וַיַּעַל כַּיּוֹנֵק
לְפָנָיו וְכַשֹּׁרֶשׁ מֵאֶרֶץ צִיָּה
And he grew up straight like a sapling,
like a root from dry ground.
The language of “sapling” and “root” guide the
interpreter back to Isa 11:1 and 10, but in Isa 53 the prophecy speaks to a
future context when the Davidic dynasty no longer exists. Klaus Baltzer has noted:
“It is a continuity in the discontinuity.” The word “sapling” (יוֹנֵק), a word frequently
used to refer to a nursing infant (Deut 32:5; 1 Sam 15:3; 11:8; Jer 44:7),
communicates a sense of dependency. Unlike the “vegetation” (צֶמַח) in Isa 4:2
that seems to portray new growth sprouting up the ground, the sapling in 53:2
is sustained by the root (שׁרֶשׁ). In Isa 11:10 and 14:30, the image of tree
roots are used to communicate the “stock” of a dynasty, the former referring to
Jesse and the latter the nation of Philistia.
In Isaiah, YHWH’s
judgment is frequently described as vegetative barrenness (33:9), and in 24:13
it seems to be applied at a cosmic level. The image of restoration and new growth
emerging from dryness is used in 56:3b, “and let not the eunuch say, ‘behold, I
am a dry tree.’” Jindo has argued that when agricultural imagery is being used
as the dominant cognitive metaphor in biblical texts, it is characterized by a bipolar
structure that results in both scenes of destruction and prosperity. Thus, two
basic patterns of the metaphor emerge: devastation suddenly becomes paradise,
or paradise is suddenly devastated. Jindo’s contentions do seem to cohere with
the present discussion. The devastation includes the falling of arrogant trees
and the new growth that gives hope that a future prosperity is in view. Thus,
in Isa 53:2, it is into the context of YHWH”s judgment (dryness) that the new sapling
brings forth a new vision Of YHWH”s work among his people. Unlike the arrogant
leaders of Israel and the nations, this new sapling will not impress humanity
(53:3), but he will bring about YHWH”s salvation. (William
R. Osborne, Trees and Kings: A Comparative Analysis of Tree Imagery in Israel’s
Prophetic Tradition and the Ancient Near East [Bulletin for Biblical Research
Supplement 18; University Park, Pa.: Eisenbrauns, 2018], 132)