Does Isaiah 9:6 say that Jesus is God?
A common verse used by Christians to prove from the Old Testament that Jesus is God is Isaiah 9:6, which says:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Hebrew “El” Doesn’t Necessarily Mean God the Creator
First of all, the word God here doesn’t necessarily tell that the one foretold here is God Himself, but the word “el” can be used for God and for any other deity, as can be shown in Strong’s Bible dictionary:
H410
אל
‘êl
ale
Shortened from H352; strength; as adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity): – God (god), X goodly, X great, idol, might (-y one), power, strong. Compare names in “-el.”
We can see examples of some Bible verses used the word “el” for other than God, these can be elaborated through the Strong’s Bible concordance site and look at the verses below, check the word number 410:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H410&t=KJV&page=1
Pro 3:27 Withhold 4513 not good 2896 from them to whom it is due 1167, when it is in the power 410 of thine hand 3027 to do 6213 [it].
Mic 2:1Woe 1945 to them that devise 2803 iniquity 205, and work 6466 evil7451 upon their beds 4904! when the morning 1242 is light 216, they practise 6213 it, because it is 3426 in the power 410 of their hand3027.
Psa 36:6Thy righteousness 6666 [is] like the great 410 mountains 2042; thy judgments 4941 [are] a great 7227 deep 8415: O LORD 3068, thou preservest 3467 man 120 and beast 929.
Dan 11:36 And the king 4428 shall do 6213 according to his will 7522; and he shall exalt 7311 himself, and magnify 1431 himself above every god 410, and shall speak 1696 marvellous things 6381 against the God410 of gods 410, and shall prosper 6743 till the indignation 2195be accomplished 3615 : for that that is determined 2782 shall be done 6213 .
What Verse Did Jesus Quote to Answer Jewish Accusation of Blasphemy?
The second thing, which is more important is that Jesus never quoted this verse to prove himself being God, although he quoted the Old Testament a lot, the Jews accused him of blasphemy more than one time, and he never quoted this verse to prove his position (if we assumed it really does), but actually when he was accused of blasphemy, he quoted another verse which totally disproves that he is God; Psalm 82:6 :
“I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
Jesus quotes it saying:
Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), Joh 10:36 say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
Jesus is simply saying, these judges in the OT were called gods, although for sure they are not God, so what’s wrong that I am also called son of God as I am sanctified by God? I am called the son of God as these judges were called gods, are these judges really God? The same thing applies to me being called son of God. It’s just a metaphor.
If Jesus really believed that he is God, why didn’t he quote Isaiah 9:6 which Christians always quoted to prove that he is God instead of comparing himself with some people who are called gods? Simply because he didn’t believe that he is God and he was denying the Jewish accusation.
