Jesus was even spit upon

JESUS WAS EVEN SPIT UPON
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah50:6 6I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not
hide my face from mocking and spitting.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Contumely Endured In God's Service
Isaiah50:6
R. Tuck
This is part of a soliloquy of Messiah, andin it he dwells upon the sufferings
which would attend his effort to carry out obediently his Divine mission; and
upon his confidence that God would uphold his Servant through all the
suffering and shame. This passageshould be compared with Psalm22 and ch.
53. The point more especiallypresentedin this verse is the insult offered to
Christ in the closing scenes ofhis life. This insult seems the strangestpart of
our Lord's life-experience; but, if he had not known it, he could not have been
"in all points tempted like us." The scenes here prophesied are narrated in
Matthew 26:67, 68; Matthew 27:26-30;Mark 14:65;Mark 15:15-20;Luke
22:63-65;Luke 23:11;John 18:22, 23; John 19:1-3. Three forms of indignity
are mentioned - smiting, or scourging;plucking of hair; and spitting. Each
must be estimated in the light of historicaldescriptions and Eastern
sentiments.

I. SCOURGING.The severity and barbarity of a Roman scourging has been
brought out by Dr. C. Geikie, who says," Jesus wasnow seizedby some of the
soldiers standing near, and, after being stripped to the waist, was bound in a
stooping posture, his hands behind his back to a post, or low pillar, near the
tribunal. He was then beatentill the soldiers chose to stop, with knots of rope
or plaited leather thongs, armed at the ends with acorn-shapeddrops of lead,
or small sharp-pointed bones. In many cases, notonly was the back of the
person scourgedcutopen in all directions; even the eyes, the face, and the
breastwere tern and cut, and the teeth not seldom knockedout. The judge
stoodby, to stimulate the sinewy executioners by cries of 'Give it him!' but we
may trust that Pilate, though his office required his presence, sparedhimself
this crime. Under the fury of the countless stripes, the victims sometimes sank,
amidst screams, convulsive leaps, and distortions, into a senselessheap;
sometimes died on the spot; sometimes were takenaway, an unrecognizable
mass of bleeding flesh, to find deliverance in death, from the inflammation
and fever, sicknessandshame." Few New Testamentreaders duly appreciate
the sufferings which Messiahendured in the judgment-hall. The cross so fills
their vision that they fail to see how much he endured before the cross and its
final strain and agony were reached.
II. PLUCKING THE HAIR. Easterns have greatrespectfor the beard, and
plucking it was as extremely insulting as it was extremely painful. Eastern
sentiment on this matter may be illustrated by the treatment of David's
ambassadors,one-halfof whose beards were shaven off (2 Samuel 10:5). See
also David's actionwhen he would feign madness (1 Samuel21:13; comp. 2
Samuel 19:24;Ezra 9:3).
III. SPITTING. This was the Easternexpressionof contemptuous abhorrence;
and so Job poeticallyexpresses his sense ofthe treatment he had received, by
saying, "They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my
face" (Job30:10). Hanway, in his book of travels, says, "This instance of
contempt and reproachoffered to Christ was at the same time an expression

of malice and a compliance with custom. The practice has descendedto later
generations;for in the year1744, whena rebel prisoner was laid before Nadir
Shah's general, the soldiers were orderedto spit in his face - an indignity of
greatantiquity in the East." And Gadsby tells us that "spitting in the face is
still practisedas a mark of contempt. An officer in Cairo had two Circassian
concubines who died suddenly. He chargedhis wife with being the cause of
their death, when she spat in his face. He drew his sabre and killed her.
MehemetAll once spat in the face of one of his officers, because he used his
wife badly." The practicalapplication of the fact that Messiahbore such
insults in doing his work may be made on the following lines.
1. God's message, sentby us, may be an offence to men.
2. If it is, they will be very likely to persuade themselves that we are the
offence.
3. And when they take up that notion, they will be sure to vent on us the
feeling which they have againstthe message.But this is apostolic consolation:
"If ye be reproachedfor the Name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of
glory and of God resteth upon you." - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
I gave My back to the smiters.
Isaiah50:6
The shame and smiting
I. AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD. In the personof Christ Jesus, God
himself came into the world, making a specialvisitation to Jerusalemand the

Jewishpeople, but at the same time coming very near to all mankind. When
our Lord came into this world as the representative of God, He came with all
His Divine power about Him (ver. 2). He did equal marvels to those which
were wrought in Egypt when the arm of the Lord was made bare in the eyes
of all the people. It is true He did not change waterinto blood, but He turned
waterinto wine. He did not make their fish to stink, but by His word He
causedthe net to be filled even to bursting with greatfishes. He did the works
of His Father, and those works bare witness of Him that He was come in His
Father's name. But when God thus came among men He was
unacknowledged. What saith the prophet? "Wherefore when I came was
there no man? when I calledwas there none to answer?"A few, taught by the
Spirit of God, discerned Him and rejoiced;but they were so very few that we
may say of the whole generationthat they knew Him not. Yet our Lord was
admirably adapted to be the representative of God, not only because He was
God Himself, but because as man His whole human nature was consecratedto
the work, and in Him was neither flaw nor spot. This is especiallythe sin of
those who have heard the Gospeland yet rejectthe Saviour, for in their case
the Lord has come to them in the most gracious form, and yet they have
refused Him.
II. I want to set the Lord Jesus before you AS THE SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS
PEOPLE.
III. AS THE SERVANT OF GOD.
1. Christ was personally prepared for service (ver. 4).
2. This service knew no reserve in its consecration. Our blessedMasterwas
willing to be scoffedat by the lewdestand lowestofmen.

3. There is something more here than perfect consecrationin the mere form of
it, for its heart and essence are manifestin an obedient delight in the will of
the Father. The words seemto express alacrity. It is not saidthat He
reluctantly permitted His enemies to pluck His hair, or smite His back, but "I
gave My back to the smiter, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair."
4. There was no flinching in Him. They spat in His face, but what says He in
the seventhverse? "I have set My face like a flint." Oh, the bravery of our
Master's silence!Cruelty and shame could not make Him speak.
5. And do you notice all the while the confidence and quiet of His spirit! He
almost seems to say, "You may spit upon Me, but you cannot find fault with
Me. You may pluck My hair, but you cannot impugn My integrity. You may
lash My shoulders, but you cannot impute a fault to Me," etc. Be calm then, O
true servant of God! In patience possessyour soul. Serve God steadily and
steadfastlythough all men should belie you.
6. The last two verses of the chapter read you a noble lesson. "He gave His
back to the smiters;" if, then, any of you walk in darkness, this is no new thing
for a servantof God. The chief of all servants persevered, though men
despisedHim. Follow Him, then. Stay yourselves upon God as He did, and
look for a bright ending of your trials.
IV. AS THE COMFORTEROF HIS PEOPLE.
1. Our blessedLord is wellqualified to speak a word in seasonto him that is
weary, because He Himself is lowly, and meek, and so accessible to us. When
men are in low spirits they feelas if they could not take comfort from persons
who are harsh and proud. The comfortermust come as a sufferer. Your

Master"gave His back to the smiters, and His cheek to them that plucked off
the hair," and therefore He is the Comforteryou want.
2. Remark not only His lowliness, but His sympathy. Are you full of aches and
pains? Jesus knows allabout them, for He "gave His back to the smiters." Do
you suffer from what is worse than pain, from scandaland slander? "He hid
not His face from shame and spitting." Have you been ridiculed of late? Jesus
can sympathize with you, for you know what unholy mirth they made out of
Him. In every pang that rends your heart your Lord has borne His share. Go
and tell Him.
3. In addition to His gentle spirit and His powerto sympathize, there is this to
help to comfort us — namely, His example, for He canargue thus with you, "I
gave My back to the smiters. Cannot you do the like! Shall the disciple be
above his master?"
4. His example further comforts us by the factthat He was calmamid it all.
5. Our Saviour's triumph is meant to be a stimulus and encouragementto us.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
The back given to the smiters
Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.
In Psalm 129:3 the same figure is applied to the sufferings of Israelas a
nation.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.)

The Roman lash
The lash is nothing among us comparedwith what it was among the Romans.
I have heard that it was made of the sinews of oxen, and that in it were twisted
the hucklebones ofsheep, with slivers of bone, in order that every stroke
might more effectuallytear its way into the poor quivering flesh, which was
mangled by its awful strokes.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Plucking off the hair
Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.
Of the beard (Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 13:25); an extreme insult to an Oriental, to
whom the beard is the symbol of dignity.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.)
COMMENTARIES
MacLaren's Expositions
Isaiah
THE SERVANT’S VOLUNTARY SUFFERINGS
Isaiah50:6.

Such words are not to be dealt with coldly. Unless they be graspedby the
heart they are not graspedat all. We do not think of analysing in the presence
of a greatsorrow. There can be no greaterdishonour to the name of Christ
than an unemotional considerationofHis sufferings for us. The hindrances to
a due considerationof these are manifold; some arising from intellectual, and
some from moral, causes. Mostmenhave difficulty in vivifying any historical
event so as to feel its reality. There is no nobler use of the historical
imagination than to direct it to that greatlife and death on which the salvation
of the world depends.
The prophet here has advanced from the first generalconceptionof the
Servant of the Lord as recipient of divine commission, and submissive to the
divine voice, to thoughts of the sufferings which He would meet with on His
path, and of how He bore them.
I. The sufferings of the Servant.
The minute particularity is very noteworthy, scourging, plucking the beard,
shame, all sorts of taunts and buffets on the face, and the lastindignity of
spitting. Clearly, then, He is not only to suffer persecution, but is to be treated
with insult and to endure that strange blending, so often seen, of grim infernal
laughter with grim infernal fury, the hyena’s laugh and its ferocity. Wherever
it occurs, it implies not only fell hate and cruelty, but also contempt and a
horrible delight in triumphing over an enemy. It is found in all corrupt
periods, and especiallyin religious persecutions. Here it implies the rejection
of the Servant.
The prophecy was literally fulfilled, but not in all its traits. This may give a
hint as to the generalinterpretation of prophecy and may teachthat external

fulfilment only points to a deeper correspondence. The mostsalient instance is
in Jesus’entrance into Jerusalemriding on an ass, which was but a finger-
post to guide men’s thoughts to His fulfilling the ideal of the Messianic King.
And yet, the minute correspondencesare worth noticing. What a strange,
solemn glimpse they give into that awful divine omniscience, andinto the
mystery of the play of the vilest passions as being yet under control in their
extremestrage!
We must note the remarkable prominence in the narratives of the Passion, of
signs of contempt and mockery; Judas’kiss, the purple robe, the crown of
thorns, ‘wagging their heads,’‘let be, let Elias come,’etc.
Think of the exquisite pain of this to Christ. That He was sinless and full of
love made it all the worse to bear. Not the physical pain, but the consciousness
that He was encompassedby such an atmosphere of evil, was the sharpest
pang. We should think with reverent sympathy of His perfectdiscernment of
the sinful malignant hearts from which the sufferings came, of His pained and
rejectedlove thrown back on itself, of His clearsight of what their heartless
infliction of tortures would end in for the inflicters, of His true human feeling
which shrank from being the objectof contempt and execration.
II. His patient submission.
‘I gave,’-purely voluntary. That word originally expressedthe patient
submission with which He endured at the moment, when the lash scoredHis
back, but it may be widened out to express Christ’s perfect voluntariness in
all His passion. At any moment He could have abandoned His work if His
filial obedience and His love to men had let Him do so. His would-be captors
fell to the ground before one momentary flash of His majesty, and they could
have laid no hand on Him, if His will had not consentedto His capture. Fra

