X-Dreamers
Bible chapter guide
Isaiah 9
Galilee of the nations, once in gloom, will see a great light. 'For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,' and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, on the throne of David for ever. Judgement on proud Israel follows.
Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.
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How sure can we be?
- Textually stated
Isaiah promises a child born “to us”, who will sit on David's throne, with no end to the increase of his government and of peace.
- Plausible
Read as the Messiah. Matthew sees the “great light” of Isaiah 9:2 dawn in Jesus' preaching in Galilee (Matthew 4:13–16), and from the early church on, Christians have read the child of 9:6–7 as Jesus, whose kingdom has no end.
Rests on the New Testament's own use of Isaiah 9, and on the titles of 9:6, which go beyond any king of Judah.
- Plausible
Read of a king in Isaiah's own day. Some Jewish interpreters, from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 94a) to Rashi in the 11th century, connect the child with King Hezekiah, Ahaz's son; other Jewish sources read the passage of the Messiah.
Fits the setting of Isaiah 7–9 under King Ahaz. Open question: the “no end” of 9:7 and the title “Mighty God” are hard to fit to any one king.