@downtide Hmm, interesting suggestion, but I don’t think there’s evidence to support that Jesus could have been a Kurd. Jesus was a Jew from the Egypt side of Israel – Iran, Turkey, even Iraq and Syria are rather far away from there. And I’d think that Jews and Kurds belong to distinct ethnic groups. Are there Jewish Kurds (aside from modern few converts: I mean, historical Jewish Kurds – a bloodline)? I suppose the absentee father may have been a Kurd passing through Nazareth (although there was not nearly as much moving around then as there is now), but it doesn’t seem plausible to me because Jesus was otherwise so entrenched in the Jewish community. Of course, it’s entirely possible! But, I think not plausible.
@phaedryx What are you wondering about it? My basic interpretation is that this is a verse from the Second Temple period of Judaism, or perhaps from before the second Temple was built, that emphasizes a modest vision of the Messiah in contrast to the usual pomp and circumstance vision that is attested to elsewhere in the scriptures (the soldier who will defeat our enemies, the King who will lead us to salvation, etc.). This modest, humble vision well suited those later Jews who wanted to say that Jesus was the Messiah because, whoever Jesus was, it appears he was clearly neither King nor soldier. However, humility and modesty are not useful virtues in a capitalist socio-economy that survives by conquering and taking advantage of the weak, so out vision of Jesus has transformed into the beautiful, powerful figure we so often see around us today.