Angelico has graspedthe thought which the prophet here uttered, and which
the evangelists emphasise, thatall His suffering was voluntary, and that His
love to us restrained His power, and led Him to the slaughter, silent as a sheep
before her shearers. Forhe has pourtrayed the majestic figure seatedin
passive endurance, with eyes blindfolded but yet wide open behind the
bandage, all-seeing, wistful, sad, and patient, while around are fragments of
rods, and smiting hands, and a cruel face blowing spittle on the unshrinking
cheeks. He seems to be saying:‘These things hast thou done, and I kept
silence.’‘Thou couldesthave no power at all againstMe unless it were given
thee.’
III. His submission to suffering in obedience to the Father’s Will.
The context connects His opened ear and His not being rebellious with His
giving His back to the smiters. That involves the idea that these indignities
and insults were part of the divine counselin reference to Him. That same
combination of ideas is strongly presentedin the early addresses ofPeter,
recordedin the first chapters of Acts, of which this is a specimen: ‘Him, being
delivered by the determinate counseland foreknowledgeofGod, ye with
wickedhands have crucified and slain.’ The full significance ofChrist’s
passionas that of the atoning sacrifice was notyet clearto the apostle, any
more than the Servant’s sufferings were to the prophet, but both prophet and
apostle were carriedon by fuller experience and reflectionon what they
already saw clearly, to discern the inwardness and depth of these. The one
sooncame to see that ‘by His stripes we are healed,’and the other finally
wrote: ‘Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.’ And
whoeverdeeply ponders the startling fact that ‘it pleasedthe Lord to bruise
Him,’ sinless and ever obedient as He was, will be borne, sooneror later, into
the full sunlight of the blessedbelief that when Jesus sufferedand died, ‘He
died for all.’ His sufferings were those of a martyr for truth, who is willing to
die rather than ceaseto witness for it; but they were more. They were the
sufferings of a lover of mankind who will face the extremest wrong that can be

inflicted, rather than abandon His mission; but they were more. They were
not merely the penalty which He had to pay for faithfulness to His work;they
were themselves the crown and climax of His work. The Sonof Man came,
indeed, ‘not to be ministered to but to minister,’ but that, takenalone, is but a
maimed view of what He came for, and we must whole-heartedly go on to say
as He said, ‘and to give His life a ransomfor many,’ if we would know the
whole truth as to the sufferings of Jesus.
Again, since Christ suffers according to the will of God, it is clearthat all
representations ofthe scope ofHis atoning death, which represent it as
moving the will of the Fatherto love and pardon, are travesties of the truth
and turn cause into effect. God does not love, because Jesus died, but Jesus
died because Godloved.
Further, it is to be noted that His sufferings are the greatmeans by which He
sustains the weary. The word to which His ears were opened, morning by
morning, was the word to which He was docile when He gave His back to the
smiters. It is His passion, regardedas the sacrifice for a world’s sin, from
which flow the most powerful stimulants to service and tonics for weary souls,
the tenderestcomfortings for sorrow. He sustains and comforts by the
example of His life, but far more, and more sweetly, more mightily, by that
which flows to us through His death. His sufferings are powerful to sustain,
when thought of as our example, but they are a tenfold strongersource of
patience and strength, when laid on our hearts as the price of our redemption.
The Cross is, in all sensesofthe expression, the tree of life.
Wonder, reverence, love, gratitude, should well forth from our hearts, when
we think of these cruel sufferings, but the deepestfountains in them will not
be unsealed, unless we see in the suffering Servant the atoning Son.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

50:4-9 As Jesus was Godand man in one person, we find him sometimes
speaking, orspokenof, as the Lord God; at other times, as man and the
servant of Jehovah. He was to declare the truths which comfort the broken,
contrite heart, those wearyof sin, harassedwith afflictions. And as the Holy
Spirit was upon him, that he might speak as never man spake;so the same
Divine influence daily wakenedhim to pray, to preach the gospel, and to
receive and deliver the whole will of the Father. The Fatherjustified the Son
when he acceptedthe satisfactionhe made for the sin of man. Christ speaks in
the name of all believers. Who dares to be an enemy to those unto whom he is
a Friend? or who will contend with those whom he is an Advocate? Thus St.
Paul applies it, Ro 8:33.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
I gave my back to the smiters - I submitted willingly to be scourged, or
whipped. This is one of the parts of this chapterwhich canbe applied to no
other one but the Messiah. There is not the slightest evidence, whatevermay
be supposed to have been the probability, that Isaiahwas subjected to any
such trial as this, or that he was scourgedin a public manner. Yet it was
literally fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ(Matthew 27:26;compare Luke
18:33).
And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair - literally, 'My cheeks to hose
who pluck, or pull.' The word used here (‫טרמ‬ māraṭ) means properly to polish,
to sharpen, to make smooth; then to make smooth the head, to make bald;
that is, to pluck out the hair, or the beard. To do this was to offer the highest
insult that could be imagined among the Orientals. The beard is suffered to
grow long, and is regardedas a mark of honor. Nothing is regardedas more
infamous than to cut it off (see 2 Samuel 10:4), or to pluck it out; and there is
nothing which an Oriental will soonerresentthan an insult offered to his
beard. 'It is a customamong the Orientals, as well among the Greeks as
among other nations, to cultivate the beard with the utmost care and
solicitude, so that they regard it as the highestpossible insult if a single hair of
the beard is takenaway by violence.'(William of Tyre, an easternarchbishop,
Gesta Dei, p. 802, quoted in Harmer, vol. ii. p. 359.)It is customaryto beg by
the beard, and to swearby the beard. 'By your beard; by the life of your

beard; Godpreserve your beard; God pour his blessings onyour beard,' - are
common expressions there. The Mahometans have such a respectfor the
board that they think it criminal to shave (Harmer, vol. ii. p. 360). The
Septuagint renders this, 'I gave my cheeks to buffering' (εἰς ῥαπίσμα eis
rapisma); that is, to being smitten with the open hand, which was literally
fulfilled in the case ofthe RedeemerMatthew 26:67; Mark 14:65. The general
sense ofthis expressionis, that he would be treatedwith the highest insult.
I hid not my face from shame and spitting - To spit on anyone was regarded
among the Orientals, as it is everywhere else, as an expressionof the highest
insult and indignity Deuteronomy 25:9; Numbers 12:14; Job 30:10. Among
the Orientals also it was regardedas an insult - as it should be everywhere - to
spit in the presence ofany person. Thus among the Medes, Herodotus (i. 99)
says that Deiocesordainedthat, 'to spit in the king's presence, orin the
presence ofeachother, was an act of indecency.'So also among the Arabians,
it is regardedas an offence (Niebuhr's Travels, i. 57). Thus Monsieur
d'Arvieux tells us (Voydans la Pal. p. 140)'the Arabs are sometimes disposed
to think, that when a person spits, it is done out of contempt; and that they
never do it before their superiors' (Harmer, iv. 439). This act of the highest
indignity was performed in reference to the RedeemerMatthew 26:67;
Matthew 27:30; and this expressionof their contempt he bore with the utmost
meekness.This expressionis one of the proofs that this entire passagerefers to
the Messiah. Itis saidLuke 17:32 that the prophecies should be fulfilled by his
being spit upon, and yet there is no other prophecy of the Old Testamentbut
this which contains such a prediction.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
6. smiters—withscourges andwith the open hand (Isa 52:14;Mr 14:65).
Literally fulfilled (Mt 27:26;26:27; Lu 18:33). To "pluck the hair" is the
highest insult that can be offered an Oriental (2Sa 10:4; La 3:30). "I gave"
implies the voluntary nature of His sufferings; His example corresponds to
His precept(Mt 5:39).

spitting—To spit in another's presence is an insult in the East, much more on
one; most of all in the face (Job 30:10; Mt 27:30; Lu 18:32).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
I gave my back to the smiters; I patiently yielded up myself, and turned my
back to those who smote me. I was willing not only to do, but to suffer, the will
of God, and the injuries of men. This and the following passageswere literally
fulfilled in Christ, as is expresslyaffirmed, Matthew 26:57,67 27:26,30,and
elsewhere;but we read of no such thing concerning Isaiah. And therefore it is
most safe and reasonable to understand it of Christ; the rather, because it is
not usual with the prophets to commend themselves so highly as the prophet
here commends the person of whom he speaketh.
Pluckedoff the hair; which was a contumely or punishment inflicted upon
malefactors, Nehemiah13:25.
I hid not my face from shame, from all manner of reproachful usages;but did
knowingly and willingly submit myself there unto.
And spitting: spitting in a man’s face was usedin token of contempt and
detestation, Numbers 12:14 Job 30:10;and this was literally fulfilled in Christ,
Matthew 26:67.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
I gave my back to the smiters,.... To Pontius Pilate, and those he ordered to
scourge him, Matthew 27:26.
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; of the beard; which, is
painful, so a greatindignity and affront. The Septuagint renders it, "and my
cheeks to blows";, a word used by the evangelists whenthey speak of Christ

being smitten and strickenwith the palms of men's hands, and seemto refer
to this passage, Mark 14:65,
I hid not my face from shame and spitting; or from shameful spitting; they
spit in his face, and exposedhim to shame, and which was a shameful usage of
him, and yet he took it patiently, Matthew 26:67, these are all instances of
greatshame and reproach; as what is more reproachful among us, or more
exposes a man, than to be stripped of his clothes, receive lashes onhis bare
back, and that in public? in which ignominious manner Christ was used: or
what reckonedmore scandalous,than for a man to have his beard plucked by
a mob? which used to be done by rude and wantonboys, to such as were
accountedidiots, and little better than brutes (x); and nothing is more
affronting than to spit in a man's face. So Job was used, which he mentions as
a greatindignity done to him, Job 30:10. With some people, and in some
countries, particular places, that were mean and despicable, were appointed
for that use particularly to spit in. Hence Aristippus the philosopher, being
shown a fine room in a house, beautifully and richly paved, spat in the face of
the ownerof it; at which he being angry, and resenting it, the philosopher
replied, that he had not a fitter place to spit in (y).
(x) "------------barbam tibi vellunt Lascivipueri", Horace. "Idcirco stolidam
praebet tibi vellere barbara Jupiter?" Persius, Satyr. 2.((y) Laertius in Vita
Aristippi.
Geneva Study Bible
I gave my back to the {k} smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
(k) I did not shrink from God for any persecutionor calamity. By which he
shows that the true ministers of God can look for no other recompense ofthe
wicked, but after this sort, and also that is their comfort.

EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
6. That persecutions were to be incurred in the performance of his work is
already indicated in the last words of Isaiah 50:5; now the speakerdeclares
his voluntary acquiescence in the hardships of his appointed lot.
I gave my back to the smiters] In Psalm129:3 the same figure is applied to the
sufferings of Israelas a nation.
to them that plucked off the hair] of the beard (cf. Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 13:25);
an extreme insult to an Oriental, to whom the beard is the symbol of dignity
(see on ch. Isaiah 7:20).
from shame and spitting] Numbers 12:14;Deuteronomy 25:9; Matthew 26:67;
Matthew 27:30.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 6. - I gave my back to the smiters (see Isaiah53:5, ad fin.; and comp.
Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:26;John 19:1). My cheeks to them that plucked
off the hair. This is a detail not historicallyrecorded by the evangelists;but it
may have had a literal fulfilment. Plucking off the hair was not unknown to
the Jews as a punishment (see Nehemiah13:25). I hid not my face from shame
and spitting (see Matthew 26:67;Matthew 27:30). Spitting in the Eastmarked
at once contempt and abhorrence. It is a practice which continues to the
present day.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
There follows now a scepticalquestionprompted by weaknessoffaith; and
the divine reply. The question, Isaiah 49:24 : "Canthe booty indeed be

wrestedfrom a giant, or will the captive host of the righteous escape?" The
question is logicallyone, and only divided rhetorically into two (Ges. 153, 2).
The giant, or giganticallystrong one, is the Chaldean. Knobel, in opposition to
Hitzig, who supposes the Persianto be referred to, points very properly to
Isaiah51:12-13, and Isaiah52:5. He is mistaken, however, in thinking that we
must read ‫ירע‬ ‫ירע‬ in Isaiah 49:24, as Ewald does after the Syriac and
Jerome, on accountof the parallelism. The exiles are calledshebhı̄ tsaddı̄q,
not, however, as captives wrestedfrom the righteous (the congregationof the
righteous), as Meierthinks, taking tsaddı̄q as the gen. obj.; still less as captives
carried off by the righteous one, i.e., the Chaldean, for the Chaldean, even
regardedas the accomplisherof the righteous judgment of God, is not
tsaddı̄q, but "wicked" (Habakkuk 1:13);but merely as a hostof captives
consisting of righteous men (Hitzig). The divine answer, Isaiah49:25, Isaiah
49:26 : "Yea, thus saith Jehovah, Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested
from him, and the booty of a tyrant escapes:and I will make warupon him
that warreth with thee, and I will bring salvationto thy children. And I feed
them that pain thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their
own blood, as if with new wine; and all flesh sees that I Jehovaham thy
Saviour, and that thy Redeemeris the Mighty One of Jacob." We might take
the kı̄ in Isaiah 49:25 as a simple affirmative, but it is really to be takenas
precededby a tacit intermediate thought. Rosenmller's explanationis the
correctone: "that which is hardly credible shall take place, for thus hath
Jehovahsaid." He has also given the true interpretation of gam: "although
this really seems incredible, yet I will give it effect." Ewald, onthe contrary,
has quite missedthe sense ofIsaiah 49:24, Isaiah49:25, which he gives as
follows:"The booty in men which a hero has takenin war, may indeed be
takenfrom him again; but Jehovahwill never let the booty that He takes from
the Chaldean(viz., Israel) be wrestedfrom Him again." This is inadmissible,
for the simple reasonthat it presupposes the emendation ‫ירע‬ ‫ירע‬ ‫ירע‬ noita;
and this 'ârı̄ts is quite unsuitable, partly because it would be Jehovahto whom
the case supposedreferred, and still more, because the correspondence in
characterbetweenIsaiah49:24 and Isaiah49:14 is thereby destroyed. The
gibbōr and 'ârı̄ts is called .noiZotecnerefer tcerid htiw ,52:94 haiasI ni‫ערערך‬
This is a noun formed from the future, like Jarebin Hosea 5:13 and Hosea
10:6 - a name chosenas the distinctive epithet of the Asiatic emperor

(probably a name signifying "king Fighting-cock"). The self-laceration
threatened againstthe Chaldean empire recals to mind Isaiah9:19-20, and
Zechariah 11:9, and has as revolting a sound as Numbers 23:24 and
Zechariah 9:15 -passageswhichDaumer and Ghillany understand in the
cannibal sense which they appearto have, whereas whatthey understand
literally is merely a hyperbolical figure. Moreover, it must not be forgotten
that the Old Testamentchurch was a nation, and that the spirit of revelation
in the Old Testamentassumedthe national form, which it afterwards
shatteredto pieces. Knobelpoints to the revolt of the Hyrcanians and several
satraps, who fought on the side of Cyrus againsttheir former rulers (Cyrop. iv
2, 6, v. 1-3). All this will be subservient to that salvationand redemption,
which form the historicalaim of Jehovahand the irresistible work of the
Mighty One of Jacob. The name of God which we meet with here, viz., the
Mighty One of Jacob, only occurs againin Isaiah1:24, and shows who is the
author of the prophecy which is concluded here. The first half setforth, in the
servant of Jehovah, the mediator of Israel's restorationand of the conversion
of the heathen, and closedwith an appeal to the heaven and the earth to
rejoice with the ransomed church. The secondhalf (Isaiah 49:14-26)rebukes
the despondencyof Zion, which fancies itself forgottenof Jehovah, by pointing
to Jehovah's more than maternal love, and the superabundant blessing to be
expectedfrom Him. It also rebukes the doubts of Zion as to the possibility of
such a redemption, by pointing to the faithfulness and omnipotence of the God
of Israel, who will cause the exiles to be wrestedfrom the Chaldean, and their
tormentors to devour one another. The following chapter commences a fresh
train of ideas.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary

And my cheeks to them that plunked off the hair - The greatestindignity that
could possibly be offered. See the note on Isaiah 7:20; (note).
I hid not my face from shame and spitting - Another instance of the utmost
contempt and detestation. It was orderedby the law of Moses as a severe
punishment, carrying with it a lasting disgrace;Deuteronomy25:9. Among
the Medes it was highly offensive to spit in any one's presence, Herod. 1:99;
and so likewise among the Persians, Xenophon, Cyrop. Lib. i., p. 18.
"They abhor me; they flee far from me;
They forbear not to spit in my face."
Job 30:10.
"And Jehovahsaid unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should
she not be ashamedsevendays?" Numbers 22:14. On which place Sir John
Chardin remarks, that "spitting before any one, or spitting upon the ground
in speaking of any one's actions, is through the eastan expressionof extreme
detestation." - Harmer's Observ. 2:509. See also, ofthe same notions of the
Arabs in this respect, Niebuhr, Descriptionde l'Arabie, p. 26. It so evidently
appears that in those countries spitting has ever been an expressionof the
utmost detestation, that the learneddoubt whether in the passagesof
Scripture above quoted any thing more is meant than spitting, - not in the
face, which perhaps the words do not necessarilyimply, - but only in the
presence ofthe person affronted. But in this place it certainly means spitting
in the face;so it is understood in St. Luke, where our Lord plainly refers to
this prophecy: "All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son
of man shall be accomplished;for he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and

shall be mockedand spitefully entreated, and spitted on, εμπτυσθησεται, "
Luke 18:31, Luke 18:32, which was in factfulfilled; και ηρξεαντο τινες
εμπτυειν αυτῳ, "and some beganto spit on him," Mark 14:65, Mark 15:19. If
spitting in a person's presence was suchan indignity, how much more spitting
in his face?
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Isaiah50:6". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/isaiah-
50.html. 1832.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
I gave my back to the smiters - I submitted willingly to be scourged, or
whipped. This is one of the parts of this chapterwhich canbe applied to no
other one but the Messiah. There is not the slightest evidence, whatevermay
be supposed to have been the probability, that Isaiahwas subjected to any
such trial as this, or that he was scourgedin a public manner. Yet it was
literally fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ(Matthew 27:26;compare Luke
18:33).
And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair - literally, ‹My cheeks to hose
who pluck, or pull.‘ The word used here (‫טרמ‬ māraṭ ) means properly to
polish, to sharpen, to make smooth; then to make smooth the head, to make
bald; that is, to pluck out the hair, or the beard. To do this was to offer the

