Merry Christmas!
…unto us, a Son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Who was Mary’s first son? Was it God himself, the Father, the Lord God Almighty? Isaiah seems to say so…
But appearances can be deceiving. Here are some helpful discussions by Christian bloggers Jeremy Myers and Kermit Zarley.
May you have a blessed Christmas, as you thank God for the birth of his unique Son – an amazing gift!
Related posts:
podcast 156 – Dr. J.R. Daniel Kirk on A Man Attested by God – Part 2
podcast 99 - Dr. Larry Hurtado on early high christology
podcast 139 - Two Perspectives on the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church
First Review of the How ___ Became ___ books
the Bible on another previous life of Jesus
the apologetics blind-spot on numerical identity
What is essential to the gospel, according to Luke? Part 4
podcast 163 - Dr. K. Scott Oliphint on How Christianity Trumps Philosophy
podcast 178 - Apologists on how God can die - Part 1
Nasmith on the theology and christology of Acts
Hi Dale,
A very happy 2014 to you and yours!
May you be paericularly blessed in this coming year!
Kermit Zarley has analysed ‘el gibbor’ well!
I think that the NAB Bible has done a scholarly job with regard to Isaiah 9v5
“for a child is born to us,
a son is given to us
upon his shoulders dominion rests.
They nane him Wonder -Counselor, God -Hero, Father Forever, Prince of Peace”
This is closer to the Tanakh than most Christian Bibles.
‘Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”
Both the Tanakh translate this verse in THE PRESENT TENSE since it relates to a contemporary person.
The NAB Boble contains a footnote “In Christian trdition and liturgy, this passage is used to refer to Christ.”
It is interesting that the editorial team for the NAB Bible translated the Hebrew words ‘el-Gibbor’ to refer to a human being rather that the Lord God Almighty.
Every Blessing
John
As several commentators have mentioned, Christ was never referred to as “Everlasting Father”!
A few years back (2008) John Walton had an article posted at Koinonia about this verse – http://zondervan.typepad.com/koinonia/2008/12/hebrew-corner-13-what-is-in-a-name-isa-96-by-john-h-walton.html – He presents the idea of this being one long name which is theophoric in nature. I found it helpful because it makes sense and it somewhat sidesteps this issue of calling the Messiah God.
Comments are closed.