Part 68
(5) The higher law of love demands universal
good will of a supernatural quahty like that of the Father (vs 43-48). III. The new righteousness. Its motives as applied to religious, practical and social duties, or the principles of conduct (6 1—7 12). 1. Reverence toward the Father essential in all acts of worship (6 1-lS) (1) In all duties (ver 1). (2) In almsgiving (vs 2-4). (3) In prayer (vs 5-15). (4) In fasting (vs 16-18), 2. Loyalty toward the Father fundamental in all activities (6 19-34), (1) In treasure-seeking (vs 10-24). (2) In trustful devotion to the kingdom and the Father's righteousness (vs 25-34). 3. Love toward the Father dynamic in all social relations (7 1-12). (1) Critical estimate of self instead of censorious judgment of others (vs 1-5). (2) Discrimination in the communication of spiritual values (ver 6), (3) Kindness toward others in all things like the Father's kindness toward aU His children (vs 7-12). IT, Hortatory conclusion (7 13-27).
The new righteousness then does not set aside the law or offer an easier religion, but one that is more exacting. The kingdom is concerned, not so much with ceremonies and external rules, as with motives and with social virtues, with self-control, purity, honesty and generosity. So much higher are the new standards of righteousness that Jesus
is constrained to warn His hearers that to secure even a place in the kingdom, their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
1, The two gates and the two ways (vs 13-14). 2. The tests of character (vs 15-27),
(1) Characteristics of the subjects (5 3-12).— The Sermon open.9 'n'ith the famihar Beatitudes, Unlike many reformers, Jesua begins 2. Arguthe exposition of His program with a ment: The promise of happiness, •n'ith a blessing Kingdom of rather than a curse. He thus conGod nects His program directly -uith the (Heaven) hopes of His hearers, for the central features in the current Messianic conception were dehverance and happiness. But the conditions of happiness proposed were in strong contrast with those in the popular thought. Happiness does not consist, saj's Jesus, in what one possesses, in lands and houses, in social position, in intellectual attainments, but in the wealth of the inner life, in moral strength, in self-control, in spiritual insight, in the character one is able to form within himself and in the service he is able to reiider to his fellowmen. Happiness, then, like character, is a byproduct of right living. It is presented as the fruit, not as the object of endeavor.
(b) The relation illustrated (5 21-48) : In iUustration of the deeper meaning of the new righteousness and its relation to the Mosaic Law, Jesus proceeds to deal in detail with the precepts of the old moral law, deepening it as He proceeds into the higher law of the kingdom. In each instance the standard of judgment is raised and the individual precepts are deepened into spiritual principles that call for perfect fulfilment. In considering specific precepts no account is taken of overt acts, for in the new righteousness they are impossible. All acts are treated as expressions of tiie inner life. The law
is carried back to the impulse and the will to sin, and these are judged as in the old law the completed acts were judged. Therefore all anger and lust in the heart are strictly enjoined. Likewise every word is raised to a sacredness equal -with that of the most solemn religious vow or oath. Finally, the instinct to avenge is entirely forbidden, and universal love like that of the Father is made the fundamental law of the new social life. Thus Jesus does not abrogate any law but interprets its precepts in terms that call for a deeper and more perfect fulfilment.
It is interesting to note that character is the secret of happiness botfi for the individual and for society. There are two groups of Beatitudes. The first four
2735 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Sermon on Mount
(4) Motives and principles of conduct {6 1— 7 12). —The relation of His teaching to the law defined, Jesus proceeds to explain the motives and principles of conduct as applied to religious and social duties.
alone the subjects of the kingdom will be known. In the presence of the Father there is no room for those who bring nothing but the leaves of empty professions. The kingdom is for those alone who do His will. The test of righteou.sness is illustrated in conclusion by the beautiful parable of the Two Builders. The difference between the two is essen-
(a) In worship (6 1-18) : In the section 6 1—7 12 there is one central thought. All righteousness looks toward God. He is at once the source and the aim of life. Therefore worship aims alone at Divine praise. If acts of worship are performed before men to be seen of them there is no reward for them before the Father, In this Jesus is passing no slight on public worship. He Himself instituted the Lord's Supper and authorized the continuance of the rite of baptism. Such acts have their proper value. His censure is aimed at the love of ostentation so often associated with them. The root of ostentation is selfishness, and selfishness has no part in the new righteousness. Any selfish desire for the approval of men thwarts the purpose of all worship. The object of almsgiving, of prayer or of fasting is the expression of brotherly love, communion with God or spiritual enrichment. The possibility of any of these is excluded by the presence of the desire for the approval of men. It is not merely a Divine fiat but one of the deeper laws of life which decrees that the only possible reward for acts of worship performed from such false motives is the cheap approval of men as well as the impoverishment of the inner life.
tially one of character. It is largely a question of fundamental honesty. The one is superficial and thinks only of that which is visible to the eye and builds only for himself and for the present. The other is honest enough to build well where only God can see, to budd for others and for all time. Thus he builds also for himself. The character of the builder is revealed by the building.
VII. Principles.—The Sermon on the Mount is neither an impractical ideal nor a set of fixed legal regulations. It is, instead, a statement of the principles of life essential in a normal society. Such a society is possible in so far as men attain the character and live the life expressed in these principles. Their correct interpretation is therefore important.
Many of the sayings of the Sermon are metaphorical or proverbial statements, and are not to be understood in a literal or legal sense. In them Jesus was illustrating principles in concrete terms. Their interpretation literally as legal enactments is contrary to the intention and spirit of Jesus. So interpreted, the Sermon becomes in part a visionary and impractical ideal. But rather the principles behind the concrete instances are to be sought and applied anew to the life of the present as Jesua applied them to the Ufe of His own time.
(b) In life's purpose (6 19-34): The same principle holds, says Jesus, in the matter of life's purpose. There is only one treasure worthy of man's search, only one object worthy of his highest endeavor, and that is the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Besides, there can be no division
The following are some of the leading ideas and principles underlying and expressed in the Sermon:
of aim. God will be first and only. Material
blessings must not be set before duty to Him or to men. With any lower aim the new righteousness would be no better than that of the Gentiles. And such a demand is reasonable, for God's gracious providence is ample guaranty that He will supply
(1) Character is the secret of happiness and strength. Men of the quahties described in the Beatitudes are called "blessed." Happiness consists, not in external blessings, but in the inner poise of a normal hfe. The virtues of the Beatitudes are also the elements of strength. Humility, self-control, purity and loyalty are the genuine ciuahties of real strength. Men of such qualities are to inherit the earth because they are the only ones strong enough to possess and use it.
all things needful for the accompHshment of the purposes He has planned for our lives. So in our vocations as in our worship, God is the supreme and
(2) Righteousness is grounded in the inner life. Character is not something imposed from without but a life that unfolds from within. The hope of a perfect morahty and a genuine fulfilment of the law lies in the creation of a sound inner life. Therefore the worth of all religious acts and all personal and social conduct is judged by the quality of the inner motives.
effectual motive.
