God helps me; therefore I am not disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (Isa 50:7)
וַאדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַֽעֲזָר־לִ֔י עַל־כֵּ֖ן לֹ֣א נִכְלָ֑מְתִּי עַל־כֵּ֞ן שַׂ֤מְתִּי פָנַי֙ כַּֽחַלָּמִ֔ישׁ וָאֵדַ֖ע כִּי־לֹ֥א אֵבֹֽושׁ׃
καὶ κύριος βοηθός μου ἐγενήθη, διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐνετράπην, ἀλλὰ ἔθηκα τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ὡς στερεὰν πέτραν καὶ ἔγνων ὅτι οὐ μὴ αἰσχυνθῶ.
Dominus Deus auxiliator meus ideo non sum confusus ideo posui faciem meam ut petram durissimam et scio quoniam non confundar.
Insult (כָּלַם kālam) — in its verbal form, this root appears in the Nifal conjugation and means: to be insulted, dishonored, shamed, mocked. It is striking that most occurrences of this word are found in the writings of the prophets and the Psalms.
The First Reading in today’s liturgy comes from the prophet Isaiah (50:4–7) and contains the third Servant Song of YHWH. It speaks of a prophet who is willing to accept suffering and the insult that comes with it, but he waits for God’s help with great trust, believing that he will not be put to shame (כָּלַם kālam). In this context, the word expresses confidence that he will not be destroyed. Insults are usually intended to cause suffering and destroy the accused. The Suffering Servant’s trust in God gives him certainty that he will not be put to shame.
Similarly, in today’s Passion narrative of Jesus (Luke 22–23), in addition to Jesus’ physical suffering, the Evangelist also describes mockery by the soldiers, the leaders, and even one of the two criminals crucified with Him. Only the second criminal asks Jesus for protection, entrusts himself to Him, and enters into a relationship best expressed by the word paradise: “Today”—meaning “now”—you will be with Me in paradise. In this way, he became a disciple of Jesus, who dies in peace, praying with boundless trust: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
The Hebrew word כָּלַם [kālam] means to be insulted / to be dishonored / to be ashamed / to be humiliated. In the biblical context, it refers to the shame of a person or people due to their actions or defeat, and also as shame resulting from the judgment of the Lord. The Greek equivalent of this word is καταισχύνω [kataischynō].