Who is the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, Israel or Jesus?

The passages

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Isaiah 49:3

And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

Acts 8:34

The problem

The New Testament quotes Isaiah 53 several times, and the early church read it as a portrait of Jesus. Isaiah 49:3 names the servant as Israel, and the other "servant songs" seem to refer to the nation or to a prophet. Jewish interpreters since the Middle Ages (Rashi, for example) read chapter 53 as the suffering of Israel among the nations. The Ethiopian in Acts asks the question that readers still ask.

What believers and scholars say

It points to Jesus. Christian readers note that no individual or group in Israel's history fits as closely: one who bears the sins of others, is silent before accusers, is buried with the rich, and is vindicated. The New Testament authors saw the pattern fulfilled in the passion. They also point out that the servant in Isaiah 42-53 sometimes serves Israel, which implies a distinction from the nation.

It points to Israel. In the Hebrew text the servant is repeatedly the nation (41:8, 44:1, 49:3). Jewish readers add that "the many" who are healed are the nations observing Israel's suffering after the exile. They add that much of the passage is in a verb form that can be read as past, which would make it a report of suffering already endured.

A figure with several layers. Westermann and Whybray think the original referent may have been a prophet, perhaps the author, or a group in exile. The text could then be applied later to Jesus without being a prediction in the narrow sense. Bock and others reply that a prediction can be typological as well as direct.

Early Jewish readings. The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah applies parts of the passage to the Messiah, though its date is debated. There is no firm evidence that Jews before Jesus expected a suffering messiah based on this chapter.

Where this leaves it

Isaiah 53 can be read in several ways without distorting the Hebrew. Christians find in it the shape of the passion. Jewish readers find the shape of Israel's history. Both can point to the text. Who is right depends partly on the passage and partly on what you already believe about Jesus.