Did The Rabbis Forbid Isaiah 53?
Unraveling The Truth About the So-Called "Forbidden Chapter."
The seven weeks between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah are known as a time of consolation after mourning the destruction of the Holy Temple. This is why each Shabbat during these seven weeks we read a prophetic reading or Haftorah from the book of Isaiah that offers words of consolation and comfort.
Christian missionaries claim that the rabbis intentionally skipped over and forbid the reading of Isaiah 53, especially during these seven weeks, because they don’t want you to see a chapter they claim speaks about the messiah suffering for the sins of the world.Missionaries go so far as to call this a rabbinic conspiracy and call it a “Forbidden Chapter.”
This is simply not true. Anyone can read Israel 53 from any Jewish bible whenever they want. The reason chapter 53, as well as most of Isaiah, were not included in the reading for the seven weeks is because their focus is not consolation.
Let’s examine Isaiah 53 to understand why the Christian interpretation that the passage is a prophecy of an individual dying for humanity's sins departs from the text's original context and meaning.
In Isaiah 53:5, the traditional English phrasing “wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities” relies on two specific Hebrew words:
· Mipsha‘ēnu (מִפְּשָׁעֵ֔נוּ) — from our transgressions
· Me‘ăvōnōtēinu (מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ) — from our iniquities
Both words feature a prefixed מ-Mem (meaning “from” or “because of” attached to the root nouns for transgression (pesha) and iniquity (avon).
This Mem is also present in the Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll. Furthermore, the Septuagint translates these words as: Dia tas amartias “Because of our sins”
Therefore, it is incorrect to translate Isaiah 53:5 as:
"He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities.”
The correct biblical translation of this verse should be:
"He was wounded from our transgressions; he was bruised from our iniquities.”
Consequently, whoever was wounded and bruised didn’t suffer for our sins but from or because of someone’s sins.
Theologically, the linguistic and grammatical nuances surrounding the Hebrew letter Mem are significant.
I will explain with an analogy.
Imagine someone living in Minnesota, and it is 20 degrees below zero, and his heating goes out for 3 days. He will try to keep the heat in his home by keeping every window tightly closed. Then some vandals break the homeowner’s windows, cold air rushes in, and the homeowner is shivering and freezing. The homeowner is not suffering for the vandals so that they don’t have to be punished for their crime; rather, the homeowner is suffering as a direct result of and from their crime.
The correct translation of the letter Mem as “from” dispels the claim that Isaiah 53 is speaking about vicarious atonement “for” someone’s sins.
In upcoming videos, we’ll look at more reasons why Isaiah 53 isn't speaking about Jesus and explore what this chapter is speaking about.
We will see that the nations of the world will be shocked when they witness the unexpected redemption of the Jewish people, whom they considered rejected by God and deserving of punishment.
At this point, they admit their mistake and will confess that they were the ones responsible for the suffering of the Jewish nation, who are identified numerous times earlier in Isaiah as the “Servant” of God.
Thank you very much, and stay tuned for part 2 next week,
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
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