| Isaiah 42 | |
|---|---|
 The Great Isaiah Scroll, the best preserved of the biblical scrolls found at Qumran from the second century BC, contains all the verses in this chapter. | |
| Book | Book of Isaiah |
| Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 5 |
| Category | Latter Prophets |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 23 |
Isaiah 42 is the forty-second chapter of the Book of Isaiah in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is a part of the Books of the Prophets.[1] Chapters 40-55 are known as "Deutero-Isaiah" and date from the time of the Israelites' exile in Babylon. This chapter contains a poem known as the first of the "Servant songs" about the servant, whom Jewish tradition holds that Isaiah identifies as either the Israelites themselves (Hebrew: אור לגויים, or l'goyim) or Cyrus (in contrast to Jewish Christian and, thus, later gentile Christian tradition, as well as Islamic tradition).
Scholars such as John Goldingay, John Barton, and John Muddiman also hold the view that the Old Testament identifies the servant of the Servant songs as the Israelites in Is. 41:8-9; Is. 44:1; Is. 44:21; Is. 45:4; Is. 48:20 and Is. 49:3.[2][3] The latter two write that "The idea of a 'servant' played a small part in the earlier chapters, being used as a designation of the unworthy Eliakim in 22:20 and of the figure of David in 37:35, but it now comes to the fore as a description of major significance, the noun being used more than 20 times in chs. 40-55. Its first usage is obviously important in establishing the sense in which we are to understand it, and here it is clear that the community of Israel/Jacob is so described."[2]