A Lamb to the Slaughter

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

-- Isaiah 53: 6-7 (KJV)

The book of Isaiah sometimes has been called "the Gospel in the Old Testament" because of chapters like this, which greatly influenced the depiction of Jesus in the New Testament. Christians see in Isaiah, especially in the latter books, prophecies of their messiah, on whom "the Lord hath laid ... the iniquity of us all" and who let himself be led uncomplaining to his death.

This particular passage is cited in the Acts of the Apostles (8: 32), where Jesus is identified with Isaiah's "suffering servant." We don't know exactly whom the author of Isaiah really had in mind, though -- perhaps a prophet, or a king, or a personification of the faithful, or indeed the Messiah. Though his identity is a mystery, the servant's task is clear: to lead the Lord's people from exile back to Zion. But first he must take upon himself the iniquity of Israel, suffering the hardships of exile as just punishment for his people's sins. He, and those he represents, will not complain of their hardships but will be mute when brought like a "lamb to the slaughter."

We're probably not talking about actual death here, though certainly some resistant Jews did perish in exile. "Lamb to the slaughter" is more likely just a metaphor for an acceptance of fate and a docility in the face of God's judgments. We distort Isaiah's phrase by implying that the lamb is innocent and defenseless, its fate cruel and undeserved. The suffering servant accepts that he is sinful, so accepts his punishment, too.

Modern usage, however, is supported elsewhere: Jeremiah, reporting a plot on his life that was foiled by God, compares himself to "a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me" (Jeremiah 11: 19). On the other hand, Jeremiah has already launched an attack on the treacherous and wicked, praying that the Lord will "pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter" (12: 3). So he's really no help at all.

 
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Michael Macrone is Associate Site Producer of GraceCom and the author of nine books on language, literature, and ideas, including the best-selling Brush Up Your Shakespeare!