(c) In social relations (7 1-12): Then again because God is our Father and the supreme object
of desire for all men, great reverence is due toward
others. Considerate helpfulness must replace the
(3) The inner life is a unity. The spiritual nature is all of a piece, so that a moral slump at one point imperils the whole life. Consequently a rigid and exacting spiritual asceticism, even to the extent of extreme major surgery, is sometimes expedient and necessary. "If thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into Gehenna" (Mt 5 29 m).
censorious spirit. For the same reason men will have too great reverence for spiritual values to cast them carelessly before the unworthy. Moreover, because God is so gracious and ready to bestow the
best gifts freely upon His children, the men of the kingdom are under profound obhgation to observe
(4) Universal love is the fundamental social law. It is the dynamic principle of true character and right conduct. In this respect, at least, the perfection of the Father is set as the standard for men. Kindliness in disposition , in word and in act is an obligation binding on all. We may not feel aUke toward aU, but our wills must be set to do good even to our enemies. In this the supernatural quality of the Christian life may be known.
the higher law of brotherhood expressed in the Golden Rule: "All things .... whatsoever ye would
that men should do unto you, even so do ye also
unto them." Thus in the perfect law of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men the new
righteousness makes perfect the Law and the
(.5) The Sermon sets the fact of God the Father at the center of Ufe. Character and life exist in and for fellowship with the Father. All worship and conduct look toward God. His service is the supreme duty, His perfection the standard of character. His goodness the ground of universal love. Given this fact, all the essentials of religion and life follow as a matter of course. God is Father, aU men are brothers. God is Father, all duties are sacred. God is Father, infinite love is at the heart of the world and life is of infinite worth.
, s rnu (5) Hortatory conclusion {7 13-27).— (a) Ihe
Prophets.
narrow way (7 13-14): In the hortatory con-
clusion (7 13-27), Jesus first of all warns His
hearers that the way into the kingdom is a narrow
one It might seem that it ought to be different;
that the way to destruction should be narrow and
difficult, and the way to Kfe broad and easy, but it is
(6) Fulfilment is the final test of life. The blossoms of promises must ripen into the fruit of abiding character. The leaves of empty professions have no value in the eyes of the Father. Deeds and character are the only things that abide, and endurance is the final test. The
not so. The way to all worthy achievement is the
narrow way of self-control, self-sacrifice and infinite
pains. Such is the way to the righteousness of the
kingdom, the supreme object of human endeavor. "Narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that
life of perfect fulfilment is the lite anchored on the rock of ages. See further Ethics; Ethics of Jesus; Kingdom OF God.
Literature.—The standard comms. and Lives of Christ. Among the most important encyclopaedic arts, are those of C. W. Votaw in IIDB, James Moffatt
leadeth unto life."
(b) The tests of character (7 15-27): The test
of the higher fulfilment is fruit. By their fruits
Sermon on Plain Serpent THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2736
in EB and W. F. Adeney in DCG. Tlie following are a few of the most helpful separate volumes on the subject: A. Tholuck, Ex-position of Christ's Sermon on the Mount; Canon Gore, The Sermon on the Mount; B. W. 33acon, The Sermon on the Mount; W. B. Carpenter, The Great Charter of Christ; Hubert Foston, The Beatitudes and the Contrasts; cf H. C. King, The Ethics of Jesus, and Stalker, The Ethic of Jesus. The following periodical arts, are worthy of notice: Franklin Johnson, "The Plan of the Sermon on the Mount," Homiletic Remew, XXIV, 360: A. H. HaU, "The Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount," Bih. Sac. XLVIII, 322; The Bishop of Peterborough (W. C. Magee), "The State and the Sermon on the Mount," Fortnightly Review, LIII, 32; J. G. Pyle. "The Sermon on the Motmt," Putnam's Magazine, VII, 285.
single species. Nearly every reference states or implies poisonous qualities, and in no case is there so much as a hint that a snake may be harmless, except in several expressions referring to the millennium, where their harmlessness is not natural but miraculous. In Arab, there is a score or more of names of serpents, but very few of them are employed at all definitely. It may be too much to say that the inhabitants of Syria and Pal consider
all snakes to be poisonous, but they do not clearly distinguish the noh-poisonous ones, and there are several common and well-known species which are universally beUeved to be poisonous, though actually harmless. Of nearly 25 species which are certainly known to be found in SjTia and Pal, four are deadly poisonous, five are somewhat poisonous, and the rest are absolutely harmless. With the exception of kippoz, "dart-snake" (Isa 34 15), which is probably the name of a bird and not of a snake, every one of the Heb and Gr names occurs in passages where poisonous character is expressed or implied. The deadly poisonous snakes have large perforated poison fangs situated in the front of the upper jaw, an efficient apparatus like a hypodermic syringe for conveying the poison into the depths of the wound. In the somewhat poisonous snakes, the poison fangs are less favorably situated, being farther back, nearly under the eye. Moreover, they are smaller and are merely grooved on the anterior aspect instead of being perforated. All snakes, except a few which are nearly or quite tooth-
Russell Benjamin Miller SERMON ON THE PLAIN, THE: This title is sometimes given to the discourse recorded in Lk 6 20-49, because according to the Gospel (ver 17) it was delivered on a plain at the foot of the mountain. In many respects this address resembles the one recorded in Mt 5-7, but in general the two are so different as to make it uncertain whether they are different reports of the same discourse or reports of different addresses given on different occasions. See Sermon on the Mount.
In contrast with the Sermon on the Mount which
is assigned a place early in the Galilean ministry,
and prior to the appointment of the
1. The Twelve, that event is represented as Occasion the occasion of this discourse. If the two accounts are reports of the same address the setting of Lk is probably the historical one.
The Sermon of Lk includes a little less than onethird of the matter recorded in the Sermon on the
less, have numerous small recurved teeth for holding and helping to swallow the prey, which is usually taken into the stomach while living, the pecuhar structure of the jaws and the absence of a breastbone enabling snakes to swallow animals which exceed the ordinary size of their own bodies.
Mount. The Lukan discourse includes
2. Contents only a portion of the Beatitudes, with a set of four "woes," a rather brief section on the social duties, and the concluding parable of the Two Houses.
The following Ust includes all the serpents which are certainly known to exist in Pal and Syria, omitting the
The Gospel of Lk has been called the social Gospel because of its sympathy with the poor and its emphasis on the duty of kindUness of 3. Message spirit. This social interest is esp. prominent in the Sermon. Here the Beatitudes deal with social differences. In Mt they refer to spiritual conditions. Here Jesus speaks of those who hunger now, probably meaning bodily hunger. In Mt the reference is to hunger and thirst after righteousness. In Mt the invectives are addressed against the seK-satisfied religious teachers and their religious formalism. Here the rich and their unsocial spirit are the subject of the woes. This social interest is further emphasized by the fact that in addition to this social bearing of the Beatitudes, Lk's discourse omits the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, except those portions that deal with social relations, such as those on the Golden Rule, the duty of universal love, the equality of servant and master, and the obligation of a charitable spirit. Russell Benjamin Miller
names of several which have been reported 2. Serpents but whose occurrence does not seem to be of Pal nnrt sufHciently confirmed. The range of "
. """ each species is given. oyria (l) Harmless serpents.— Typhlops vermicularis Merr., Greece and Southwestern Asia; T. simoni Bttgr., Pal; Eryx jaculus L., Greece. North Africa, Central and Southwestern Asia; Tropidonotus tessellatus Laur., Central and Southeastern Europe, Central and Southwestern Asia; Zamenis gemonensis Laur., Central and Southeastern Europe, Gr islands. Southwestern Asia; Z. dahlii Fitz., Southeastern Europe, Southwestern Asia, Lower Egypt; Z. rhodorhachis Jan., Egypt, Southwestern Asia, India; Z. ravergieri Menatr., Southwestern Asia: Z. nummifer Renss., Egypt, Syria, Pal, Cyprus, Asia Minor; Oligodon melanocephalus Jan., Syria, Pal, Sinai, Lower Egypt; Contia decemlineata D. andB., Syria, Pal; C. collarisMenetr., Grislands, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Syria, Pal; C. rothi Jan., Syria, Pal; C. coronella Schleg., Syria, Pal.
