Isaiah 49:1

Context

Isaiah 49:1–6 is counted as the second of the so-called "Servant Songs," four poems featuring the Servant of the LORD that are scattered through Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 52–53. The practice of treating these passages as a distinct group is generally traced to the 1892 commentary of the German Old Testament scholar Bernhard Duhm. Scholars disagree about the origin of Isaiah 40–55. Critical scholarship regards these chapters as the work of an anonymous prophet active during the Babylonian exile ("Second Isaiah," or Deutero-Isaiah), while conservative evangelical scholars regard them as the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah.

In this verse the Servant speaks in the first person, addressing the "isles" and the "people, from far." The Hebrew word rendered "isles," 'iyyim, refers to the Mediterranean coastlands and distant shores; here it denotes the far-off nations beyond Israel. The Servant introduces his mission by declaring that the LORD "hath called me from the womb." In verse 6 this mission is spelled out as restoring Israel and becoming "a light to the Gentiles."

Interpretation

Verse 3 calls the Servant "Israel," yet verses 5–6 say that the Servant brings Israel back. This tension has given rise to several readings of the Servant's identity.

• Traditional Jewish reading: Jewish interpretive tradition generally identifies the Servant as the people of Israel, who serve as God's witness before the nations.
• The Servant as the prophet himself: Some scholars read the song as the prophet's own testimony to his calling. They point to its similarity to the call Jeremiah received "before thou camest forth out of the womb" (Jeremiah 1:5).
• Messianic and Christological reading: Christian tradition across denominations has read the Servant as Jesus Christ. It sees connections between this passage and the naming of Jesus before his birth (Luke 1:31), as well as Simeon's words, "A light to lighten the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32). Many Christian commentators combine these readings, holding that the Servant refers first to Israel and is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, the true Israel.

Questions of Application

The verse is not the subject of significant controversy between denominations. There is, however, a question of whether it may be applied directly to an individual's calling (God's summons of a particular person to a particular work).

• Those who support such an application find a basis in the New Testament. Paul described his own calling as having been separated "from my mother's womb" (Galatians 1:15–16), and Acts 13:47 applies verse 6 of the same song to the mission of Paul and Barnabas. On this basis they hold that the Servant's mission extends to those who follow Christ.
• Those who urge caution stress that the verse originally concerns the Servant, who bears a unique mission. They therefore argue that transferring it directly to every believer's personal vocation or office goes beyond its context.

In translation, the phrase "hath he made mention of my name" is a point of discussion. The Hebrew verb (the causative, or hiphil, form of zakar) means "to call by name" or "to mention," so translations render it in slightly different ways, such as "he named me" or "he called me by name."

Related Passages

• Isaiah 42:1–4
• Isaiah 49:6
• Jeremiah 1:5
• Galatians 1:15–16
• Luke 2:30–32