highest insult that could be imagined among the Orientals. The beard is
suffered to grow long, and is regardedas a mark of honor. Nothing is
regardedas more infamous than to cut it off (see 2 Samuel 10:4), or to pluck it
out; and there is nothing which an Oriental will soonerresentthan an insult
offered to his beard. ‹It is a custom among the Orientals, as well among the
Greeks as among other nations, to cultivate the beard with the utmost care
and solicitude, so that they regardit as the highest possible insult if a single
hair of the beard is takenaway by violence.‘(William of Tyre, an eastern
archbishop, Gesta Dei, p. 802, quoted in Harmer, vol. ii. p. 359.)It is
customary to beg by the beard, and to swearby the beard. ‹By your beard; by
the life of your beard; God preserve your beard; Godpour his blessings on
your beard,‘ - are common expressions there. The Mahometans have such a
respectfor the board that they think it criminal to shave (Harmer, vol. ii. p.
360). The Septuagint renders this, ‹I gave my cheeks to buffering‘ ( εἰς
ῥαπίσμα eis rapisma ); that is, to being smitten with the open hand, which was
literally fulfilled in the case ofthe RedeemerMatthew 26:67; Mark 14:65. The
generalsense ofthis expressionis, that he would be treated with the highest
insult.
I hid not my face from shame and spitting - To spit on anyone was regarded
among the Orientals, as it is everywhere else, as an expressionof the highest
insult and indignity Deuteronomy 25:9; Numbers 12:14; Job 30:10. Among
the Orientals also it was regardedas an insult - as it should be everywhere - to
spit in the presence ofany person. Thus among the Medes, Herodotus (i. 99)
says that Deiocesordainedthat, ‹to spit in the king‘s presence, orin the
presence ofeachother, was an act of indecency.‘ So also among the Arabians,
it is regardedas an offence (Niebuhr‘s Travels, i. 57). Thus Monsieur
d‘Arvieux tells us (Voydans la Pal. p. 140)‹the Arabs are sometimes disposed
to think, that when a person spits, it is done out of contempt; and that they
never do it before their superiors‘ (Harmer, iv. 439). This act of the highest
indignity was performed in reference to the RedeemerMatthew 26:67;
Matthew 27:30; and this expressionof their contempt he bore with the utmost
meekness.This expressionis one of the proofs that this entire passagerefers to
the Messiah. Itis saidLuke 17:32 that the prophecies should be fulfilled by his

being spit upon, and yet there is no other prophecy of the Old Testamentbut
this which contains such a prediction.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Isaiah50:6". "Barnes'Notes onthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/isaiah-50.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
Isaiah50:6
I gave My back to the smiters
The shame and smiting
I.
AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD. In the person of Christ Jesus, God
himself came into the world, making a specialvisitation to Jerusalemand the
Jewishpeople, but at the same time coming very near to all mankind. When
our Lord came into this world as the representative of God, He came with all

His Divine power about Him (Isaiah 50:2). He did equal marvels to those
which were wrought in Egypt when the arm of the Lord was made bare in the
eyes of all the people. It is true He did not change waterinto blood, but He
turned waterinto wine. He did not make their fish to stink, but by His word
He causedthe net to be filled even to bursting with greatfishes. He did the
works of His Father, and those works bare witness of Him that He was come
in His Father’s name. But when God thus came among men He was
unacknowledged. What saith the prophet? “Wherefore when I came was there
no man? when I calledwas there none to answer?” A few, taught by the Spirit
of God, discernedHim and rejoiced;but they were so very few that we may
say of the whole generationthat they knew Him not. Yet our Lord was
admirably adapted to be the representative of God, not only because He was
God Himself, but because as man His whole human nature was consecratedto
the work, and in Him was neither flaw nor spot. This is especiallythe sin of
those who have heard the Gospeland yet rejectthe Saviour, for in their case
the Lord has come to them in the most gracious form, and yet they have
refused Him.
II. I want to set the Lord Jesus before you AS THE SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS
PEOPLE.
III. AS THE SERVANT OF GOD.
1. Christ was personally prepared for service (Isaiah 50:4).
2. This service knew no reserve in its consecration. Our blessedMasterwas
willing to be scoffedat by the lewdestand lowestofmen.

3. There is something more here than perfect consecrationin the mere form of
it, for its heart and essence are manifestin an obedient delight in the will of
the Father. The words seemto express alacrity. It is not saidthat He
reluctantly permitted His enemies to pluck His hair, or smite His back, but “I
gave My back to the smiter, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.”
4. There was no flinching in Him. They spat in His face, but what says He in
the seventhverse? “I have set My face like a flint.” Oh, the bravery of our
Master’s silence!Cruelty and shame could not make Him speak.
5. And do you notice all the while the confidence and quiet of His spirit! He
almost seems to say, “You may spit upon Me, but you cannot find fault with
Me. You may pluck My hair, but you cannot impugn My integrity. You may
lash My shoulders, but you cannot impute a fault to Me,” etc. Be calm then, O
true servant of God! In patience possessyour soul. Serve God steadily and
steadfastlythough all men should belie you.
6. The last two verses of the chapter read you a noble lesson. “He gave His
back to the smiters;” if, then, any of you walk in darkness, this is no new thing
for a servantof God. The chief of all servants persevered, though men
despisedHim. Follow Him, then. Stay yourselves upon God as He did, and
look for a bright ending of your trials.

weary, because He Himself is lowly, and meek, and so accessible to us. When
men are in low spirits they feelas if they could not take comfortfrom persons
who are harsh and proud. The comfortermust come as a sufferer. Your
Master“gave His back to the smiters, and His cheek to them that plucked off
the hair,” and therefore He is the Comforteryou want.
2. Remark not only His lowliness, but His sympathy. Are you full of aches and
pains? Jesus knows allabout them, for He “gave His back to the smiters.” Do
you suffer from what is worse than pain, from scandaland slander? “He hid
not His face from shame and spitting.” Have you been ridiculed of late? Jesus
can sympathize with you, for you know what unholy mirth they made out of
Him. In every pang that rends your heart your Lord has borne His share. Go
and tell Him.
3. In addition to His gentle spirit and His powerto sympathize, there is this to
help to comfort us--namely, His example, for He can argue thus with you, “I
gave My back to the smiters. Cannot you do the like! Shall the disciple be
above his master?”
4. His example further comforts us by the factthat He was calmamid it all.
5. Our Saviour’s triumph is meant to be a stimulus and encouragementto us.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The back given to the smiters

In Psalms 129:3 the same figure is applied to the sufferings of Israelas a
nation. (Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.)
The Roman lash
The lash is nothing among us comparedwith what it was among the Romans.
I have heard that it was made of the sinews of oxen, and that in it were twisted
the hucklebones ofsheep, with slivers of bone, in order that every stroke
might more effectuallytear its way into the poor quivering flesh, which was
mangled by its awful strokes. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Plucking off the hair
Of the beard (Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 13:25); an extreme insult to an Oriental, to
whom the beard is the symbol of dignity. (Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Isaiah50:6". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/isaiah-50.html. 1905-1909.
New York.

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
"I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting."
Luke 18:31,32 records Jesus'quotationof things mentioned in this verse,
declaring that all these things would be accomplishedunto the Son of Man;
and the gospels faithfully relate how practicallyall of the things mentioned
here were actually done unto Jesus. Cheyne pointed out that plucking the hair
off the cheeks is not specificallyreported in the gospels as something endured
by Jesus, and supposedthat the expressionwas figurative.[11] The very fact,
however, that such indignities were often inflicted by such men as mockedthe
Christ is the only proof needed that this too was fulfilled upon the Lord.
Besides that, our prophecy states that he gave his cheeks to the men who did
such things; and that Jesus most certainly did. Furthermore, Christ statedin
Luke 18:31 that "all the things" written in the prophets concerning him
would be accomplished;and we cannotbelieve the plucking of the hair off the
cheeks was omitted. This is another instance where the whole truth is
discoveredonly by taking into accountboth the Old Testamentand the New
Testament. Another instance is that of the piercing of Jesus'feet in the
crucifixion.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Isaiah50:6". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".

https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/isaiah-50.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
I gave my back to the smiters,.... To Pontius Pilate, and those he ordered to
scourge him, Matthew 27:26.
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; of the beard; which, is
painful, so a greatindignity and affront. The Septuagint renders it, "and my
cheeks to blows";εις ραπισματα, a word used by the evangelists when they
speak of Christ being smitten and strickenwith the palms of men's hands, and
seemto refer to this passage,Mark 14:65,
I hid not my face from shame and spitting; or from shameful spitting; they
spit in his face, and exposedhim to shame, and which was a shameful usage of
him, and yet he took it patiently, Matthew 26:67, these are all instances of
greatshame and reproach; as what is more reproachful among us, or more
exposes a man, than to be stripped of his clothes, receive lashes onhis bare
back, and that in public? in which ignominious manner Christ was used: or
what reckonedmore scandalous,than for a man to have his beard plucked by
a mob? which used to be done by rude and wantonboys, to such as were
accountedidiots, and little better than brutesF24;and nothing is more
affronting than to spit in a man's face. So Job was used, which he mentions as
a greatindignity done to him, Job 30:10. With some people, and in some
countries, particular places, that were mean and despicable, were appointed
for that use particularly to spit in. Hence Aristippus the philosopher, being
shown a fine room in a house, beautifully and richly paved, spat in the face of
the ownerof it; at which he being angry, and resenting it, the philosopher
replied, that he had not a fitter place to spit inF25.

Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/isaiah-
50.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
I gave my back to the k smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
(k) I did not shrink from God for any persecutionor calamity. By which he
shows that the true ministers of God can look for no other recompense ofthe
wicked, but after this sort, and also that is their comfort.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Isaiah 50:6". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/isaiah-50.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
smiters — with scourges andwith the open hand (Isaiah52:14; Mark 14:65).
Literally fulfilled (Matthew 27:26;Matthew 26:27; Luke 18:33). To “pluck the
hair” is the highest insult that canbe offered an Oriental (2 Samuel 10:4;
Lamentations 3:30). “I gave” implies the voluntary nature of His sufferings;
His example corresponds to His precept (Matthew 5:39).
spitting — To spit in another‘s presence is an insult in the East, much more on
one; most of all in the face (Job 30:10; Matthew 27:30;Luke 18:32).
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah50:6". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/isaiah-50.html. 1871-8.

Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
I gave — I patiently yielded up myself to those who smote me.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/isaiah-50.html. 1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
6.I exposedmy body to the smiters. With the reproaches, jeers, andinsolence
of wickedmen, he contrasts the unshakencourage which he possesses;as if he
had said that, “whateverresistancemaybe attempted by the despisers of God,
yet he will baffle all their insults, so that he will never repent of the labors
which he has undertaken.” Yet this passageplainly shows that the ministers of
the word cannotperform their office faithfully without being exposedto a
contestwith the world, and even without being fiercely assailedonall sides;
for as soonas Isaiah says that he has obeyed the command of God, he likewise
adds that “He has exposedhis body to the smiters.” The faithful servants of
God, when they administer the doctrine of the word, cannotescape from this
condition, but must endure fights, reproaches, hatred, slanders, and various

attacks from adversaries, who loathe that liberty of advising and reproving
which it is necessaryfor them to use. Let them, therefore, arm themselves
with steadfastness andfaith; for a dreadful battle is prepared for them. And
not only does he describe the persecutions of wickedmen, but the reproach of
the world; because wickedmen desire to be thought to have goodcause for
opposing the ministers of the word and persecuting their doctrine, and wish
that those ministers should be regarded as criminals and malefactors, and
held up to universal hatred and abhorrence. For these reasons theylead them
with various slanders, and do not refrain from any kind of reproach, as we
know well enough by experience in the present day, when our adversaries call
us heretics, deceivers, seditious persons, andassailus with other slanders,
which were also directed againstChrist and the Apostles. (Matthew 27:63;
John 7:12; Acts 16:20.)
My face I did not hide from shame and spitting. He not only says that open
and outward foes spat and inflicted blows on him, but glances atthe slanders
which he is compelledto bear from foes who are within and belong to the
household; for out of the very bosomof the Church there always spring up
wickedmen and despisers of God, who insolently attack the prophets. They
who wish to serve God must be prepared to endure all these things calmly,
that they may walk through evil report and through goodreport, (2
Corinthians 6:8,) and may despise not only banishment, stripes,
imprisonment, and death, but likewise reproachesanddisgrace, though they
may sometimes appearharder to endure than death itself. While this doctrine
belongs to all believers, it belongs especiallyto the teachers ofthe word, who
ought to go before others, and to be, as it were, standard-bearers.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Calvin, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/isaiah-50.html.
1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Isaiah50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked
off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Ver. 6. I gave my back to the smiters.] Ecce pro impio pietas flagellatur, &c.,
saith Ambrose. (a) "Behold the man" (as Pilate once said), "the just" man
scourged"forthe unjust," [1 Peter 3:18] wisdom derided for the fool’s sake,
truth denied for the liar’s sake, mercyafflicted for the cruel man’s sake, life
dying for the dead man’s sake. Whatare all our sufferings to his? how oft
have we been whipped, depiled, despitefully spat upon, &c., for his sake? Oh
that I might have the maidenhead of that kind of suffering! said one of the
martyrs in the Marian times; for I have not heard that you have yet whipped
any. Bishop Bonner afterwards, with his own hands, whipped some, and
pulled a greatpart of their beards off.
I hid not my face from shame and spitting.] That is, from shameful spitting.
See Matthew 26:48;Matthew 27:30. {See Trapp on "Matthew 26:48"}{See
Trapp on "Matthew 27:30"}Discamus etiamhoc loco, saithOecolampadius;
Learn here also what is the characterof a true Christian minister, namely, to
express Christ to the world as much as may be, viz., by apt utterance,
seasonable comforts, divine learning, ready obedience, constantpatience,
exemplary innocence, discreetzeal, &c.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/isaiah-
50.html. 1865-1868.
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
Isaiah
THE SERVANT’S VOLUNTARY SUFFERINGS
Isaiah50:6.
Such words are not to be dealt with coldly. Unless they be graspedby the
heart they are not graspedat all. We do not think of analysing in the presence
of a greatsorrow. There can be no greaterdishonour to the name of Christ
than an unemotional considerationofHis sufferings for us. The hindrances to
a due considerationof these are manifold; some arising from intellectual, and
some from moral, causes. Mostmenhave difficulty in vivifying any historical
event so as to feel its reality. There is no nobler use of the historical
imagination than to direct it to that greatlife and death on which the salvation
of the world depends.

The prophet here has advanced from the first generalconceptionof the
Servant of the Lord as recipient of divine commission, and submissive to the
divine voice, to thoughts of the sufferings which He would meet with on His
path, and of how He bore them.
I. The sufferings of the Servant.
The minute particularity is very noteworthy, scourging, plucking the beard,
shame, all sorts of taunts and buffets on the face, and the lastindignity of
spitting. Clearly, then, He is not only to suffer persecution, but is to be treated
with insult and to endure that strange blending, so often seen, of grim infernal
laughter with grim infernal fury, the hyena’s laugh and its ferocity. Wherever
it occurs, it implies not only fell hate and cruelty, but also contempt and a
horrible delight in triumphing over an enemy. It is found in all corrupt
periods, and especiallyin religious persecutions. Here it implies the rejection
of the Servant.
The prophecy was literally fulfilled, but not in all its traits. This may give a
hint as to the generalinterpretation of prophecy and may teachthat external
fulfilment only points to a deeper correspondence. The mostsalient instance is
in Jesus’entrance into Jerusalemriding on an ass, which was but a finger-
post to guide men’s thoughts to His fulfilling the ideal of the Messianic King.
And yet, the minute correspondencesare worth noticing. What a strange,
solemn glimpse they give into that awful divine omniscience, andinto the
mystery of the play of the vilest passions as being yet under control in their
extremestrage!

We must note the remarkable prominence in the narratives of the Passion, of
signs of contempt and mockery; Judas’kiss, the purple robe, the crown of
thorns, ‘wagging their heads,’‘let be, let Elias come,’etc.
Think of the exquisite pain of this to Christ. That He was sinless and full of
love made it all the worse to bear. Not the physical pain, but the consciousness
that He was encompassedby such an atmosphere of evil, was the sharpest
pang. We should think with reverent sympathy of His perfectdiscernment of
the sinful malignant hearts from which the sufferings came, of His pained and
rejectedlove thrown back on itself, of His clearsight of what their heartless
infliction of tortures would end in for the inflicters, of His true human feeling
which shrank from being the objectof contempt and execration.
II. His patient submission.
‘I gave,’-purely voluntary. That word originally expressedthe patient
submission with which He endured at the moment, when the lash scoredHis
back, but it may be widened out to express Christ’s perfect voluntariness in
all His passion. At any moment He could have abandoned His work if His
filial obedience and His love to men had let Him do so. His would-be captors
fell to the ground before one momentary flash of His majesty, and they could
have laid no hand on Him, if His will had not consentedto His capture. Fra
Angelico has graspedthe thought which the prophet here uttered, and which
the evangelists emphasise, thatall His suffering was voluntary, and that His
love to us restrained His power, and led Him to the slaughter, silent as a sheep
before her shearers. Forhe has pourtrayed the majestic figure seatedin
passive endurance, with eyes blindfolded but yet wide open behind the
bandage, all-seeing, wistful, sad, and patient, while around are fragments of
rods, and smiting hands, and a cruel face blowing spittle on the unshrinking
cheeks. He seems to be saying:‘These things hast thou done, and I kept

silence.’‘Thou couldesthave no power at all againstMe unless it were given
thee.’
III. His submission to suffering in obedience to the Father’s Will.
The context connects His opened ear and His not being rebellious with His
giving His back to the smiters. That involves the idea that these indignities
and insults were part of the divine counselin reference to Him. That same
combination of ideas is strongly presentedin the early addresses ofPeter,
recordedin the first chapters of Acts, of which this is a specimen: ‘Him, being
delivered by the determinate counseland foreknowledgeofGod, ye with
wickedhands have crucified and slain.’ The full significance ofChrist’s
passionas that of the atoning sacrifice was notyet clearto the apostle, any
more than the Servant’s sufferings were to the prophet, but both prophet and
apostle were carriedon by fuller experience and reflectionon what they
already saw clearly, to discern the inwardness and depth of these. The one
sooncame to see that ‘by His stripes we are healed,’and the other finally
wrote: ‘Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.’ And
whoeverdeeply ponders the startling fact that ‘it pleasedthe Lord to bruise
Him,’ sinless and ever obedient as He was, will be borne, sooneror later, into
the full sunlight of the blessedbelief that when Jesus sufferedand died, ‘He
died for all.’ His sufferings were those of a martyr for truth, who is willing to
die rather than ceaseto witness for it; but they were more. They were the
sufferings of a lover of mankind who will face the extremest wrong that can be
inflicted, rather than abandon His mission; but they were more. They were
not merely the penalty which He had to pay for faithfulness to His work;they
were themselves the crown and climax of His work. The Sonof Man came,
indeed, ‘not to be ministered to but to minister,’ but that, takenalone, is but a
maimed view of what He came for, and we must whole-heartedly go on to say
as He said, ‘and to give His life a ransomfor many,’ if we would know the
whole truth as to the sufferings of Jesus.

Again, since Christ suffers according to the will of God, it is clearthat all
representations ofthe scope ofHis atoning death, which represent it as
moving the will of the Fatherto love and pardon, are travesties of the truth
and turn cause into effect. God does not love, because Jesus died, but Jesus
died because Godloved.
Further, it is to be noted that His sufferings are the greatmeans by which He
sustains the weary. The word to which His ears were opened, morning by
morning, was the word to which He was docile when He gave His back to the
smiters. It is His passion, regardedas the sacrifice for a world’s sin, from
which flow the most powerful stimulants to service and tonics for weary souls,
the tenderestcomfortings for sorrow. He sustains and comforts by the
example of His life, but far more, and more sweetly, more mightily, by that
which flows to us through His death. His sufferings are powerful to sustain,
when thought of as our example, but they are a tenfold strongersource of
patience and strength, when laid on our hearts as the price of our redemption.
The Cross is, in all sensesofthe expression, the tree of life.
Wonder, reverence, love, gratitude, should well forth from our hearts, when
we think of these cruel sufferings, but the deepestfountains in them will not
be unsealed, unless we see in the suffering Servant the atoning Son.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

MacLaren, Alexander. "Commentary on Isaiah50:6". Alexander MacLaren's
Expositions of Holy Scripture.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/isaiah-50.html.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
I gave my back to the smiters; I patiently yielded up myself, and turned my
back to those who smote me. I was willing not only to do, but to suffer, the will
of God, and the injuries of men. This and the following passageswere literally
fulfilled in Christ, as is expresslyaffirmed, Matthew 26:57,67 27:26,30,and
elsewhere;but we read of no such thing concerning Isaiah. And therefore it is
most safe and reasonable to understand it of Christ; the rather, because it is
not usual with the prophets to commend themselves so highly as the prophet
here commends the person of whom he speaketh.
Pluckedoff the hair; which was a contumely or punishment inflicted upon
malefactors, Nehemiah13:25.
I hid not my face from shame, from all manner of reproachful usages;but did
knowingly and willingly submit myself there unto.
And spitting: spitting in a man’s face was usedin token of contempt and
detestation, Numbers 12:14 Job 30:10;and this was literally fulfilled in Christ,
Matthew 26:67.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Isaiah50:6". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/isaiah-50.html. 1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
6. I gave my back to the smiters — Spokenin reference to Christ’s willingly-
borne sufferings. His obedience was perfect. Psalms 22:7; Psalms 69:8, find in
this their perfectanti-typical fulfilment. “He offered his back to such as smote
it, his cheeks to such as plucked the hair of his beard.” This was submissionto
the deepestdegree ofshame an Oriental could conceive of. See Matthew
26:67;Matthew 27:30;Luke 18:31-38.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/isaiah-
50.html. 1874-1909.

Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Disdain and abuse are the inevitable consequences ofobeying God
consistentlyby declaring His messages. All the true servants of the Lord
experience this to some extent ( 2 Timothy 3:12). This is only the second
reference to the Servant as a sufferer (cf. Isaiah 49:7). This theme receives
major exposition in the fourth Servant Song. The Servant said He gave
Himself over to this type of treatment. It is one thing to endure such
treatment, but it is quite another to gladly submit to it without defending
oneself. These descriptions picture persecutionthat Jesus Christ endured
literally (cf. Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:30;Mark 14:65;Mark 15:16-20;
Luke 22:63). If we did not have the fulfillment of this prophecy in the life of
the Lord Jesus, it would be easyto interpret this verse as only a figurative,
poetic description of suffering. The literal fulfillment of this and other first
advent prophecies should encourage us to expect the literal fulfillment of
secondadvent prophecies. Jesus laid down His life on His own initiative ( John
10:17-18).
"It would be impossible for any sinful human being, no matter how fine a
person he was, to undergo the sufferings herein described without a spirit of
rebellion welling up within him. And if a spirit of revenge took hold of him, we
might well understand. Even Jeremiahcomplained at the way he was being
used (cf. Jeremiah20:9; Jeremiah20:14 ff, and note Job3). Only one who was
entirely without sin could undergo such suffering without a rebellious spirit
[cf. 1 Peter2:22-23]." [Note:Young, 3:301.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Isaiah 50:6". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/isaiah-50.html. 2012.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Spit. The greatestindignity, Job xxx. 10., and Deuteronomyxxv. 9. Yet this
was the treatment of our Saviour, Luke xviii. 31., and Matthew xxvi. 67.
(Calmet) --- "The greatGrotius, (I wish he were greatin explaining the
prophets)" applies this to Jeremias. (Houbigant)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Isaiah 50:6". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/isaiah-50.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
I gave, &c. Fulfilled in Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:26.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/isaiah-50.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Smiters - with scourgesand with the open hand (Isaiah 52:14). Mark 14:65;
Matt. 28:26;26:67 , inform us of the fufilment of this prophecy (Luke 18:31-
33). To 'pluck the hair' is the highestinsult that can be offered an Oriental (2
Samuel 10:4; Lamentations 3:30). "I gave" implies the voluntary nature of
His sufferings;His example correspondedto His precept(Matthew 5:39).
I hid not my face from shame and spitting - to spit in another's presence is an
insult in the East, much more on one;most of all, in the face (Job30:10;
Matthew 27:30).
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah50:6". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/isaiah-
50.html. 1871-8.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
gave
Lamentations 3:30; Micah5:1; Matthew 5:39; 26:67; 27:26;Mark 14:65;
15:19;Luke 22:63,64;John 18:22;Hebrews 12:2
my cheeks
The easternpeople always held the beard in greatveneration; and to pluck a
man's beard is one of the grossestindignities that can be offered. D'Arvieux
gives a remarkable instance of an Arab, who, having receiveda wound in his
jaw, chose to hazard his life rather than suffer the surgeonto cut off his
beard. See Note on 2 Sa 10:4.
that plucked
Nehemiah 13:25
I hid
Another instance of the utmost contempt and detestation. Throughoutthe
Eastit is highly offensive to spit in any one's presence;and if this is such an
indignity, how much more spitting in the face?
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Isaiah 50:6". "The Treasuryof Scripture
Knowledge". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/isaiah-
50.html.
Preacher's Complete HomileticalCommentary
OUR SAVIOUR'S SUBMISSION TO SHAME AND SUFFERING
Isa . I gave my back to the smiters, &c.
It was for us that our Lord thus submitted to shame and suffering. May a
spirit of tenderness, and thankfulness, and love, be given to us while we
remember what He endured on our behalf!
I. OUR LORD'S HUMILIATION WAS VOLUNTARY.
He gave Himself up freely to suffer, the just for the unjust. And while He was
upon earth, in pursuance of His designs, He never was at the mercy of His foes
(Mat ). His sufferings were the unavoidable result of His voluntary
determination to save us. And they were all foreseen. Forthe accomplishment
of two greatpurposes, He cheerfully gave His back to the smiters, and His

cheeks to them that pulled off the hair. These were the glory of God, and the
salvationof sinners.
"Father, how wide Thy glory shines!"
"Jesus, andcan it ever be?"
II. OUR LORD'S HUMILIATION WAS EXTREME.
In the apprehensions of men, insults are aggravatedin proportion to the
disparity betweenthe personwho receives and who offers them. A blow from
an equal is an offence, but would be still more deeply resentedfrom an
inferior. But if a subject, a servant, a slave, should presume to strike a king, it
would be justly deemed an enormous crime. But Jesus, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords, whom all the angels ofGod worship, made Himself so entirely
of no reputation, that the basestof the people were not afraid to make Him
the objectof their derision, and to express their hatred in the most
contemptuous manner.
1. They spat upon Him (Mat ; Mat 27:30). Greatas an insult of this kind
would be deemed amongstus, it was consideredas still greater, according to
the customs prevalent in Easterncountries. There, to spit even in the presence
of a person, though it were only on the ground, conveyedthe idea of disdain
and abhorrence. But the lowestofthe people spat in the face—notof an
Alexander or a Cæsar—butof THE SON OF GOD!
2. They buffeted Him on the face, and when He meeklyoffered His cheek to
their blows, they plucked off the hair. The beard was in the Eastaccounted

honourable (2Sa ). With savage violence theytore off the hair of His beard;
while He, like a sheepbefore the shearers, was dumb, and quietly yielded
Himself up to their outrages.
3. His back they tore with scourges,as was foretoldby the psalmist (Psa ). The
JewishCouncil condemned Him to death for blasphemy, because He said He
was the Son of God. Stoning was the punishment prescribed by the law of
Moses,in such cases (Lev14:16). But this death was not sufficiently lingering
and tormenting to gratify their malice. To glut their insatiable cruelty, they
were therefore willing to own their subjection to the Romanpower to be so
absolute, that it was not lawful for them to put any one to death (Joh 17:26),
according to their own judicial law;and thus wilfully, though unwillingly,
they fulfilled the prophecies:they preferred the punishment which the
Romans appropriated to slaves who were guilty of flagitious crimes, and
therefore insisted that He should be crucified. According to the Roman
custom, those who were crucified were previously scourged. It was not
unfrequent for the sufferers to expire under the severity and torture of
scourging. And we may be certainthat Jesus experiencedno lenity from their
merciless hands. The ploughers ploughed His back. But more and greater
tortures were before Him. He was engagedto make a full atonement for
human sin by His sufferings; and as He had power over His own life, He
would not dismiss His spirit until He could say, "It is finished!"
"Beholdthe Man!" Behold the Sonof Godmocked, blindfolded, spit upon,
and scourged!
1. Shall we continue in sin, after we know what it costHim to expiate our sins?
God forbid! (H. E. I. 4589, 4590.)

2. Shall we refuse to suffer shame for His sake, andbe intimidated by the
frowns or contempt of men from avowing our attachment to Him? We are,
indeed, capable of this baseness andingratitude. But if He is pleasedto
strengthen us by the powerof His Spirit, we will accountsuchdisgrace our
glory. In this, as in all things, let our Lord be our exemplar. Let us neither
court the smiles of men, nor shrink at the thought of their displeasure. Let it
be our constantaim to glorify God. This is the secretofChristian heroism.
True magnanimity is evidencedby the real importance of the end it proposes,
and by the steadiness withwhich it pursues the proper means of attaining that
end; undisturbed by difficulty, danger, or pain, and equally indifferent to the
applause or the scornof incompetent judges. How gloriously did it shine forth
in our Saviour! In this let us strive to follow Him!—John Newton:Works, pp.
706-709.
Messiah's sufferings and supports. I. His sufferings.
1. They were greatand various.
2. He willingly undertook to sustain them all (H. E. I. 913). II. His supports.
1. Assurance of effectualsuccour(Isa ).
2. Assurance of a triumphant issue (Isa ).
Contemplate the holy sufferer—
1. As the predicted Saviour of the world.

2. As the greatpattern of all holy obedience.—Charles Simeon, M.A.
Of whom speakeththe prophet this? Of himself or of some other? It is quite
certain that Isaiahhere wrote concerning the Lord Jesus Christ(Luk ). Of
whom else could you conceive the prophet to have spokenif you readthe
whole chapter? (Luk 23:11.)Pilate, the governor, gave Him up to the cruel
process ofscourging. Beholdyour King! Turn hither all your eyes and hearts,
and look upon the despised and rejectedof men! The sight demands
adoration.
I. Gaze upon your despisedand rejectedLord as THE REPRESENTATIVE
OF GOD. In Him God came into the world, making a specialvisitation to
Jerusalemand the Jewishpeople, but at the same time coming very near to all
mankind. He came to and calledthe people whom He had favoured so long,
and whom He was intent to favour still (Isa ).
1. When our Lord came into this world as the representative of God, He came
with all His divine power about Him. He fed the hungry, &c. He did equal
marvels to those which were wrought in Egypt when the arm of the Lord was
made bare in the eyes of all the people. He did the works of His Father, and
those works bare witness of Him that He was come in His Father's name.
2. But when God thus came among men He was unacknowledged(Isa ). A few,
taught by the Spirit of God, discernedHim and rejoiced;but they were so
very few that we may sayof the whole generationthat they knew Him not.
3. Yet our Lord, when He came into the world, was admirably adapted to be
the representative of God, not only because He was God Himself, but because

as man His whole human nature was consecratedto the work, and in Him was
neither flaw nor spot. His course and conduct were most conciliatory, for He
went among the people, and ate with publicans and sinners; so gentle was He
that He took little children in His arms, and blessedthem; for this, if for
nothing else, they ought to have welcomedHim right heartily, and rejoicedat
the sight of Him. This is especiallythe sin of those who have heard the Gospel
and yet reject the Saviour, for in their case the Lord has come to them in the
most gracious form, and yet they have refused Him. This is in reality a
scorning and despising of the Lord God, and is well setforth by the insults
which were poured upon the Lord Jesus.
II. See the Lord Jesus as THE SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS PEOPLE. WhenHe
suffered thus, it was not on His own account, nor purely for the sake ofHis
Father; but He was "woundedfor our transgressions," &c. There has risen up
a modern idea which I cannot too much reprobate, that Christ made no
atonement for our sin except upon the cross:whereas in this passagewe are
taught as plainly as possible that by His bruising and stripes, as well as by His
death, we are healed. Never divide betweenthe life and the death of Christ.
How could He have died, if He had not lived? How could He suffer except
while He lived? Deathis not suffering, but the end of it. Guard also againstthe
evil notion that you have nothing to do with the righteousness ofChrist, for
He could not have made an atonement by His blood, if He had not been
perfect in His life. He could not have been acceptable, if He had not first been
proven to be holy, harmless, and undefiled. The victim must be spotless, orit
cannot be presentedfor sacrifice. Draw no nice lines and raise no quibbling
questions, but look at your Lord as He is, and bow before Him. Jesus took
upon Himself our sin, and being found bearing that sin, He had to be treated
as sin should be treated. All this was voluntary. "He gave His back to the
smiters." They did not seize and compel Him, or, if they did, yet they could
not have done it without His consent. That Christ should stand in our steadby
force were a little thing, even had it been possible;but that He should stand
there of His own free will, and that being there He should willingly be treated
with derision, this is grace indeed. Here is matter for our faith to rest upon.

