Isaiah 9:6

Joshua Perez

10/15/24

"For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 HCSB)

One of the most common verses that is cited to support the notion that Jesus is God, or "YHWH", is Isaiah 9:6.

1. The first thing to note about this verse is that it calls this child "Everlasting Father". Most trinitarians likely hold to the Athanasian creed, which clearly states, "Neither confound the persons, nor divide the substance." As in, do not confound/confuse the persons of the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), or divide the substance that is "God". Believing Isaiah 9:6 is about Jesus, yet accepting that he is called "Everlasting Father", would violate this rule and thus be a heresy (Modalistic Monarchianism - confusing Jesus with the Father). This forces a Trinitarian to concede the fact that they are either wrong on their Christology, or that Isaiah 9:6 is mistranslated. 

We will first discuss the title "Everlasting Father". In Hebrew, this title is avi ad, which means "father of eternity", or "father of the age" [1]. In Semitic culture, if you were the ruler or originator of something, you could be called the "father" of it. In Genesis 4:20, Jabal is called "the father of all who live in tens and raise livestock", as he was the first one recorded to do so. In Isaiah 23:20-24, Eliakim is called a "father to the people of Jerusalem", as he will rule over them in a governmental position, and will care for them as a "father" does his children. If Isaiah 9:6 is about Yeshua, and he is called "the father of eternity" or "the father of the age", this is likely in direct reference to Yeshua returning to the earth to establish his everlasting kingdom (the messianic age), that he will be the ruler over (Daniel 7:13-14; Luke 1:32-33).

The second controversial title is "Mighty God", el gibbor in Hebrew. Another piece of linguistic context to Semitic culture is that the title "god" (elohim or el in hebrew, theos in greek) is often given to earthly rulers who posses authority. For instance, Moses in Exodus 7:1 is called "god" over pharaoh. The Great Sanhedrin in the land of Israel was given direct divine authority from Hashem (Deut. 17:8-13), and we see them being directly addressed using the title "gods" (Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:28; Psalm 82). According to the traditional interpretation of Psalm 45:6-7, the Judahite king is called "god" (elohim) by Hashem—who is referred to in verse 7 as the God of the king who is the source of his authority. This is the very same argument the Lord Jesus Christ used in John 10 as to why it is not blasphemy for him to say he is the son of God. 

"Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning Me?” “We aren’t stoning You for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy because You—being a man—make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Isn't it written in your law, I said, you are gods? If He called those whom the word of God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture cannot be broken—do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the One the Father set apart and sent into the world because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:31-36 HCSB)

"God stands in the divine assembly; He pronounces judgment among the gods: "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; save them from the power of the wicked. They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, 'You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High. However, you will die like men and fall like any other ruler.' Rise up, God, judge the earth, for all the nations belong to You." (Psalm 82 HCSB)

As Yeshua explains, being called "god" or elohim does not imply that you are the Almighty. As if the ones to whom the word of God came (the sanhedrin, humans) are called "gods", then it cannot be blasphemy for him to say that he is the son of God (which implies inferiority). This reflects the heavy trinitarian bias concerning the translation of "mighty god" in Isaiah 9:6, as with better Hebraic context, it should be understood as "mighty ruler". Some Trinitarians may raise the argument that the specific title el gibbor is exclusively used for Hashem. However, this simply isn't true. As we see a rendering of the same phrase el gibbor in it's plural form in Ezekiel 32:21, where it is applied to dead humans. 

"The mighty warriors(hebrew: el gibborim), will speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down; the uncircumcised lie slain by the sword.'" (Ezekiel 32:21 HCSB)

To piece together a better rendering of Isaiah 9:6-7, it could be translated as:

 "For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Ruler, Father of the (coming) eternal age, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:6-7) 

This translation presents a rendering that does not posses a trinitarian bias, and allows this passage of scripture to be more consistent. Another reason being that verse 7 says this mighty ruler will sit on David's throne, to rule forever. Hashem himself could never sit on the throne of David, but his son very much could (Matthew 1). It also goes on to say that "The Lord (Hashem) will accomplish this". Displaying that this coming ruler would not be Hashem himself, but rather a king from the seed of David, whom Hashem will exalt and establish to this position.

Another thing to consider, is that Judaism has understood this prophecy to be speaking primarily of the righteous king Hezekiah. Isaiah chapters 7-9 describe the struggle of the Jewish people under king Ahaz (Hezekiah's father); it would not be relevant to the Jews of the time to prophecy of a man coming 600+ years later. However, a declaration of the birth of Hezekiah (who did bring peace to Israel at the time) would be. It's very possible that this prophecy can typologically apply to Jesus; however, that would be a secondary fulfillment. Orthodox Judaism is strictly Unitarian, and it never has had a problem with these titles being applied to king Hezekiah. Displaying that these titles do not connote divinity, as they are entirely context dependent. Ibn Ezra gives a great perspective on this:

"I think that all these words are names of the child; he is called פלא wonder,  because God did wonders in his days; יועץ counselling; this is distinctly said of Hezekiah (comp. 2 Chr. 30:2); אל גבור Mighty chief; for Hezekiah was powerful; אבי עד The father of perpetuity, because the reign of the house of David was prolonged through his merits: עַד has here the same meaning as in 58:15. שר שלום Prince of peace because peace was established in his days; comp. 2 Chron. 32:22" (Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 9:5)

2. An alternative interpretation of Isaiah 9:6-7 is provided by several rabbis who have noted that the Hebrew word vayiqra (called) in Isaiah 9:6 is in the active tense; implying that someone in this verse is performing the act of calling. Therefore, at least one of the four titles listed in Isaiah 9:6 must refer to the one making the declaration. As Rashi and Ibn Ezra explain:

"For a child has been born to us, Although Ahaz is wicked, his son who was born to him many years ago [nine years prior to his assuming the throne] to be our king in his stead, shall be a righteous man, and the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His yoke shall be on his shoulder, for he shall engage in the Torah and observe the commandments, and he shall bend his shoulder to bear the burden of the Holy One, blessed be He, and...called his name The Holy One, blessed be He, Who gives wondrous counsel, is a mighty God and an everlasting Father, called Hezekiah’s name, “the prince of peace,” since peace and truth will be in his days." (Rashi on Isaiah 9:5)

"For unto us, etc. All this has come to pass through the merit of the child that is born unto us. We know that at the time of the invasion of Sennacherib, Hezekiah was thirty-nine years old; at the time of this prophecy he is, therefore, called child (ילד). פלא יועץ אל גבור אבי עד (mighty god, father of eternity, wonderful counselor). According to some, these expressions are names of God, and the following שר שלום(prince of peace), the name of the child.." (Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 9:5)

For this reason, the stone edition tanach renders the verse as such:

"For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and the dominion will rest on his shoulder; the Wondrous Advisor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, called his name Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6(5) Stone Edition Tanach)

This would completely change the frame of the verse, making Hashem (The Wondrous Advisor, Mighty God, and Father of eternity) the one who called (vayiqra: active tense) this child "The Prince of Peace". 

[1] Bauer Lexicon, entry for ad