(2) Somewhat poisonous serpents.— Tarbophis savignyi Blgr., Syria, Pal, Egypt; T. fallaz Fleischm., Balkan Peninsula, Gr islands, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Syria, Pal; Coelopellis monspessulana Herm., Mediterranean countries, Caucasus, Persia; Psammophis schokari Forsk., North Africa, Southwestern Asia; Micrelaps muelleri Bttgr., Syria, Pal.
(3) Deadly poisonous serpents.— Vipera ammodytes L., Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, Syria; Vipera lebetina L., North Africa, Gr islands. Southwestern Asia;
SERON, se'ron (S-fipuv, Seron) : "The commander of the host of Syria" of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was defeated at Beth-horon by Judas in 166 BC
Cerastes cornutus Forsk., Egypt, Sinai, Arabia; Echis coloratus Gthr., Southern Pal, Arabia, Socotra.
(1 Mace 3 13 ff). Not a Gr name; "perhaps it represents the Phoen Hiram" (Rawlinson, adloc).
To this hst should be added the scheltopusik, a large snake-like, limbless hzard, Ophiosaurus apus, inhabiting Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, Persia, Syria and Pal, which while perfectly harmless is commonly classed with vipers.
SERPENT, sdr'pent: Serpents are not particularly abundant in Pal, but they are often mentioned
Of all these the commonest is Zamenis nummifer,
in the Bible. In the Heb there are 11
1. General names. The NT has four Gr names and LXX employs two of these and three others as well as several compound expressions, such as 8015 Terdfievos, ophis petdinenos, "flying serpent,"
Arab. \j^' (XftS- , 'akd-ul-jauz, "string of walnuts."
a fierce but non-poisonous snake which attains the length of a meter. Its ground color is pale yellow and it has a dorsal series of distinct diamond-shaped dark spots. Alternating with spots of the dorsal row are on each side two lateral rows of less distinct dark spots. It is everywhere considered to be fatal. Another common snake is Zamenis
irfiis eavaTdv, Uphis thanaton, "deadly serpent," and (i^is SaKPuiv, 6phis ddknon, 'TDiting" or "stinging serpent." Notwithstanding this large vocabulary, it is impossible to identify satisfactorily a
gemonensis, Arab. mJJ.^^» , hanash, which attains the
2737 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Sermon on Plain Serpent
length of two meters. It is usually black and much resembles the American black snake, Zamenis constrictor. -Like all species of Zamenin, these are harmless. Other common harmless snakes are Zamenis dahlii, Tropidonotu8 tessellatus which is often found in pools and streams, Coniia collaris, Oligodon melanocephalus, a small, nearly toothless snake with the crown of the head coal black. Among the somewhat poisonous snakes, a very common
serpent" (Job 26 13); "In that day Jeh
will punish leviathan the swift serpent and leviathan the crooked serpent" (Isa 27 1); ". . . . though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them" (Am 9 3).
(4) ibm
- ' ^-o Si-:
, zoMe, is tr<i "crawling things" in Dt 32
JLcijjJI one is Coelopeltie monspeasulana, Arab.
24 (AV "serpents") and in Mic 7 17 (AV "worms").
al-haiyat ul-harshat, which is about two meters long, as large as the black snake. It is uniformly reddish brown above, paler below. Another is Psammophia schokari.
(5) a^lTD? , 'akhshilbh, occurs only in Ps 140 3, where it is tr"* "adder" (LXX Surirh, aspls, Vulg
aspis), "adders' poison is under their lips." It has been suggested (BDB) that the reading should be
Arab. an-nashshdb, "the arrow." It is about a meter long, slender, and white with dark stripes. Many marvelous and utterly improbable tales are told of its jumping powers, as for instance that it can shoot through the air for more than a hundred feet and penetrate a
Tljinsy, 'akkabhish, "spider" (q.v.). The
|| word
in the previous line is nahash.
(6) 'irs , pelhen, like most of the other names a word of uncertain etymology, occurs 6 t and it is
tree like a rifle bullet. The commonest of the deadly poisonous snakes is Vipera lebetina, which attains the length of a meter, has a thick body, a short tail, a broad head and a narrow neck. It is spotted somewhat as Zamenis nummifer, but the spots are less regular and distinct and the ground color is grey rather than yellow. It does not seem to have a distinct name. Cerastes comutus, having two small horns, which are modified scales, over the eyes, is a small but dangerous viper, and is found in the south. Not only are the species of poisonous serpents fewer than the non-poisonous species, but the individuals also appear to be less numerous. The vast majority of the snakes which are encountered are harmless.
tr'' "asp," except in Ps 91 13, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder." According to Liddell and Scott, aspis is the name of the Egyp cobra, Naia haje L., which is not included in (2) above, because it does not certainly appear to have been found in Pal. The name "adder" is applied to various snakes all of which may perhaps be supposed
to be poisonous but some of which are actually
harmless. Aspis occurs in Rom 3 13 in a paraphrase of Ps 140 3 (see [5] above); it occurs fre-
As stated above, all of the Heb and Gr names except kippoz, which occurs only in Isa 34 1.5, are used of snakes actually or supposedly
quently, though not uniformly, in LXX for (2), (5),
(6), (7), (8) and (10).
, fep/ia", occurs only m Isa 14 29 where
(7) ySS
3. Names poisonous. This absence of discrimination between poisonous and nonpoisonous kinds makes determination of the species
it is tr'' "adder" (AV "cockatrice," ERV "basihsk," LXX eKyova. i<nrldoii', ekgona aspidon, Vulg regu-
, Qapha\ of (7) and (8) may be an onomatopoetic word meaning "to hiss" (BDB).
lus). The V yS2
difficult. Further, but few of the Heb names are from roots whose meanings are clear, and there is
(8) "^jirSS , or "'pis^S? , giph'onl, occurs in Prov
little evident relation to Arab, names.
23 32, "At the last it biteth like a serpent [nahash], and stingeth like an adder" (gipVont). In Isa 11
(1) The commonest Heb word is IBnj , nahash, which occurs 31 t and seems to be a generic word
8; 59 5, and Jer 8 17, ARV has "adder," while AV has "cockatrice" and ERV has "basilisk."
for serpent. While not always clearly indicating a venomous serpent, it frequently does: e.g. Ps 58
(9) )b"'?lS, sh'phiphm, occurs only in Gen 49
4; 140 3; Prov 23 32; Eccl 10 8.11; Isa 14 29; Jer 8 17; Am 5 19. According to BDB it is
17:
'Dan shall be a serpent [nahash] in the way.
perhaps from an onomatopoetic /, liSHD , nahash,
An adder [shephiphon] in the path. That biteth the horse's heels. So that his rider falleth backward,"
"to hiss." It may be akin to the Arab. iJLi.:^
hanash, which means "snake" in general, or esp. the black snake. Cf Ir-nahash (1 Ch 4 12); Nahash (a) (1 S 11 1; 2 S 10 2), (6) (2 S 17 27),
This has been thought to be Cerastes cornulus, on the authority of Tristram (NHB), who says that lying in the path it
(c) (2 S 17 2.5); also mCrij , n'hosheih, "copper"
will attack the passer-by, while most snakes will
or "brass"; and inipnp , n'hushtan, "Nehushtan,"
the brazen serpent (2 K 18 4). But BDB derives
glide away at the approach of a person or
the last two words from a different root._
large animal. He adds that his horse was much frightened at seeing one
(2) nn* , saraph, apparently from OniB , saraph,
"to burn'" is used of the fiery serpents of the wilder-
ness. In Nu 21 8, it occurs in the sing.: "Make
of these serpents coiled up
thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard."
in a camel's footprint. The word is perhaps
In ver 6 we have D"'P^ipn D"'lCn3n , ha-n'hashim
ha-s'raphim, "fiery serpents"; in Dt 8 15 the same
Adder.
akin to the Arab.
in the sing. : O^TC iBnj , nahash saraph, also tr"^
siff, or i_ft-uu , suff, which denotes a spotted and deadly snake.