III. See the Lord Jesus Christ as THE SERVANT OF GOD. He took upon
Himself the form of a servant when He was made in the likeness ofman. This
is to be the guide of our life.
1. As a servant, Christ was personally prepared for service. He was thirty
years and more here below, learning obedience in His Father's house, and the
after years were spent in learning obedience by the things which He suffered.
2. Our text assures us that this service knew no reserve in its consecration. We
generallydraw back somewhere.Our blessedMasterwas willing to be scoffed
at by the lewdestand the lowestof men. Such patience should be yours as
servants of God.
3. Beside, there was an obedient delight in the will of the Father. How could
He delight in suffering and shame? These things were even more repugnant to
His sensitive nature than they can be to us; and yet, "Forthe joy," &c.
4. There was no flinching in Him. Notice all the while the confidence and quiet
of His spirit? He almostseems to say, "You may spit upon me, but you cannot
find fault with me," &c.
weary, because He Himself is lowly, and meek, and so accessible to us.

2. Beside, He is full of sympathy.
3. Then there is His example. "I gave my back," &c. Cannotyou do the like?
&c. He was calmamid it all. Neverwas there a patience like to His. This is
your copy.
4. Our Saviour's triumph is meant to be a stimulus and encouragement.
"ConsiderHim that endured," &c. (Heb ). Though once abasedand despised,
now He sitteth at the right hand of God, and reigns over all things; and the
day is coming when every knee shall bow before Him, &c. Be like Him, then,
ye who bear His name; trust Him, and live for Him, and you shall reign with
Him in glory for ever.—C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No.
1486.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Isaiah50:6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those
who pluck out the beard; I did not coverMy face from humiliation and
spitting.
KJV Isaiah50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

I gave My back to those who strike Me Lam 3:30; Micah5:1; Mt 5:39; 26:67;
27:26;Mark 14:65;15:19; Luke 22:63,64;John 18:22;Heb 12:2
My cheeks to those on 2 Sa 10:4.
who pluck out the beard Nehemiah 13:25
EVIDENCE OF THE
SERVANT'S OBEDIENCE
This prophecy gives us striking details which were fulfilled in the Passionof
Jesus describedin the Gospels.
Paul Apple - The Back ofa Disciple – Undeterred by both Physicaland
Emotional Persecution(Undeterred = Not discouragedornot refraining from
continuing on the pathway of discipleship Matt. 26:67ff; 27:26ff; John 19:1ff)
I gave My back to those who strike Me - Notice insteadof saying men beat
Him, He says "I gave" indicating His voluntary submission, His willingness to
suffer. Normal men would have been provoked to fight back or resist, but
Jesus was just the opposite even in the face of what was excessivelyvile
treatment. All four Gospels recordvarious aspects ofthe fulfillment of this
prophecy (Mt 26:67; 27:26, 30;Mk 14:65;15:19; Lk 22:63-65;Jn 18:22). In
spite of the ignominious treatment Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by remaining
submissive to His Father's will . In Scripture foo
And My cheeksto those who pluck out the beard - Not describedin the
Gospels, but surely it occurred. "The easternpeople always held the beard in
greatveneration; and to pluck a man's beard is one of the grossestindignities
that can be offered. D'Arvieux gives a remarkable instance of an Arab, who,

having receiveda wound in his jaw, chose to hazard his life rather than suffer
the surgeonto cut off his beard." (TSK Note)
Cornerstone Bible Commentary on pluck out the beard - Bedouin, who are
often very sensitive about care of the beard, use expressions suchas “Beg by
the beard” or “Swearby the beard.”
Young - The Oriental regarded the beard as a sign of freedom and respect,
and to pluck out the hair of the beard (for cheek in effectwould refer to a
beard) is to show utter contempt. (Ibid)
Guzik - There is no specific mention in the gospels ofthose who plucked out
the beard of Jesus as part of His pre-crucifixion suffering, but from this
passagein Isaiah we know it happened. What terrible agonyJesus endured! It
is even more than what the gospelwriters explain to us!
Spurgeoncomments - “We have before us the language of prophecy, but it is
as accurate as though it had been written at the moment of the event. Isaiah
might have been one of the Evangelists, so exactlydoes he describe what our
Savior endured.” ...... “Manyof us could give to Christ all our health and
strength, and all the money we have, very heartily and cheerfully; but when it
comes to a point of reputation we feel the pinch. To be slandered, to have
some filthy thing saidof you; this is too much for flesh and blood. You seemto
say, ‘I cannot be made a foolof, I cannot bear to be regarded as a mere
impostor;’ but a true servant of Christ must make himself of no reputation
when he takes upon himself the work of his Lord. Our blessedMasterwas
willing to be scoffedat by the lewdestand the lowestof men.”

Bultema - “He suffered the deepesthumiliation, for to pluck out the hair (of
the beard) and to coversomeone’s face with spit was, according to Near-
Easternconcepts, the most humiliating suffering that could be inflicted upon a
man.”
Constable - Disdain and abuse are the inevitable consequencesofobeying God
consistentlyby declaring His messages. All the true servants of the Lord
experience this to some extent (2 Tim. 3:12). This is only the secondreference
to the Servant as a sufferer (cf. Isa 49:7). This theme receives majorexposition
in the fourth Servant Song. However, the Servant said He gave Himself over
to this type of treatment. It is one thing to endure such treatment, but it is
quite another to gladly submit to it without defending oneself. These
descriptions picture persecutionthat Jesus Christendured literally (cf. Matt.
26:67;27:30; Mark 14:65; 15:16-20;Luke 22:63). He laid down His life on His
own initiative (John 10:17-18). However, the Servant said He gave Himself
over to this type of treatment. It is one thing to endure such treatment, but it
is quite another to gladly submit to it without defending oneself.
Edward Young comments ""It would be impossible for any sinful human
being, no matter how fine a personhe was, to undergo the sufferings herein
describedwithout a spirit of rebellion welling up within him. And if a spirit of
revenge took hold of him, we might well understand. Even Jeremiah
complained at the way he was being used (cf. Jer. 20:9, 14ff., and note Job3).
Only one who was entirely without sin could undergo such suffering without a
rebellious spirit [cf. 1 Pet. 2:22-23]."
I did not coverMy face from humiliation and spitting - To spit upon another
person was an actof defilement and contempt (Lev 15:8; Nu 12:14;Dt 25:9;
Job 17:6; Mt 27:30).
We see the fulfillment of this Messianic prophecyin Matthew 27:30-31 as one
of the final acts of denigration and humiliation of Jesus by the Roman soldiers

They spat on Him, and took the reed and beganto beat Him on the head.
After they had mockedHim, they took the scarletrobe off Him and put His
own garments back on Him, and led Him awayto crucify Him.
If a man refused to fulfill his role to a widow as her nearestrelative or
kinsman-redeemershe was to spit in his face
Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he
persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall
come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his footand spit
in his face;and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not
build up his brother’s house.’(Deut 25:8-9)
Another instance of the utmost contempt and detestation. Throughoutthe
Eastit is highly offensive to spit in any one's presence;and if this is such an
indignity, how much more spitting in the face?
Young makes an interesting comment in view of the factthat he frequently
replaces Israelwith the Church. For some reasonhe resists that urge and
writes "At this point I find myself unable to agree with those who see here a
reference to the body, the Church, as well as to the Head." (Ibid)
Vine applies the suffering of our Savior to our lives noting that "His example
is an incentive to us, when called to suffer the pressure of fierce antagonism,
so that with fixity of purpose we may fulfill that which the Lord has
committed to us. We cannever suffer as He did, but our life and testimony
can be marked by the same characteristicsas those which marked His. “We

must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom,” but to suffer for His sake
makes it all a glory and joy." (Ibid)
Lord, thank You for the physical suffering You endured for me, in my place,
as my Substitute. Thank You for the shame and rejectionYou went through
that I might not have to experience eternalshame and rejectionawayfrom
Your holy presence. And Lord because You suffered in my place, enable me
by Your Spirit to experience supernatural willingness and ability to suffer for
Your holy Name. Amen.
Isaiah50:7 For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be
ashamed.
KJV Isaiah50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be
confounded: therefore have I setmy face like a flint, and I know that I shall
not be ashamed.
Lord GOD helps Me Isaiah50:9; 42:1; 49:8; Ps 89:21-27;110:1; John 16:33;
Heb 13:6
I have setMy face like flint Jer 1:18; Ezek 3:8,9; Mt 23:13-36;Luke 9:51;
11:39-54;Ro 1:16; 1 Peter4:1,16
For - Term of explanation. Messiahhas just described the prophecy of His
suffering at the hands of sinful men, and now explains how He was enabledto
endure the humiliation and pain without faltering. The answerofcourse is
that His Father would help Him and that He would not be ashamed.

