Tachat is the Hebrew preposition that actually means "in place of." When Abraham sees the ram caught in the thicket in Genesis 22:13, he offers it tachat his son — a substitute, a replacement, the ram dying in the place of Isaac. Exodus 21:24 uses tachat for the lex talionis: "eye tachat eye, tooth tachat tooth." Numbers 3:12 uses it when the Levites are taken tachat the firstborn. If the Hebrew Bible wanted to say substitution, tachat is the word it used.

This matters because of what Isaiah 53 does not say. The PSA reading claims the servant suffers tachat the people — in their place, absorbing their penalty. But the Hebrew text of Isaiah 53:5 does not use tachat. It uses min — the preposition of cause, not substitution. The servant suffers because of their rebellion, not instead of their punishment. The grammar is specific. The difference is the whole doctrine. The Hebrew had a substitutionary preposition available, and the prophet did not reach for it.