One of the most well-known prophecies in the Tanakh (everything in the Bible before Matthew) regarding the Messiah to come is Isaiah 9:5-6, where we are told that the Messiah will be called (among other things) the Almighty God.

But does that mean the Messiah will be God, or just that he will be called God?

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There are many, MANY versions of the Bible, and most of them are interpreted by Christians. There are a number of Jewish interpretations, of course, so let’s see where some are the same, and some are different when we look at Isaiah 9:5-6 (remember that not all Bible interpretations have the exact same numbering.)

The JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (1999) says: “He has been named ‘The Mighty God is planning grace*; The Eternal Father, a peaceful ruler...”

( * It references Isaiah 25:1, where another prophecy
mentions how God has planned graciousness of old.)

The Sefaria (a non-profit digital library of Hebrew texts) interprets it this way: “He has been named ‘The Mighty God is planning grace; The Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler'”.

The KJV says: “~ and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

The NIV says: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The Complete Jewish Bible says: “Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor
Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom [Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace]”

And let’s look at one more Jewish version, Chabad’s Complete Jewish Tanakh: “~ the wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, ‘the prince of peace’.”

(This one seems to be describing God, and that God will call the Messiah the “Prince of Peace”.)

So… who is correct?

Every Christian version I looked at (and I looked at more than just the ones here) said he would be called some version of “Almighty God”, and I even saw that in some of the Jewish versions.

But as you see, some other Jewish versions do not call him mighty God, but show that the mighty God calls him the Prince of Peace.

Interesting, isn’t it? The more Orthodox Jewish interpretations do not indicate Messiah will be God, while most every other version, some Jewish and all the Christian ones, indicate that Messiah will be God.

But wait a minute! Does it say he will be God, or does it say he will be called God?

You know, there’s quite a difference between what one is called, and what one is. Think of all the things you have been called throughout your lifetime, and ask yourself if what you have been called is always really what you are.

During my lifetime the things people have called me isn’t really what I am…. well, maybe some of the things, but not all of them!

Remember how Yeshua said that he would be like the snake in the desert (John 3:14)? And remember that the snake set up by Moses in Numbers 21:9, to represent God’s salvation from the snake bites, was later worshipped as a god and called Nehushtan (2 Kings 18)?

Well, I believe Yeshua’s prophecy wasn’t just about how he would die (being raised on a stake), but also how he would later be worshipped as a god; actually, as the one and only God. He knew that people would replace worship of the one, true God, his father, with him: praying to him, asking him for forgiveness, and basically replacing his father with him, something Yeshua would never have even thought of doing.

I believe this passage from Isaiah has been misunderstood, and now is being used as a justification for the Trinitarian belief that God (the father) and Yeshua (the Messiah) are the same entity.

As I said earlier, there is a BIG difference between what someone is called, and what they are. I am inclined to go along with the more Orthodox Jewish interpretation that indicates the Messiah will be called, BY GOD, the “Prince of Peace.” That the authority placed on his shoulders will be from God, and not self-generated (which, if Messiah is God, would have to be the case).

In Matthew 22:45, Yeshua disarms the Pharisees trying to trick him by asking them why, in Psalm 110:1, does David call his son (meaning the Messiah) “Lord”? Yeshua points out that if the Messiah is David’s son, how can he be David’s Lord? Similarly, if Yeshua is the almighty God, how can he be a prince?

I wonder how, after all these centuries, no one has noticed this obvious disparity? If the Messiah is the almighty God, then how can he be a prince of anything? Wouldn’t he, as God, have to be the Lord of Peace? Or the King of Peace? Whatever, if he was the almighty God, he certainly wouldn’t be just a Prince of Peace, would he?

This is why I go along with the Orthodox Jewish interpretation that indicates when the Messiah is born, he will be a counsellor, he will be a prince of peace, and his authority and rulership will come from God, but he will not be God.

I also believe that the interpretations saying the Messiah will be called almighty God are based on Christian Trinitarianism, and the Jewish Bible versions that also say “almighty God” are wrong, as well.

To finalize, it is imperative to accept that what someone is called is not what they are. Yeshua said we can tell who people are by their fruits, so, nu … what fruits did Yeshua demonstrate? Well, when I read the Gospels, it appears to me that his fruits were always giving his father, God, the credit for everything, and he never called himself the almighty God.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!