Isaiah 52:14

Isaiah 52:14

As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

a. NLT: But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.

b. NIV: Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.

c. Amplified Bible: [For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, and His form beyond that of the sons of men—but just as many were astonished at Him,

d. Septuagint: As many shall be amazed at thee, so shall thy face be without glory from men, and thy glory [shall not be honoured] by the sons of men.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: Just as multitudes were astonished over you, [saying,] His appearance is too maredto be a man’s, and his visage to be human,’

1. “As many were astonied at thee…”

a. As many [Strong: 7227 rab rab; contracted from 7231; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality):--(in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), ((ship-))master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).]

b. astonied [at thee] [Strong: 8074 shamem shaw-mame'; a primitive root; to stun (or intransitively, grow numb), i.e. devastate or (figuratively) stupefy (both usually in a passive sense):--make amazed, be astonied, (be an) astonish(-ment), (be, bring into, unto, lay, lie, make) desolate(-ion, places), be destitute, destroy (self), (lay, lie, make) waste, wonder.] [AMG: A verb meaning to be desolated, to be destroyed. A second meaning of this verb is to be appalled or astonished, it often describes a person’s reaction on seeing desolation and destruction.]

2. “…his visage was so marred more than any man,.”

a. [his] visage [Strong: 4758 mar'eh mar-eh' from 7200; a view (the act of seeing); also an appearance (the thing seen), whether (real) a shape (especially if handsome, comeliness; often plural the looks), or (mental) a vision:--X apparently, appearance(-reth), X as soon as beautiful(-ly), countenance, fair, favoured, form, goodly, to look (up) on (to), look(-eth), pattern, to see, seem, sight, visage, vision.]  

b. [was so] marred [Strong: 4893 mishchath mish-khawth' or moshchath {mosh-khawth'}; from 7843; disfigurement:--corruption, marred. ]

c. [more than any] man [Strong: 376 'iysh eesh; contracted for 582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):--also, another, any (man), a certain, + champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-)man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), + none, one, people, person, + steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy.]

3. “…and his form more than the sons of men.”

a. [and his] form [Strong: 8389 to'ar to'-ar; from 8388; outline, i.e. figure or appearance:--+ beautiful, X comely, countenance, + fair, X favoured, form, X goodly, X resemble, visage.]

b. [more than the] sons [Strong: 1121 ben bane; from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

c. [of] man [Strong: 120 'adam aw-dawm'; from 119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):--X another, + hypocrite, + common sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.]

1). The following is a number of passages dealing with some of the physical torment Christ Jesus endured before the crucifixion at the hands of men.

a). Isaiah 50:5, 6 The LORD GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

50:6 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.

(1) smiters [Strong: 5221 nakah naw-kaw'; to strike, (lightly or severely), give wounds,make slaughter, punish slay, give stripes, surely wound.]

b). Matthew 27:67, 68 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

27:68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

c). Matthew 27:26-31 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

27:28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe

27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

27:31And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

(1) scourged [Strong: 5417 phragelloo frag-el-lo'-o from a presumed equivalent of the Latin flagellum; to whip, i.e. lash as a public punishment:--scourge.] [Zodhiates: to scourge with a whip, which was a Roman punishment.]

d). Mark 15:15-20 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

15:16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

15:17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

15:18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

15:19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

15:20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

e). John 19:1-3 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

19:2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

19:3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

2). Scourging Practices http://the-crucifixion.org/scourging.htm

Flogging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution, and only women and Roman senators or soldiers (except in cases of desertion) were exempt. The usual instrument was a short whip (flagellum) with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals) Occasionally, staves also were used. For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death.  After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted their victim.

Medical Aspects of Scourging: As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and Subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross.

Scourging of Jesus: At the Praetorium, Jesus was severely whipped. (Although the severity of the scourging is not discussed in the four gospel accounts, it is implied in one of the epistles [1Peter 2:24]. A detailed word study of the ancient Greek text for this verse indicates that the scourging of Jesus was particularly harsh.) It is not known whether the number of lashes was limited to 39, in accordance with Jewish law. The Roman soldiers, amused that this weakened man had claimed to be a king, began to mock him by placing a robe on his shoulders, a crown of thorns on his head, and a wooden staff as a scepter in his right hand.1 Next, they spat on Jesus and struck him on the head with the wooden staff.1 Moreover, when the soldiers tore the robe from Jesus' back, they probably reopened the scourging wounds.  The severe scourging, with its intense pain and appreciable blood loss, most probably left Jesus in a pre-shock state. Moreover, hematidrosis had rendered his skin particularly tender. The physical and mental abuse meted out by the Jews and the Romans, as well as the lack of food, water, and sleep, also contributed to his generally weakened state. Therefore, even before the actual crucifixion, Jesus' physical condition was at least serious and possibly critical.

d. Because of the physical abuse he received at the hands of the Jews but more so the Romans his physical appearance was worse than anyone who had experienced that type of punishment. I believe that because Jesus had a perfect physical body, i.e. a body that had not experienced the ravages of the fall, his physical and mental and of course spiritual stamina was far superior, which in turn allowed him to receive and endure more physical punishment that any other man.