The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2192 page)

Servant songs
.

Poems about a faithful servant of the Lord found in the Hebrew Book of
Isaiah
. The Servant songs are located in Isaiah 42. 1–4; 49. 1–6; 50. 4–9; 52. 13–53. 12. The songs either have been interpreted collectively (see 49. 3)—the servant represents the Jewish people, the ideal
Israel
, or the faithful
remnant
—or have been understood to refer to a particular individual (e.g. the writer of the songs, Hezekiah,
Josiah
, Zerubbabel, Cyrus,
Ezekiel
,
Moses
,
Job
, etc.). In the Christian tradition, the songs are thought to point forward to the sufferings of Jesus. The question has been raised more recently whether it is correct to think of a group of Servant Songs at all.

 
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Servetus, Michael
,
or Miguel Serveto

(1511–53).
Christian theologian. He was born in Spain and studied at Saragossa, Toulouse, and Paris. He turned from law to medicine which he practised intermittently throughout his life. During his travels he met
Bucer
and perhaps some other
Anabaptist
leaders. His interest in theology led him to produce
De Trinitatis Erroribus
(1531, On the Erroneous Understanding of the Trinity), in which he argued that the Son and the Holy Spirit are modes in which God manifests himself in creation, redemption, and sanctification, and that the Trinity is not made up of ‘persons’. He reiterated these arguments in
Christianismi Restitutio
(1546, The Restoration of Christianity), by which time he had also argued against
predestination
and infant baptism. He was arrested, first by the
Inquisition
, and then (when he escaped to Geneva) by the Protestants. He was convicted and burnt to death, his death provoking debate about the bounds of tolerance.

 
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(Skt., ‘remainder’). In Hindu mythology, the serpent which forms
Vi
u's
couch and canopy during the periods between destruction and creation.
e
a is also called Ananta
(Skt., ‘endless’).

 
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