"fiery serpents" ;" in Isa 14 29; 30 6 we have
nsiyia anto , saraph nf'opkeph, "fiery flying ser-
(10) nySS, 'eph'eh, is found in Job 20 16; Isa 30 6; 59 5, and in EV is uniformly tr"* "viper."
pent." The same word in the pi. D"'EniC , s'raphlm,
is tr** "seraphim" in Isa 6 2.6.
It is the same as the Arab. , JlsI , 'afa, which is
(3) T^sn, tannin, elsewhere "dragon or sea-
monster" "(q. v.), is used of the serpents into which
usually tr"* "viper," though the writer has never found anyone who could tell to what snake the name
the rods of Aaron and the magicians were trans-
formed (Ex 7 9.10.12), these serpents bemg desig-
belongs. In Arab, as in Heb a poisonous snake is always understood.
nated by nahash in Ex 4 3; 7 15. Tannm is
rendered "serpent" (AV "dragon") m Dt 32 33
(11) nsp, kippoz, ARV "dart-snake," ERV
"Their wine is the poison of serpents, and Ps sJl
"arrowsnake," AV "great owl," only in Isa 34 15, "There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yea, there
13 "The young lion and the serpent shalt thou
trample under foot." On the other hand, nahash
seems in three passages to refer to a mythical crea-
shall the kites be gathered, every one with her
ture or dragon: "His hand hath pierced the switt
Serpent Servant of Jeh THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2738
In the millennium, "the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den" (Isa 11 8). The serpent is subtle (Gen 3 1; 2 Cor 11 3); wise (Mt 10 16); accursed (Gen 3 14); eats dust (Gen 3 14 Isa 65 25; Mic 7 17). The adder is deaf (Ps 58 4) The serpent lurks in unexpected places (Gen 49 l7 Eccl 10 S; Am 5 19). Serpents may be charmed (Ps 58 5; Eccl 10 11; Jer 8 17). Among four wonderful things is "the way of a serpent upon a rock"
mate." This is the concluding verse in a vivid picture of the desolation of Edom. The renderings "dart-snake" and "arrowsnake" rest on the author-
ity of Bochert, but LXX has ix'""^, echlnos, "hedgehog," and Vulg ericeus, "hedgehog." The rendering of AV "great owl" seems preferable to the others, because the words "make her nest, and
lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade" are as a whole quite inapplicable to a mammal or to a rep-
tile. The derivation from TB]5 , kaphaz (cf Arab.
(Prov 30 19). Alfred Ely Day
yS3 , kdfaz), "to spring," "to dart," suits, it is
SERPENT, BRAZEN, bra'z'n. See Nehushtan.
true, a snake, and not a hedgehog, but may also
suit an owl. Finally, the next word in Isa 34 15
SERPENT-CHARMING, -charm'ing: Allusion to this art, widely practised by the ancients (see references in DB, s.v.; esp. Bochart, Hieron., Ill, 161, 164, etc), as by modern Orientals, is found in Ps 58 5; Eccl 10 11; Jer 8 17; Sir 12 13, perhaps in Jas 3 7. The skill displayed in taming snakes, often without removing the poison fangs, is very surprising. Bruce, Davy and other travelers give striking illustrations. See esp. the interesting account of serpent-charming in Hengstenberg's Egypt and the Books of Moses, ET, 100-104.
is "kites," riVT , dayyoth; cf Arab. sIlXs^, hida'at.
See Bitteen; Owl; Porcupine.
(12) 801!, opKis, a general term for "serpent," occurs in numerous passages of the NT and LXX, and is fairly equivalent to nahash.
(13) cl(T7ris, aspis, occurs in the NT only in Rom 3 13 II to Ps 140 3. See under (5) 'akhshubh and
(6) pelhen. It is found in LXX for these words, and also for 'eph'eh (Isa 30 6).
(14) exi-Sva, echidna, occurs in Acts 28 3, "A viper came out .... and fastened on his [Paul's] hand," and 4 t in the expression "offspring [AV "generation"] of vipers," yew-^/MTa ^x'^'"^'', gennemata echidnon (Mt 3 7; 12 34; 23 33; Lk 3 7). The allied (masc. ?) form e'xis, echis, occurs in Sii' 39 30, RV "adder."
SERPENT, CROOKED, krook'ed: With reference to the constellation round the North Pole, in Job 26 13, RV "the swift serpent," m "fleeing"; and Isa 2'7 1, RVm "winding." In the first part of the latter passage, AV "piercing serpent" is changed in RV to "swift serpent," m "gliding" or "fleeing." See Astronomy, II, 1.
(1.5) epireThv, herpelon, "creeping thing," AV "serpent," is founcl in Jas 3 7.
SERPENT, FIERY. See Serpent, 3, (2).
That the different Heb and Gr names are used without clear distinction is seen from several e.xamples of the employment of two different names in il expressions: "Their poison is like the poison of a serpent [nahash];
SERPENT WORSHIP, wijr'ship: Traces of this superstition are thought by certain critics to be discoverable in the religion of Israel. Stade mentions that W. R. Smith supposed the serpent to be the totem of the house of David (Geschichte, I, 465). H. P. Smith says: "We know of a Serpent's Stone near Jerus, which was the site of a sanctuary (1 K I 9), and this sanctuary was dedicated to Jeh" {Hist of OT, 239, 240). Special reUance is placed on the narrative of the brazen serpent, which Hezekiah is recorded to have destroyed as leading to idolatry (2 K 18 4). "In that case," says H. P. Smith, "we must treat the Nehushtan as a veritable idol of the house of Israel, which had been worshipped in the temple from the time of its erection. Serpent worship is so widespread that we should be surprised not to find traces of it in Israel" (ut supra). In the same line, see G. B. Gray, Nu, 27.5-76. The fancifulness of these deductions is obvious. See Nehushtan. James Orr
They are like the deaf adder [pethen] that stoppeth
her ear" (Ps 58 4). "They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent [nahash]; Adders'" ['akhshubh] poison is under their lips" (Ps 140 3). "For, behold. I "will send serpents [nihashlnt], adders [ciph'anim], among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite vou, saith Jeh" (Jer 8 17). "They shall lick the dust like a serpent [nahash]; like crawling things of the earth [zdhdW 'erer] thev shall come trembling out of their close places" (Mic 7 17). " He shall suck the poison of asps [pethen]: The viper's ['eph'eh] tongue shall slay him" (Jfob 20 16). "Their wine is the poison of serpents [tannutim], and the cruel venom of asps [p'i/ianim] " (Dt 32 33). "And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the
asp [pethen], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's [^iph'on'i] den" (Isa 11 8). See also (8) and (9) above.
