Section 13
Written centuries before
Hebrew texts written centuries before Jesus describe the suffering, dying, and vindicated Messianic figure with striking detail.
Isaiah 53 (~700 BC): "despised and rejected", "pierced for our transgressions", "made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death." The detail of burial with a rich man corresponds to Joseph of Arimathea.
Psalm 22 (~1000 BC): the cry from the cross, the mocking, the pierced hands and feet, the dividing of garments and casting of lots.
The Dead Sea Scrolls (150 BC to 68 AD) preserve essentially every Old Testament book except Esther, confirming these texts existed in their current form before Jesus. They could not have been written after the fact.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.
Isaiah 53:4 to 5, written ~700 BC, preserved in the Great Isaiah Scroll, ~150 BC.
By the numbers
- Isaiah 53 composition
- ~700 BC
- Psalm 22 composition
- ~1000 BC
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- 150 BC to 68 AD
- OT books in DSS
- all except Esther
Strongest counter position
Modern Jewish interpretation reads Isaiah 53 corporately. Isaiah 53:8 says the servant suffered "for the transgression of my people," distinguishing servant from people. Engaged further in section 15.
What this does not prove
Probability calculations of prophecy fulfillment are methodologically fragile. The site does not stand on Stoner’s 1 in 10^17. It stands on the dense convergence of detailed pre Christian texts.
Citations
- Isaiah 53:1 to 12.
- Psalm 22:1, 7, 14, 16, 18.
- Daniel 9:24 to 27.
- Israel Antiquities Authority, deadseascrolls.org.il.
- Walter Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament, 1995.
Goes deeper