I previously recorded my research on Isaiah about whether the servant is marred or anointed — that “marred” could be “anointed” since the word in the Hebrew Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll (Qumron scroll) is “anointed.” The Hebrew words for both are very close — mst (mishat) in the MT v.s. msty in the Qumran scroll. (see my earlier post on Margaret Barker)
What about the Book of Mormon scriptures that are most often interpreted as marred in the sense of disfigured or physically injured?
The third book of Nephi is where we come across this marred servant. Let’s look at this in context — the book is attributed to Nephi, the son of Nephi, who was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi who came out of Jerusalem about 600 BC during the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Ok, you got that.
Since the Book of Mormon is what we would today call an abridgment — it is important to identify who is writing what part of the book. Third Nephi opens with the editor and abridger, Mormon writing an introduction of where we are in the overall book that he has been composing — it’s been 600 years since Lehi left Jerusalem. The records are handed down to the third Nephi from his father, and Mormon abridges all of third Nephi’s additions to the records. When we read this book, Mormon, having the records, writes his synopsis. Mormon writes in the third person for Nephi but often quotes the Lord.
We find the “marring” scriptures in the third book of Nephi when Mormon recounts what Nephi said about the time when Jesus appeared to Nephi’s people in the land of Bountiful, about 34 AD, after the death and resurrection of Jesus. This was also when the people were baptized with fire. Mormon records many of the quotes from the Lord Jesus Christ, where he explains that these people are a remnant of the House of Jacob and that this land they are living on is for their inheritance, as written in the words of Isaiah.
I don’t know about you, but I always look forward to returning home after travel. I think of the angst and sadness that Lehi and his family felt as they had to leave their home — would they ever return? If you’ve had to leave your home when you were not ready (as happened to me recently), you may better understand the desire to go back home or have a home. The Book of Mormon contains the writings of the descendants of Lehi after they were forced to leave Jerusalem. There is a promise that they would have a homeland throughout the book. Isaiah is about that promise, and thus Nephi quotes from that book as a reminder and comfort to his people that God will fulfill the covenant. When Jesus appears, he also says the same thing from Isaiah.
The section that is often quoted about marring from third Nephi 21 is as follows, Christ speaking about Israel to the people at Bountiful:
9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.
10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. (3 Nephi 21: 9-10)
Ok, so I have heard that the servant will be horribly marred by the people who do not accept him but that Christ will heal him and that is assuming that the servant does not die, just hurt and then healed. Some believe that this is when this servant is translated. I believe it is worth looking at alternatives. First of all, no scripture says the servant will only be beaten up, not be killed, and then Christ will heal him. It’s possible that this servant is healed throughout his life but then dies. The devil may think he thwarted God’s plan, but Christ can resurrect a servant to finish a calling. Perhaps the word “heal” can also mean resurrect.
If you look at those scriptures above, it says that “the life of my servant is in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him…” It says that the people shall not hurt him, he will be marred by them, but Christ will heal him. This word marred in this context may mean something different than being beaten to a pulp, so he does not look like a human. (Even Christ was not beaten up to look unhuman — the servant would not suffer more.)
Plus, it says they shall not hurt him — which seems to imply that even though the people mar him in the sense of discrediting him or perhaps tar and feathering him (though that would hurt in our current understanding of the word) — they will not hurt him in his calling to redeem Zion, that whatever happens, Christ heals him. I try to remember that we read scriptures with our current eyes — and thus we do not read them from the viewpoint of those that wrote them. (See the book Misreading Scriptures with Western Eyes)
The next use of the word “mar” is in third Nephi 20, where Jesus is continuing his discourse on Israel to the people at Bountiful. Jesus explains that he will gather the scattered people of Jacob to fulfill the covenant that the Father made to them, and he quotes some of the words from Isaiah 52:
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. (3 Nephi 20:43-45)
Now, this happens to be in the KJV of Isaiah, which I suppose was the one that Joseph Smith was most familiar with, and therefore we have it in that form in the Book of Mormon (?). Anyway, since Joseph’s time, the Isaiah Dead Sea Scrolls have been recovered, and these verses, specifically the word “marred,” was the word “anointed” in the Hebrew in these Isaiah scrolls:
This verse has significantly different forms in the ancient versions. The MT [Masoretic Text] and the Targum, which used the MT, say he was disfigured beyond human semblance, such that people were astonished (thus RSV). The Qumran Isaiah scroll,69 however, has ‘he was anointed beyond human semblance’ such that kings and people were astonished. The difference is one letter: mšt in the MT and mšty in the Qumran scroll. The Servant ‘anointed beyond human semblance’ means he was transfigured, and so, as did Enoch, he became like one of the glorious ones. (Barker, Margaret. Temple Mysticism: An Introduction (pp. 9-10). SPCK. Kindle Edition.)
KJV of Isaiah 52:
13 ¶ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
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:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. (Isaiah 51:13-15)
Christ says that his servant shall be exalted and extolled and be very high — I believe that the word “exalted” refers to the Celestial state of being, not a translated being. It is possible that the servant’s visage was so anointed — more than any man — thus, he did not look like an ordinary mortal man because he appears in Celestial glory to gather Zion. Could this servant be a man who has lived and died? I think so. We have precedence of this in the savior himself. Christ died, and He will return to Zion. Jesus has other work to do on earth when the earth becomes terrestrial. It is possible that the servant who redeems Zion could return as well, in a glorified state, with the power to redeem Zion in preparation for Christ. It’s possible that the servant began his work when he lived as a mortal on earth, much like Christ.
Another thought that occurred to me — Hebrew words often have multiple and layered meanings. The Hebrew word for marred is closely similar to the word for anointed — thus, the meaning could be that the servant is marred and anointed. Mst and Msty. That fits the idea that the servant is marred, healed, and anointed. But it still seems to read as anointed beyond human semblance. He did not look human; he was glorified.
In Hebrew, if two words are spelled the same, even though their meanings seem to be totally unrelated, they are in fact telling you different dimensions of one unified idea.
One of the books I have used to help me see who is speaking in the Book of Mormon is this one: A New Approach to Studying The Book of Mormon (Rosenvall)