Most of the Bib. references to serpents are of a figurative nature, and they usually imply poison-
ous qualities. The wicked (Ps 58 4), 4. Figurathe persecutor (Ps 140 3), and the tive enemy (Jer 8 17) are likened to venomous serpents. The effects of wine are compared to the bites of serpents (Prov 23 32). Satan is a serpent (Gen 3; Rev 12 9; 20 2). The term "offspring of vipers" is applied by John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mt 3 7) or to the multitudes (Lk 3 7) who came to hear him; and by Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 12 34; 23 33). Dan is a "serpent in the way .... that biteth the horse's heels" (Gen 49 17). Serpents are among the terrors of the wilderness (Dt 8 15; Isa 30 6). Among the signs accompanying believers is that "they shall take up serpents" (Mk 16 18; cf Acts 28 5). It is said of him that trusts in Jeh
SERUG, se'rug (.l^lip , s'rugh; Scpoix, Serouch): Son of Reu and great-grandfather of Abraham (Gen 11 20 ff; 1 Ch 1 26; Lk 3 35).
SERVANT, sur'vant (13^, 'ebhedh; SoCXos,
dotilos): A very common word with a variety of meanings, all implying a greater or less degree of inferiority and want of freedom: (1) The most frequent usage is as the equivalent of "slave" (q.v.), with its various shades in position (Gen 9 25; 24 9; Ex 21 5; Mt 10 24; Lk 17 7, and often); but also a hired workman where "hired servant" translates Heb and Gr expressions which differ from the above.
(2) An attendant in the service of someone, as Joshua was the "servant," RV "minister " of Moses (Nu II 28). (3) As a term of respectful self-depreciation referring to one's self, "thy servant" or "your servant" is used in place of the personal pronoun of the first person: (a) in the presence of superiors (Gen
" Thou Shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample
underfoot" (Ps 91 13).
2739 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Serpent Servant of Jeh
so through causes we do not know—the fact that
19 2; 32 18, and often); (b) in addressing the Supreme Being (1 S 3 9; Ps 19 11; 27 9; Lk 2 29, and often). (4) OflScials of every grade are called the "servants" of kings, princes, etc (1 S 29 3; 2 S 16 1; 1 K 11 26; Prov 14 35, and often). (5) The position of a king in relation to his people (1 K 12 7). (6) One who is distinguished as obedient and faithful to God or Christ (Josh 1 2; 2 K 8 19; Dnl 6 20; Col 4 12; 2 Tim 2 24). (7) One who
in speaking of passages from these chapters NT authors referrefl to them by a name the peojjle would recognize, is not a valid argument that they meant to teach anything as to their authorship. The problem had not arisen in NT times. Isa, chs 40-
66, as Professor Davidson has suggested, has a parallel in the Book of Job, each the production of a great mind, each from an author we do not know
is enslaved by sin (Jn 8 34) William Joseph MoGlothlin SERVANT OF JEHOVAH (THE LORD):
(cf Isaiah).
Out of the deep gloom of the exile—when the Jew was a man without a country, when it seemed as if the nation's sins had murdered hope
1. Historical Situation 2. The Authorship of Isa Chs 40-66 3. The Prophet of the Exile 4. The Unity of Chs 40-66 5. Principal Ideas of Chs 40-66 6. The Servant-Passages (1) Date of the Servant-Passages (2) Discussion of the Passages
3. The out of this time comes the voice most Prophet of full of gladness and abounding hope the Exile of all the voices from the OT life. In the midst of the proud, confident civilization of Babylonia, with its teeming wealth and exhaustless splendor, came a man who dared to speak for Jeh—a man of such power to see reality that to him Babylonia was already doomed, and he could summon the people to prepare for God's deliverance.
(.3) Whom Did the Prophet Mean by the Servant ? (4) The Psychology of the Prophecy 7. Place of the Servant-Passages in OT Prophecy 8. Large Messianic Signiflcanco of the Servant-Passages A century and a half had passed since the great days of Isaiah in Jcrus. The world had vastly changed during those long decades
In recent criticism, esp. in Germany, there has been a strong tendency to assign the last chapters of this section
to a different author from the first. The 4 The Unitv *'^'^''?''°'^"'^ '* '^ claimed is not Bab;
1. Historiwhen politicians had planned, armies cal Sitsurged back and forth, and tribes and uation nations had lost or won in the struggle for existence, place and power. The center of the world had changed—for Assyria had gone to its long home, and the city claiming preeminence was not Nineveh but Babylon.
f ru A(\ RR *^^ ^^^^ rebul^ed are the sins of the people 01 <.^ns4U-bb when at home in Judaea, and in at least one passage the temple at Jerus seems to be standing. That these chapters present difficulties need not be disputed, but it seems to me that again and again in them one can find the hand of Second Isa. Then undoubtedly the author quotes from previous prophecies which we can recognize, and the suggestion that some of the diiScult passages may be quotations from other older prophecies which are not preserved to us, I think an exceedingly good one. The quotation of such passages in view of the prospect of return, and the prophet's feeling of the need of the people, would seem to me not at all unnatural. If a later hand is responsible for some utterances in the latter part of the section, it seems to me fairly clear that most of it is from the hand of the great unknown prophet of the exile.
Nowhere perhaps had time laid a heavier hand than on the city of Jerus and the country of Judah. For city and land had come to desolation, and the inhabitants of the country had become familiar with the strange sights and sounds of Babylonia, whither they had been carried by their conquerors. Many had found graves in the land of the exile, and new generations had arisen who had no memory
The fiuestions regarding the Servant-passages as affecting the unity of the book will be treated later.
of the hill country of their fathers. It is the situation of these captive Jews in Babylonia which is
The first part of this section vividly contrasts Jeh and the idols worshipped with such splendor and
reflected and they who are addressed at the waning
of the long night of captivity by the stirring message recorded in Isa chs 40-66 (leaving out of account here disputed passages in chs 40-66).
ceremony. All the resources of irony
5. Principal and satire are used to give point and Ideas of effect to the contrast. Cyrus the Chs 40-66 Median conqueror is alreafly on the horizon, and he is declared to be God's instrument in the deliverance. The idols are described in process of manufacture; they are addressed in scornful apostrophe, they are seen carried away helpless. On the other side Jeh, with illimitable foresight and indomitable strength, knows and reveals the future. They know and reveal nothing. He brings to pass what He has planned. They do nothing. Not only the idols but Babylonia itself
The more one studies the problem of the author-
ship of these chapters, the more unlikely does it seem that their author penned them
2. Author150 years before the time with which
ship of Isa they are vitally connected. It is obChs 40-66 viously impossible to treat that problem in a detailed way here, but one rnay sum up the arguments by saying that in theological
ideas, in style, and use of words they show such
differences from the as.sured productions of Isaiah's pen as to point to a different authorship. And the
is made the victim of satire—and the prophet hurls a taunt song at the proud but impotent city.
great argument, the argument which carries the most weight to the author of this article, is that these
Israel—the people of Jeh—the elect of God—is given the prophet's message. The past is called up as a witness to Jeh's deahngs. His righteousness—His faithfulness to His people—shall not fail. They are unworthy, but out of His own bounty salvation is provided. And with joy of this salva-
late chapters are written from the standpoint of the
exile. The exile is assumed in what is said. These
chapters do not prophesy the exile, do not say it is
to come; they all the time speak as though it had
come. The message is not that an exile is to be, but beginning with the fact that the exile already
tion from exile and from sin the book rings and rings. The Zion of the restored Israel is pictured with all the play of color and richness of imagery at ttie
is, it foretells deliverance. Now of course it is
conceivable that God might inspire a man to put
prophet's command. And this restored Israel is
himself forward 150 years, and with a message to
to have a world-mission. Its light is to fall upon
people who were to live then, assuming their circumstances as a background of what he said, but
all lands. It is to minister salvation to all races of men.