The Lord GOD helps Me - Once againthat greatName Lord GOD. Messiah
remained ever mindful that even in the suffering, the greatGod would be His
greathelp.
Helps (05826)('azar)means to protect, aid, help, succor, support, give material
or non-material encouragement. Azar often refers to aid in the form of
military assistanceandin many instances refers to help from Jehovahas
illustrated by the uses below. Azar is translatedin Greek with the noun
boethos which conveys the generalidea of running to the aid of one who cries
out for help
Therefore - Term of conclusion. Basedonthe factthat the SovereignLORD
helps Messiah, He draws this confident conclusionthat He would not be
"confounded" (KJV) or "humiliated" (CSB).
Messiahdid not suffer because He was guilty, but suffering in spite of the fact
that he was innocent!
I am not disgraced- Men may humiliate Messiah, but God ensures He will not
be disgraced. KJV has confounded but this is not a goodtranslation, for the
idea is that He would not be humiliated not that He would not be confusedor
perplexed, which is what confound means.
Disgraced(03637)(kalam)describes a sense ofdisgrace accompanying public
humiliation. It means to be humiliated, made ashamed, embarrassed,
humiliated, disgraced, made to blush. It describes something that humiliates
(2 Sa 10:5), causes shame (2 Sa 19:3, Jer14:3), of socialdisgrace (Nu12:14)

Oswaltsays "kālamseems to refer to 1) wounding of the body (1 Sa 25:7, 15),
2) wounding of the spirit through public humiliation (2 Sa 20:34), and 3)
wounding of the spirit because ofdefeatand captivity....There were some
kinds of activity by which a person ought to be humiliated even without being
reproachedfor them. Prostitution was one of these and the prophets charged
the Hebrew people with religious prostitution. (Even the Philistines were
embarrassedby the Hebrews' actions according to Ezekiel16:27.)However,
the people had not eventhe grace to blush (Jeremiah3:3; Jeremiah6:15;
Jeremiah8:12). Therefore, the prophets promised that shame would come
from another quarter: defeatand captivity. If they would not be embarrassed
and ashamedbecause oftheir sins, they would be so because oftheir
helplessness(Isaiah30:3; Ezekiel32:30). However, Israelwill not finally be
ashamedthrough God's punishment, but rather through his goodness.
According to Ezekiel(Ezekiel16:54, 61, 63;Ezekiel43:10-11)it is when God,
in undeserved grace, restoresIsraeland defends her (cf. Isaiah54:4) that
Israelwill become truly ashamedof the way she has treated him. (Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament)
Gilbrant - The independent occurrences ofkālamconvey a number of types of
harm or disgrace. Boazcommanded his workers to "do no harm" to Ruth as
she gleaned(Ruth 2:15). The verb may denote "shaming" her, as a gleaner
was the loweststatus one could hold in ancient Israel. However, the verb is
used in the sense of"to harm" in the context of Nabal's shepherds, to whom
David swore that his men had not harmed (1 Sam. 25:7). The implication of
the verse is that his men actually protectedthem from other raiders without
expecting compensation. Kālam appears twice in Proverbs attributed to
Solomon(Prov. 25:8, 28:7). In the former, one is cautionednot to bring his
neighbor up on minimal charges, forthe neighbor could reciprocate, bringing
one shame. In the latter verse, the concepts of wealth, perversity and gluttony
are linked, as a son who hangs with gluttons "brings shame to his father."
Building upon this meaning of moral shame, the noun appears twice in Job. In
Job 11:3, Zophar castigatesJob, asserting that he should suffer shame for
spouting lies about his condition. In 19:3, Jobcharges his visitors with falsely
accusing him, rhetorically asking "are you not ashamedto wrong me?" Four
occurrencesofkālam are in a political context. The psalmist, in the course of a

corporate lament, chargedYahweh with abandoning the people and shaming
them (Ps. 44:9). Jonathan became enragedat Saul for his desire to humiliate
(and, intentionally harm) David (1 Sam. 20:34). The insulting response of
Hanun, the son of Nahash, king of Ammon, was manifested upon David's
messengers(2 Sam. 10:5). Such humiliation was intolerable, and warfollowed.
(Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary)
Kalam - 40xin 38v - ashamed(6), bear her shame(1), blush(2), brought us to
dishonor(1), confounded(1), disgraced(1), dishonored(7), embarrassed(1), feel
ashamed(1), feelhumiliated(1), humiliated(10), humiliates(2), humiliating(1),
insult(1), insulted(3), rebuke(1).
Num. 12:14;Jdg. 18:7; Ruth 2:15; 1 Sam. 20:34;1 Sam. 25:7; 1 Sam. 25:15; 2
Sam. 10:5; 2 Sam. 19:3; 1 Chr. 19:5; 2 Chr. 30:15;Ezr. 9:6; Job 11:3; Job
19:3; Ps. 35:4; Ps. 40:14; Ps. 44:9; Ps. 69:6; Ps. 70:2; Ps. 74:21; Prov. 25:8;
Prov. 28:7; Isa. 41:11; Isa. 45:16;Isa. 45:17; Isa. 50:7; Isa. 54:4; Jer. 3:3; Jer.
6:15; Jer. 8:12; Jer. 14:3; Jer. 22:22; Jer. 31:19;Ezek. 16:27; Ezek. 16:54;
Ezek. 16:61;Ezek. 36:32;Ezek. 43:10; Ezek. 43:11
Therefore - Another term of conclusion. Basedon the encouraging truths
above, Messiahsteels His resolve.
Rich Cathers:When God was preparing Ezekielfor his ministry, He warned
Ezekielthat the people would be stubborn and would not pay attention to
him. Yet God also promised Ezekielthat He would make Ezekieljust as
stubborn as they were. Godsaid He would make Ezekiel’s forehead(Ezek
3:9NIV) …like the hardest stone, harder than flint.
Thomas Constable - Earlier in this book Isaiah calledthe Israelites to trust
God rather than the nations when facedwith attack by a hostile enemy (chs.
7-39). The Servant modeled that trust for God's servant Israeland for all

God's servants. The belief that God would not allow Him to be disgracedin
the end emboldened the Servant to remain committed to fulfilling the Lord's
will (cf. Luke 9:51). God would eventually show that the Servant had not
takena foolish course of action.
FACE SET
LIKE FLINT
Brian Bell - Note - God’s part “Godwill help me” & Jesus/ourpart “I have
setmy face”. The awareness ofthe Lord’s help still calls for a personal
dedication! He is prepared to submit to anything because He knows He will be
sustainedby the Lord! (Same for you?)
I have setMy face like flint - Messiahis referring ultimately to His crucifixion.
In spite of the agony and the separationfrom His Father that being made sin
for us would bring about, our Savior maintains a steadfastdetermination to
obey the Lord God. And so just as Flint is firm, so too would Messiah'sface be
firm in His commitment to accomplishthe work of the Father(cf Jn 4:34, Jn
17:4). Nothing would deter the Servant from completing His mission on
Calvary.
Luke records
When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go
to Jerusalem. (Lk 9:51+)
Guzik explains that "There are two kinds of courage—the courage of
moment, which requires no previous thought, and a “planned” courage, which

sees the difficulty aheadand steadfastlymarches towards it. Jesus had this
kind of courage;He could see the cross in the horizon, but still set His face like
a flint."
MacArthur comments that "So sure was He of the Lord God's help that He
resolutelydetermined to remain unswayed by whatever hardship might await
Him (cf. Eze 3:8, 9). Jesus demonstratedthis determination in setting His face
to go to Jerusalemto be crucified (Lk 9:51+). (MacArthur Study Bible)
David Thompson - Jesus Christ was totally dependent on God the Fatherfor
help. He did not get any help from Israelor even His disciples. He was totally
focusedon God for help. He knew He would never be disgracedorashamed.
Even though He was being disgracedon earth and was treated in a demeaning
and shameful way, He knew that He would never be disgracedorashamed in
His Father’s sight. So He set His face like flint on doing His Father’s will.
Flint (06440)(challamish)is a masculine noun indicating a rock, flint. It refers
to a type of rock made of flint (Deut. 8:15) from which both oil and water
came (Deut. 32:13; Ps. 114:8). It is mined by men (Job 28:9). It is used in a
simile indicating hardness or fairness and resolve (Isa. 50:7). The Septuagint
translates it in Isa 50:7 with the noun petra which is interesting because Paul
uses petra to describe Christ speaking ofthe the rock in the wilderness that
produced "living water" when struck - "spiritual rock which followedthem;
and the rock was Christ." (1 Cor 10.4).
Gilbrant - Twice the noun is used in connectionwith the miracle of the water
springing forth from a flint rock in the desert (Deut. 8:15; 32:13). It appears
parallel to tsûr in Ps. 114:8, which relates the same event in a psalm of praise
for Yahweh's deliverance from Egypt.
Smick - In the Numbers 20 accountof Moses'bringing waterfrom the rock
another root (selaʿ)is used. But in Deut. 8:15 where this event is referred to
againthe words ṣûr ḥallāmîsh "the rock of 'flint'" are used. The poetry of
Psalm114:8 divides the terminology of Deut. 8:15 putting one of the words on

eachside of the parallelism: "who turned the rock (ṣûr) into standing
water//the 'flint' into a fountain of water." (TheologicalWordbook ofthe Old
Testament)
Challamish -5x - Deut. 8:15; Deut. 32:13;Job 28:9; Ps. 114:8;Isa. 50:7
Wikipedia - Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral
quartz. (See hardness of flint).
And I know that I will not be ashamed - Messiahwas confidentin God and
His Word of Truth that He would not be put to shame.
Guzik - The courage ofthe Messiahisn’t a bland resignationto fate. It is a
confident assurance in the Lord GOD. He can setHis face like a flint because
He can say, “I know that I will not be ashamed.”
Put to shame (0954)(boshfrom root= “to become pale” or “to blush”) means
to be ashamed, to actshamefully, or to put to shame.Boshis both an external
and a subjective experience, ranging from disgrace (Hos. 10:6) to guilt (Ezra
9:6). Vine adds that bosh "has overtones of being or feeling worthless."
Uses of bosh in Isaiah
Isa. 1:29; Isa. 19:9; Isa. 20:5; Isa. 23:4; Isa. 24:23;Isa. 26:11; Isa. 29:22;Isa.
30:5; Isa. 37:27; Isa. 41:11;Isa. 42:17;Isa. 44:9; Isa. 44:11;Isa. 45:16; Isa.
45:17;Isa. 45:24;Isa. 49:23; Isa. 50:7; Isa. 54:4; Isa. 65:13;Isa. 66:5

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