And His Name Is...

Last time I mentioned the name of Jesus being precious and powerful at the same time. And it is. This week I wanted to share something with you that I learned back at Christmas time.  The Isaiah 9:6 reference to the name of the Messiah is not several separate descriptive names in the Hebrew language. It's one name.

Pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom

I checked various websites and found it translated in a variety of ways. Bible Hub and Bible Apps point out that it is only seen in one location in the Bible. I hadn't thought about it, but that's true. Only in Isaiah do we see those names grouped together. The Bible Hub website offers access to various commentaries, and the ones I checked out breakdown the word into the separate names I've been taught for years. If you ever need references about the Bible both of these websites are interesting and put lots of information at your fingertips.

There are some sites that indicate that this name was for King Hezekiah and not for the Messiah. What those writers forget to take into account is that this verse is in the middle of a passage about the Messiah and that God often uses a prophecy in two forms -- one for now and one for a time to come. Other sites do not acknowledge this as names of Jesus but as a title given to him by God. It can be rather confusing when you look at too many websites.

I know some people don't think highly of Wikipedia, but it has come a long way in respectability. It is often a good source of easily understood information that can be verified by other sources. This is the case for this name. And check out the reference section at the end of the write-up.

The definition in Wikipedia includes how the Hebrew and Christians translate this name. The same words are used but the emphasis is different. For example one reference states the title is wonderful in counsel while many others state it is to be read wonderful (comma) counselor. In some languages putting the emphasis on a different syllable makes a difference in what is communicated. But I don't know that it changes much in this case.

This week we celebrate Jesus dying and rising again, it doesn't really matter if you think of Him as wonderful and a counselor or as wonderful in counsel. He is there for all of us. He is the best friend many are looking for -- someone who listens and offers advice when asked. He's alive and well and waiting for us to talk to Him.