it is improbable to the last degree. To put it_ in
plain, almost gruff, English, it is not the way God
But back of and undc^r those pictures of great hope
did things. The prophet's message was always
is the prophet's sense of his pi«plc's sin and their struggle with it In the latter part of the book, esp. chs 59 and 64 this comes out clearly. And the mood of these chap-
primarily a message to his own age. Then there
is no claim in the chapters themselves that Isaiah was their author. And having once been placed
ters expresses the feehng out of which some of the deep things of the Servant-passages came. There is no need to insist that the chapters as they stand are in the order
80 that it was supposed they were by Isaiah—placed
Servant of Jeh THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2740
in which they were written. We know from other prophecies that this was not always true. But even if a man were convinced that tlie chapters now occurring after the Servant-passages were all written after them, he could stiU hold, and I think would be justified in holding, that in places in those chapters the reader finds the record of a state of the prophet's mind before the writing of those passages. The former view would be, I think, the preferable one. At any rate the point of view Is logically that out of which some of the deep things in the Servant-passages came.
have been inserted here can boast of distinguished names.
There does not seem much to commend it, however. As to the argument from dilference as to rhythm, there is disagreement, and the data are probably not of a sort to warrant much significance being applied to it either way. The fact that the passages are not always a part of a connected movement of thought would play great havoc if made a universal principle of discrimination as to authorship in the prophecies of the OT. If we succeed in giving the fundamental ideas of the passages a place in relation to the thought of Deutero-Isa, an argument for which cogency might be claimed will be dissipated. But even at its best this argument would not be conclusive. To deny certain ideas to an author simply because he has not expressed them in a certain bit of writing acknowledged to him is perilous business. A message of hope surely does not preclude an appreciation of the dark things.
In profoundness of meaning the climax of the book is reached in these passages where the deliverance from exile and the deliverance from sin are connected with one great figure—the Servant of Jeh.
The word "servant," as applied to servants of God, is not an unfamiliar one to readers of the OT.
The truth of the matter is that even by great scholars the temptation to a criticism of knight-errantry is not always resisted. And I think we sliall not make any mistake in believing that this is the case with the attempt to throw doubt upon the Deutero-Isaianic authorship of the Servant-passages.
It is applied to different individuals
6. The and by Jeremiah to the nation (cf Jer Servant30 10; 46 27); but its message is on Passages the whole so distinct and complete in Second Isa that we can study it without any further reference to previous usage.
(2) Discussion of the passages.—42 1-9: In these verses Jeh Himself is the speaker, describing the Servant as His chosen, in whom His soul delights, upon whom He has put His spirit. He is to bring justice to the Gentiles. His methods are to be quiet and gentle, and the very forlorn hope of goodness He will not quench. He is to set justice
The "servant" first appears in Isa 41 8. Here the reference is undoubtedly to Israel, chosen and called of God and to be upheld by Him. Here Israel is promised victory over its enemies. In vivid picture their destruction and Israel's future trust and glory in God are portrayed.
in the earth, and remote countries are described as waiting for His law. Then comes a declaration by the prophet that Jeh, the Creator of all, is the speaker of words declaring the Servant's call in righteousness to be a covenant for the people, a light to the Gentiles, a helper to those in need—the blind and imprisoned. Jeh's glory is not to be given to another, nor His praise to graven images. Former prophecies have come to pass. New things He now declares. One's attention needs to be called to the distinction of the Servant from Israel in this passage. He is to be a covenant of the people: according to Delitzsch, "he in whom and through whom Jeh makes a new covenant with His people in place of the old one that has been broken."
There are several incidental references to Israel as Jeh's servant: created by Jeh and not to be forgotten (41 8) ; Cyrus is said to be called for the sake of His servant Jacob (45 4) ; Jeh is said to have redeemed His servant Jacob (48 20). In 44 26 "servant " seems to be used with the meaning of prophet. It is said of Jeh that He "conflrmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers."
In 42 19 we find the failure and inadequacy of Israel presented in the words, " Who is blind, but my servant ? or deaf, as my messenger that I send ?
' This passage is an explanation of the exile. Israel proved unworthy and sinned, hence its punishment, but even in the exile the lesson had not been taken to heart.
In 43 8 fl Jeh summons Israel the servant, who in spite of blindness and deafness yet is His witness. It has at least seen enough to be able to witness for Him in the presence of the heathen.
49 l-9a; Here the Servant himself speaks, telling of his calling from the beginning of his hfe, of the might of his word, of his shelter in God, of a time of discouragement in which he thought his labor in vain, followed by insistence on his trust in God. Then Jeh promises him a largef mission than the restoration of Israel, viz. to be a light to the Gentiles. Jeh speaks of the Servant as one despised, yet to be triumphant so that he will be honored by kings and princes. He is to lead his people forth at their restoration, "to make them inherit the desolate heritages; saying to them that are bound. Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves."
In 44 1-5, leaving the unworthiness of the actual Israel, there comes what seems to me a summons in the name of the possible, the ideal. The underlying thought
is a call to the high ifutiu'e which God has ready to give.
This covers the reference to the servant outside the great Servant-passages to which we now come. There are four of these: 42 1-9; 49 l-9a; 60 4-11; 62 13—63 12. 61 1-4 perhaps represents words of the Servant, but may refer to words of the prophet, and, as at any rate it adds no new features to the picture of the Servant already given in the passages undoubtedly referring to him, we will not discuss it.
(1) Date of the Servant-passages.—Ewald long ago suggested that the last of the Servant-passages must have been borrowed from an earlier composition, which he assigned to the age of Manasseh. "If we find in the study of the passage reason for
Clearly the Servant is distinct from the people Israel in this passage. Yet in ver 3 he is addressed as Israel. The word Israel here may be a gloss, which would solve the difficulty, or the Servant may be addressed as Israel because he gathers up in himself the meaning of the ideal Israel. If it is true that the prophet gradually passed from the conception of Israel as a nation to a person through whom
its vividness, we shall not need to seek its origin in the description of some past martyrdom."
Duhm quoted by Cheyne thinks the Servantpassages post-exilic. The gentleness and quiet activity of the Servant for one thing, according to Duhm, suggest the age of the scribes, rather than that of the exile. But might not an age of suffering be a time to learn the lesson of gentleness? According to Skinner, Duhm thinks the passages were inserted almost haphazard, but Skinner also refers to Kosters, showing that the passages cannot be
its true destiny would be realized, this last suggestion would gain in probability.
One notices here the emphasis on the might of the Servant, and in this passage we come to understand that he is to pass through a time of ignominy. The phrase "a servant of rulers" is a difficult one, which would be clear if the prophet conceived of him as one of the exiles, and typically representing them. The Servant's mission in this passage seems quite bound up with the restoration.
lifted without carrying some of the succeeding verses with them. This is particularly significant
in view of the recent popularity of other theories which deny the Servant-passages to the hand and time of Second Lsa. The theory that these passages form by themselves a poem or a set of poems which
50 4-11 : In the first part of this passage the Servant is not mentioned directly, but it seems clear that he is
2741 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Servant of Jeh
speaking. He is taught of God continually, that he may bring a message to the weary. He has opened his ear so that he may fully understand Jeh's message. The Servant now describes his sufferings as coming to him because of his obedience. He was not rebellious and did not turn back from his mission. Flint-like he set his face and with confidence in God met the shame which came upon him. After language vivid with a sense of ignominy his assured consciousness of victory and faith in God are expressed.
present, as there is not room in the future for him, for the restoration which is at the door brings felicity, and after that no sufferings of the Servant are conceivable. But there is no actual person in the past and none in the present who could be the Servant. Hence the Servant cannot be to the prophet's mind a real person (see Coniah) .
