For more than two thousand years the question of tbe identity of the Servant of Yahweh in Is. 40 - 55, and especially in the so-called "Servant Songs", has exercised the minds of students of the Old Testament. The first answer which we may trace with any certainty is that of the translator of this particular section in the Septuagint, who adds the words "Jacob" and "Israel" to the text. This is closely followed in the New Testament by the answer which Philip gave to the Ethiopian eunuch's query, "Of whom speaketh the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other ?" ( Acts 8:34f,). These two answers are typical of the two possible extremes in solving the problem. The first sees the Servant as a collective entity, the people Israel, while the second sees him as an individual figure, namely, Jesus Christ. The second answer explains why the interpretation of the Servant figure has been such a live issue throughout the entire history of Christendom. In it Christians have seen a prophecy of Jesus Christ - and more particularly in the suffering of the Servant, a prophecy of the facts which form the basis of the Christian Salvation, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Until the close of the eighteenth century, the generally accepted interpretation of the figure of the Suffering Servant among Christians was to identify him completely with Christ. With the development of the scientific study of the Old Testament during the last two centuries, every generation has raised the question afresh and sought to answer it. There is hardly an Old Testament scholar who has not laboured over it, and many have published their attempts at a solution. Hence the literature on the subject is enormous. In the present study no attempt has been made to give an exhaustive survey of all the interpretations of the Servant figure, but the text of the Servant Songs has been examined before an interpretation of the Servant figure was attempted. It is to be hoped that the final interpretation here given will reflect the thought of the prophet rather than that of the interpreter.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta tese tem como objeto de estudo, o primeiro Cântico do Servo de Yahweh em Is 42.1-4, e o quarto, em Is 52.13-53.12. A interpretação messiânica desses textos pelos escritores do Novo Testamento tem sido criticada e considerada uma adequação aos propósitos particulares dos discípulos de Jesus Cristo. Contudo, a tese indica a partir da exegese dos textos e do levantamento das antigas tradições sobre a figura do Messias no Antigo Testamento, e entre os povos vizinhos de Israel no Antigo Oriente Médio, que esses Cânticos contêm antigas tradições sobre o Messias, e ao mesmo tempo propõe uma combinação peculiar de esperanças, oferecendo renovação às tradições acerca da mesma figura. Os Cânticos do Servo de Yahweh analisados aqui lançam mão, cada um à sua maneira, de tradições da realeza e da profecia, sobrepujando amplamente as duas tradições. Em Dêutero- Isaías, o antigo tema do Messias desenvolvido a partir da figura do rei, ganha traços novos, e apresenta o Messias na figura do servo. Características literárias, éticas e antropológicas do conceito mítico de herói ajudam a renovar e compor essa figura. Considerando a pesquisa e a noção de que os Cânticos do Servo são tramas textuais de alto contexto, não se justifica a exigência da crítica de uma afirmação explícita e definitiva para se considerar esses textos como integrantes no desenvolvimento da tradição do Messias. Uma das maneiras que dinamizam a antiga tradição é o uso da linguagem e padrão do mito, que é capaz de fazer do servo, o herói e o rei, e, por conseguinte o Messias. / The study object is the first Servant Song of Isaiah in Isa 42:1-4 and the fourth, in Isa 52:13-53:12. The messianic interpretation of these texts by the writers of the New Testament has been criticized and considered an adaptation for the specific purpose of the disciples of Jesus Christ. However, the thesis indicates, based on the exegesis of the texts and the survey of the ancient traditions about the Messianic figure of the Old Testament, and among the neighboring peoples of Israel in the Ancient Middle East, that these Songs contain ancient traditions about the Messiah, and at the same time it proposes a peculiar combination of hopes, offering a renovation of the traditions around the same figure. The Servant Songs of Yahweh analyzed here, each one in its own way, resort to the traditions of the royalty and of prophecy, broadly surmounting the two traditions. In Deutero Isaiah, the ancient theme of the Messiah developed on the figure of the king, gains new features and presents the Messiah in the figure of the servant. Literary, ethical and anthropological characteristics of the mythical concept of the hero help to renovate and compose this figure. Considering the research and the notion that the Servant Songs are textual plots of high context, the demand of the critics for an explicit and definitive affirmation to consider these texts as integrating the development of the tradition of the Messiah is not justified. One of the ways of making the ancientness of the tradition more dynamic is the use of mythical language and patterns, which are capable of making the servant into the hero and the king, and consequently, the Messiah.