Study note

Isaiah 49:1

  • O distant peoples: The servant's work would not be limited to Israel. His ministry would reach people in faraway nations (see Isaiah 42:4, 10, 12; 51:5; 60:9; 66:19).

  • called Me from the womb … He named Me: The promised servant's prophetic call was like Jeremiah's call (see Jeremiah 1:5; see also Galatians 1:15). It was not a general call but a very specific, personal one (see also Isaiah 43:1; 45:3–4).