Of course Davidson relates the result to his larger conception of prophecy in such a way as to secure the Messianic significance of the passages in relation to their fulfilment in Our Lord. The ideas they contain are realized in Him.
In vs 10-11, according to DeUtzsch, Jeh speaks, first encouraging those who listen to the Servant, then addressing those who despise his word. Cheyne thinks the Servant mentioned in ver 10 may be the prophet, but I prefer Delitzsch's view.
But coming back to the prophet's mind—if the Servant was not a person to him. what significance did he have ? The answer according to Davidson is, He is a great personification of the ideal Israel. "He is Israel according to its idea." To quote more fully, "The proplaet has created out of the Divine determinations imposed on Israel, election, creation and forming, endowment with the word or spirit of Jeh, and the Divine purpose in these operations, an ideal Being, an inner Israel in the heart of the phenomenal or actual Israel, an indestructible Being having these Divine attributes or endowments, present in the outward Israel in all ages, powerful and effectual because really composed, if I can say so, of Divine forces, who cannot fail in God's purpose, and who as an inner power within Israel by his operation causes all Israel to become a true servant" (cf Davidson, OT Prophecy, 4.35-.36). Now it seems to me that Davidson is more effective in his destructive than in his constructive work. One must confess that he presents real difliculties in the way of holding to a personal Servant as the prophet's conception. But on the other hand when he tries to replace that by a more adequate conception, I do not think he conspicuously succeeds.
52 13—53 12: The present division of 52 13— 53 12 is unfortunate, for obviously it is all of a piece and ought to stand together in one chapter.
In 52 13-15 Jeh speaks of the humiliation and later of the exaltation of the Servant. He shall deal wisely—the idea here including the success resulting from wisdom—and shall be exalted. Words are piled upon each other here to express his exaltation. But the appearance of the Servant is such as to suggest the very opposite of his dignity, which will astonish nations and kings when they come to understand it. Entering upon eh 53 we find the people of Israel speaking confessing their former unbelief, and giving as a reason the repulsive aspect of the Servant—
despised, sad, sick with a visage to make men turn from him. He is described as though he had been a leper. They thought all this had come upon him as a stroke from God, but they now see how he went even to death, not for his own transgression but for theirs. Their peace and healing came through his suffering and death. They have been sinful and erring; the result of it all God has caused to Ught upon him.
The greatest of the Servant-passages (it seems to me) presents more than can be successfully dealt with under the conception of the Servant as the ideal Israel. The very great emphasis on vicarious suffering in ch 53 simply is not answered by the theory. Words would not leap with such a flame of reality in describing the suffering of a personification. The sense of sin back of the passage is not a thing whose problem could be solved by a glittering figure of speech. There it surges—the movement of an aroused conscience—and the answer to
They look back in wonder at the way he bore his sufferings—Hke a lamb led to the slaughter; with a false judicial procedure he was led away, no one considering his death, or its relation to them. His grave even was an evidence of ignominy.
it could never be anything less than a real deed by a real person. My own feeling is that if language can express anything it expresses the fact that the prophet had a real personal Servant in view.
Beginning at ver 10 the people cease speaking, according to Delitzsch, and the prophecy becomes the organ of God who acknowledges His Servant. The reference to a trespass offering in ver 10 is remarkable. Nowhere else is prophecy so connected with the sacrificial system (A.B, Davidson).
But what of the difficulties Davidson suggests? Even if the answer were not easy to find, one could
rest on the total impression the passages make. One cannot vaporize a passage for the sake of placing it in an environment in which one believes it belongs. As Cheyne in other days said, "In the sublimest descriptions of the Servant I am unable to resist the impression that we have the presentment of an individual, and venture to think that our general view of the Servant ought to be ruled by those passages in which the enthusiasm of the author is at its height."
It pleased God to bruise the Servant^is soul hay-
ing been made a trespass offering; the time of humil-
iation over, the time of exaltation will come.
By his knowledge we are told—;here a momentary
reversion to the time of humiliation taking place by his knowledge he shall justify many and bear
their iniquities. Then comes the exaltation
dividing of spoils and greatness—the phrases sug-
gesting kingly glory: all' this is to be his because of
his suffering. The great fact of ch 53 is vicarious
The first thing we need to remember in dealing with the difficulties Davidson has brought forth is the timelessness of prophecy, and the resulting fact that every prophet saw the future as if lying just on the horizon of his own time. As prophets saw the day of Jeh as if at hand, so it seems to me Deutero-Isaiah saw the Servant: each really afar
(3) Whom did the prophet mean by the bervanl I—
suffering. , , „ .
(a) Obviously not all of Israel always, for the Serv-
ant is distinguished from Israel. (6) Not the godly remnant, for he is distinguished from them. Then the godly remnant does not attain to any
such proportions as to fit the description of ch 53.
off, yet each really seen in the colors of the present. Then we must remember that the prophets did not relate all their conceptions. They stated truths whose meaning and articulation they did not understand. They were not philosophers with a Hegelian hunger for a total view of life, and when we try to read them from this standpoint we misjudge them. Then we must remember that the prophet may here have been lifted to a height of prophetic receptiveness where he received and uttered what went beyond the limits of his o-mi understanding. To be sure there was a point of contact, but I see no objection to the thought that in a place of unique
(c) And one cannot accept the theory that the pro-
phetic order is intended. The whole order is not
great enough to exhaust the meaning of one of a
half-dozen of the greatest lines in ch 53.
Professor A. B. Davidson's OT Prophecy con-
tains a brilKant and exceedingly able discussion of
the question which he approaches from the stand-
point of Bib. rather than simply exegetical theology.
His fundamental position is that in the prophet s
outlook the restoration is the consummation. In
his mind the Servant and his work cannot come after
the restoration. The Servant, if a real person, must be one whose work lies in the past or the
Servant of Jeh Seven Stars THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2742
significance and importance like this, God might use a man to utter words which reached far beyond the limits of his own understanding. In this connection some words of Professor Hermann Schultz are worth quoting: "If it is true anjTvhere in the history of poetry and prophecy, it is true here that the writer being full of the spirit has said more than he himself meant to say and more than he himself understood."
darkly glorious shadow the Christian, with all the sadness and joy and wonder of it, with a sense of
its solving all his problems and meet-
8. Larger ing the deepest needs and outreaches Messianic of his Ufe, can feel a strange companionSignificance ship with the exihc prophet whose of the yearning for a sin-bearer and behef in ServantHis coming call across the long and Passages slowly moving years. In the fight and penetration of that hour he may be trusted to know what the prophet meant. Professor Dehtzsch well said of that passage, "Every word is as it were written under the cross at Golgotha." Lynn Harold Hough
(4) The psychology of the prophecy.—This does not mean that something may not be said about the connection of the Servant-passages with the prophet's own thought. Using DeUtzsch's illustration, we can see how from regarding all Israel as the servant the prophet could narrow down to the godly part of Israel as e.xperience taught him the faithlessness of many, and it ought not to be impossible for us to see how all that Israel really meant at its best could have focused itself in his thought upon one person. Despite Davidson's objection, I can see nothing artificial about this movement in the prophet's mind. There was probably more progression in his thought than Professor Davidson is willing to allow. If it is asked, Where was the person to whom the prophet could ascribe such greatness, conceiving as he did that he was to come at once? surely a similar question would be fair in relation to Isaiah's Messiah. The truth is that even on the threshold of the restoration there was time for a great one suddenly to arise. As John the Baptist on the Jordan watched for the coming One whom he knew not, yet who was alive, so the great prophet of the exile may have watched even day by day for the coming Servant whose work had been revealed to him.
