be considered as the subject of
this prophecy,--a view which is indeed quite obvious." We shall see,
however, subsequently, that he adheres to the right explanation only in
the first three verses, and afterwards abandons it. But passages
especially remarkable are found in the cabbalistic book _Sohar_. It is
true that the age of the book is very uncertain; but it cannot be
proved to have been composed under Christian influence. We shall here
quote only some of the principal passages. (_Sohar_, ed. Amstelod. p.
ii. fol. 212; ed. _Solisbac._ p. ii. f. 85; _Sommeri_ theol. _Sohar_ p.
94.) "When the Messiah is told of the misery of Israel in their
captivity, and that they are themselves the cause of it, because they
had not cared for, nor sought after the knowledge of their Lord, He
weeps aloud over their sins; and for this reason it is written in
Scripture (Isa. liii. 5): He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
smitten for our iniquities."--"In the garden of Eden there is an
apartment which is called the sick chamber. The Messiah goes into this
apartment, and summons all the diseases, all the pains, and all the
chastisements of Israel to come upon Him, and they all come upon Him.
And unless He would take them away from Israel, and lay them upon
himself, no man would be able to bear the chastisements of Israel,
which are inflicted upon them on account of the Law, as it is [Pg 314]
written: But He took upon himself our sicknesses," &c. In another
passage (_Sohar_, _ed. Amstelod_ p. iii. f. 218; _Solisbac._ iii. f.
88; _Sommeri theol. Sohar_ p. 89; _Auszuege aus dem Buche Sohar, mit
Deutscher Uebersetzung_, Berlin 52, S. 32), it is said: "When God
wishes to give to the world a means of healing. He smites one of the
pious among them, and for his sake He gives healing to the whole world.
Where, in Scripture, do we find this confirmed? In Isa. liii. 5, where
it is said: He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for
our sins."

What has been said will be a sufficient proof that the ancient Jews,
following tradition, referred the passage to the Messiah; and, as it
appears from the majority of the passages quoted, referred it indeed to
the suffering Messiah. But it would really have been a strange
phenomenon, if this interpretation had remained the prevailing one
among the Jews. According to the declaration of the Apostle, the Cross
of Christ is to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks
foolishness. The id