Objection: Isaiah 53:5 Only Refers to Spiritual Blessings
Many points about the Hebrew word shalom used in Isaiah 53:5 are made in the reply to the objection Isaiah’s Word for HEALED in Isaiah 53:5 Is Ambiguous, so I recommend that you read that answer together with this one.
The same word shalom is translated peace in the majority of times that it appears, but it encompasses prosperity and general well-being, not just “peace” as we think of it today. The Scriptures below demonstrate that the word is used to describe things that are natural blessings, not just spiritual blessings. Therefore, it is unfair to conclude that shalom in Isaiah 53:5 can only refer to spiritual blessings.
The word that was translated from shalom is underlined in the Scriptures below.
Exodus 18:7:
And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
1 Samuel 17:18:
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
2 Samuel 11:7:
And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
2 Samuel 20:9:
And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
2 Kings 4:26:
Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
Job 15:21:
A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Psalm 35:27:
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalm 73:3:
For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Jeremiah 33:9:
And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
Zechariah 8:42:
For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
Clearly the shalom that the punishment inflicted upon Jesus bought us includes what we would consider physical blessings, not just spiritual blessings.
Besides that, the very verse in question also says that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed, and it is proved elsewhere in this book that this is NOT a reference to spiritual healing. Your old sinful spirit does not get healed when you receive Jesus; it gets replaced with a brand-new righteous spirit. Matthew 8:17 demonstrates that Isaiah was talking about physical healing, not some kind of spiritual blessing or healing.