SERVANTS, SOLOMON'S. See Solomon's Servants.
SERVICE, siir'vis: Six Heb, two Aram, and four Gr words are so rendered.
In the OT the word most used for "service" is (1) 'dbhodhah, from ^abhadh, which is the general word,
meaning "to work" and so "to serve,"
1. In the "to tiU," also "to enslave." The noun OT means "bondage," "labor," "ministering," "service," "tiUage," "work," "use." The word is used in describing work in the
fields (Ex 1 14, et al.), work in the tabernacle (Ex 27 19, et al.), sanctuary service (Nu 7 9), service of Jeh (Nu 8 11), Levitical or priestly service (Nu 8 22), kmgly service (1 Ch 26 30), etc. Reference
is made to instruments, wood vessels, cattle, herbs, shekels for the service in the house of Jeh. (2) 'Abhadh itself is tr<i "service" in Nu 8 15; 18 23; Jer 22 13. (3) Seradh means "stitching," i.e. piercing with a needle; it occurs only 4 t, and in each case in RV instead of "service" is tr'' "finely ^^TOUght garments" (Ex 31 10; 35 19; 39 1.41).
But deep in the psychology of the prophecy is the sense of sin out of which these passages came and indications of which I think are found in the latter part of the book. The great guilt-laden past lay terribly behind the prophet, and as he mused over the sufferings of the righteous, perhaps esp. drawn to the heart-rent Jeremiah, the thought of redemptive suffering may have da'nmed upon him. And if in its Ught, and with a personal sense of sin drawn from what experiences we know not, he grapples with the problem, can we not understand, can we not see that God might flash upon him the great conception oi a sin-bearer?
(4) Sharath means primarily "to attend" as a servant or worshipper, and to contribute to or render service, wait on, and thence service; occurs only 3 t (Ex 35 19; 39 1.41 AV) and in ARV is rendered "for ministering." (5) Qabha' is found 7
t, used in the same connection each time, and refers to those numbered for service in the tent of meeting. Its primary root meaning refers to service for war, campaign, hardship (Nu 4 30.35.39.43; 8 24).
(6) Yadh means lit. an "open hand," indicating direction, power, and so ministry as in 1 Ch 6 31, where David appoints certain ones to have direction of the music, tr'^ in 1 Ch 29 5, RV not service, but "himself." (7) 'AbMdhah means "business," "labor," "affairs"; Ezr 6 18 is the only place where it is found. (8) Polhan, from root meaning "to worship," "minister to," and so in Ezr 7 19 vessels given for service.
At last the idea of vicarious suffering had been connected with the deep things of the nation's life,
and henceforward was a part of its
7. Place of heritage. To the profoundest souls the Servantit would be a part of the nation's forPassages ward look. The priestly idea had in OT been deepened and filled with new Prophecy moral meaning. The Servant was a prophet too—so priest and prophet met in one. And I think Cheyne was right when he suggested that in the Servant's exaltation in ch 53, the idea of the Servant is brought nearer to that of king than we sometimes think. So in suggestion, at least, prophet, priest and king meet in the great figure of the suffering Servant.
The following are the uses in the NT: (1) Diakonia, from root meaning "to run on errands," and
so attendance, aid as a servant, min2. In the istry, relief, and hence service; cf NT Eng. word "deacon"; Paul: "that I might minister unto you" (2 Cor 11 8); also found in Rom 15 31 ("ministration") and Rev 2 19 ("ministry"). (2) Douleiio, lit. "to be a slave," in bondage, service (Gal 4 8, "bondage"; Eph 6 7, "service"; 1 Tim 6 2, "serve").
A new rich stream had entered into prophecy, fuU of power to fertilize whatever shores of thought
it touched. In the thoughts of these passages prophecy seemed pressing with impatient eagerness to its goal, and though centuries were to pass before that goal was reached, its promise is seen here, full of assurance and of knowledge of the kind of goal
(3) Lalreia, from root meaning "to render religious homage," menial service to God, and so worship
(Jn 16 2, "service"; Rom 9 4, "service"; Rom 12 1, "spiritual service"; He 9 1, "service"; 9 6, "services"). (4) Leitourgla, from root "to perform reUgious or charitable functions," worship, relieve, obey, minister, and hence a pubUc function, priestly or charitable (liturgy) (2 Cor 9 12, "service"; also in Phil 2 17,30). See Servant.
it is to be.
But whatever our view of the meaning of the prophet, we must agree (cf Mt 8 17; 12 18-21; 26 67; Jn 12 41, et al.) that the conception he so boldly and powerfully put upon his canvas had its realization, its fulfilment in the One who spoke to the world from the cross on Calvary. And in its
William Edward Raffety
2743 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Servant of Jeh Seven Stars
SERVITUDE, sAr'vi-tud. Sec Servant; Slave.
Thus (a) To attack: Jgs 9 33, AV "and set upon the
city." {b) To imprint: Gen 4 15, AV "The Lord
set a mark ui)on Cain." (c) To direct to: 1 K 2 15, "And that all Israel set their faces on me." (d) To place: 1 K 20 12, Ben-hadad shouted one word to his allies: "Set," i.e. set the armies in array, the battering-rams and engines of attack in their place,
SESIS, se'sis (B, Secreis, ^eseis, A, Sto-o-ets, Sesseis): One who put away his foreign wife (1 Esd 9 34) = "Shashai" in Ezr 10 40.
SESTHEL, ses'thel (2eo-8t|\, SeslMl) : One of the sons of Addi who put away their foreign wives
(e) To incline toward: Ezk 40 4, "Set thy heart upon all that I shall show." (/) To trust in: Ps 62
(1 E,sd 9 31) = "Bezalel" in Ezr 10 30.
10, "If riches increase, set not your heart thereon."
SET: Few words in the Eng. language have such a rich variety of meaning and are used in so rich a variety of idiomatic expression as the word
[g) To place before: Ps 90 8, "Thou hast set our iniquities before"; Ps 141 3, "Seta watch, O Jeh, before my mouth." Qi) To go down: of the setting of the sun (Mk 1 32; Lk 4 40). (i) To be proud: Mai 3 15, AV "They that work wickedness are set up." (j) To fill in: Ex 35 9, "stones to be
"set." A glance at any of the great diets, will convince anyone of the truth of this statement. The Standard Dictionary devotes three and a half columns to the word. In its primary meaning it there denotes 22 distinct things, in its secondary meaning 17 more, while 18 distinct phrases are given in which it is used, in some cases again in a variety of meanings. It is indeed a word calculated to drive a foreigner to despair. Some 70 Heb and about 30 Gr words in the original tongues of the Holy Scriptures have been rendered by the word "set, in AV and also in RV. A careful comparative study of the original and of tr' in other tongues will at once indicate that a lack of discrimination is evident on the part of the Eng. translators in the frequent use of the word "set."