html
Summary of the Book of Isaiah - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.org
April 18, 2005 - You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.” Isaiah 53:5-6, “But he was pierced for our ...
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Medium
medium.com › koinonia › is-the-servant-in-isaiah-53-the-messiah-acb83c83ed38
Is the Servant in Isaiah 53 the Messiah? | by Nick Meader | Koinonia | Medium
May 24, 2021 - It is also clear why Christians from the start have considered this passage was about Jesus the Messiah. The overlap between Isaiah 53 (written 400–600 BCE) and the life of Jesus is striking:
Top answer
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Isaiah did not write in the past tense. Biblical Hebrew does not employ tenses in the same way as English or Greek do. Isaiah wrote this chapter in perfect aspect ie he saw the actions of the verbs as whole/ complete without respect to their timing1

Prophecy is often presented in the perfect aspect as it is direct revelation from God the actions are not been viewed in relation to time but certainty of accomplishment2.

1 based on by Heiser, M. S., & Setterholm, V. M. (2013; 2013). In Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology. Lexham Press.

2 see here for more information on the prophetic perfect

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Rabbi David Kimchi (דוד קמחי), also known as RaDaK (רד"ק), who lived from 1160–1235 A.D., wrote this in his Sefer Mikhlol concerning the usage of the past tense in prophecies (which naturally concern future events):1

ותדע כי מנהג העוברי׳ בלשון הקדש להשתמש בו עבד במקום עתיד שהן אותיות א״יתן וזה בנבואות ברוב כי הדבר ברור כמו אם עבר כי כבר נגזר׳

And you should know that it is a typical behavior of the past tense verbs in the holy language to use a past tense verb in place of a future tense verb (which are [indicated by] the letters איתן), and this is mostly in prophecies because the matter is clear as if it passed, because it has already been decreed.

In regards to the servant passages of Isaiah, many do indeed refer to the nation of Israel, but at least one of them, Isaiah 49:1–9, cannot. In Isa. 49:3, the servant is certainly named “Israel,” yet this same servant is supposed to “bring back Jacob to” Yahveh,2 “to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel.”3 If the servant named Israel is supposed to restore the preserved of Israel, then the scripture must be referring to two entities named Israel. The nation of Israel cannot bring itself back; the nation of Israel cannot raise itself; the nation of Israel cannot restore itself. Those labors and works are specifically assigned to the Messiah.4 It is the Messiah who is named Israel in Isa. 49:3, named after his ancestor Israel, just as he is elsewhere named after his ancestor David.5 The servant named Israel in Isa. 49:3 is thus the Messiah, while the Israel he is supposed to restore is the nation itself.


Footnotes
1 Folio 12b—יב
2 Isa. 49:5
3 Isa. 49:6
4 Isa. 11:11–12
5 cf. Jer. 30:9; Eze. 34:23, 37:24
References
Kimchi, David (דוד קמחי). Sefer Mikhlol (ספר מכלול). Venice: Bomberg, 1545.
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Foi
radio.foi.org › home › the friends of israel today › september 17, 2022 | isaiah 53: humiliation to exaltation (rebroadcast)
September 17, 2022 | Isaiah 53: Humiliation to Exaltation (REBROADCAST) - The Friends of Israel Today Radio
September 23, 2022 - They only had bits of information from God’s prophetic Word to explain all that Jesus would encompass. This week, we’re going to look at how Isaiah 53, written 700 years before Jesus was born, describes the life of the “Suffering Servant.”
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Rtbc
rtbc.faith › blog › the-wonderful-prophecy-of-isaiah-52-53
RTBC - The Wonderful Prophecy of Isaiah 52-53
This passage from Isaiah 52 and 53 is so very like what is described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, only it’s in the Old Testament and was written 700 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem.
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Jews for Jesus
jewsforjesus.org › home › evidence for jesus › is the meaning of isaiah 53 a description of jesus as suffering servant?
Is the Meaning of Isaiah 53 a Description of Jesus as Suffering Servant? - Jews for Jesus
March 12, 2026 - Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase, and be exceeding strong: as the house of Israel looked to him through many days, because their countenance was darkened among the peoples, and their complexion beyond the sons of men (Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 53, ad locum).2 · We find the same interpretation in the Babylonian Talmud: What is his [the Messiah’s] name? The Rabbis said: His name is “the leper scholar,” as it is written, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Sanhedrin 98b)
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ScriptureCentral
scripturecentral.org › home › knowhy › why did isaiah prophesy of a suffering messiah? | scripturec
Why Did Isaiah Prophesy of a Suffering Messiah? | ScriptureC
May 31, 2024 - First, it is noteworthy that this ... Isaiah 53 to the time of the original Isaiah of Jerusalem. Many scholars question or reject Isaiah as the author of the latter part of the book that bears his name (specifically, chapters 40–66), and argue that it was actually written by anonymous ...
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Quora
quora.com › When-is-the-Isaiah-53-scroll-dated
When is the Isaiah 53 scroll dated? - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): There is no ‘Isaiah 53 scroll’. There is an ISAIAH scroll - with the entire book of Isaiah on it. The original book of Isaiah is not divided into chapters and verses. THAT division only occurs MUCH later, in near-modern times (in our terms).
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Quora
quora.com › When-was-the-book-of-Isaiah-written-and-when-did-Jesus-come-on-the-scene
When was the book of Isaiah written and when did Jesus come on the scene? - Quora
Answer (1 of 11): The prophet Isaiah lived in the 8th Century BC, about 700 years before Jesus. In Luke 4:17 it is recorded that Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the Synagogue.