Does the book of Isaiah say anything about Jesus of Nazareth? [View all]

[SarahM32]

Last edited Sun Mar 31, 2013, 03:14 PM - Edit history (2)

Christianity was built upon the idea that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (Torah and Tanakh), or will when he "comes again."

Christianity was also built on the theology of Christian Apologetics, which was established by the evangelist Paul and submits that Christianity supersedes Judaism and "overrules" it. And that, of course, rankles Rabbinical Jews, Talmudic Jews, Kabbalistic Jews and liberal and progressive Christians, among others who know differently.

Part of the problem is that Paul and the apostles of Jesus whose work made it into the official church canon got their ideas of how and why Jesus fulfilled prophecy from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The King James English translation was later influenced by that even though it was translated from both the Hebrew the Greek translation. And the problem is that the Septuagint contains certain words that are different from the original Hebrew texts.

For example, the original book of Isaiah in Hebrew does not used the word "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14, as the Septuagint does. Instead, it uses the term "young woman" (almah). And, as an article on The Virgin Birth Story reveals, while some Christians rationalize that the word almah could also mean virgin, they ignore the fact that there is a Hebrew word that actually does mean "virgin." It is "bethulah," and it is used in Isaiah 23:12, 37:22, 47:1, and 62:5. Therefore, the author of the original book of Isaiah was well aware of the word for virgin and yet purposely did not use it in Isaiah 7:14.

Another example is in Isaiah 53, which Christians depends on heavily to "prove" that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. After all, it does mention of the Mashiach "anointed one" that "with his stripes we are healed." (assuming that the "stripes" were from the whipping Jesus endured on the last day of his life.)

However, as an article on Isaiah Chapter 53 reveals, the original Hebrew reveals a different story. And to give you an idea, here is Isaiah 53:3-6 in a modern English translation of the original Hebrew as preserved and reflected in the Masoretic text:

"He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light on him the iniquity of us all."

The article also points out that Isaiah 53:5 does not say, “He was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities,” which is what Christians have written to ascribe the prophecy to Jesus. Rather, the proper translation is: “He was wounded because of our transgressions, and crushed because of our iniquities.”

That means that the servant of God suffered as a result of the sinfulness and iniquity of others, not that he suffered to atone for the sins and iniquity of others. In fact, the Messiah is sent as a counselor who delivers judgment and guidance, and the misguided theology of Christian Apologetics directly contradicts the basic Jewish teaching that forgiveness is promised to all who sincerely return to God. Therefore, there is no need for the Messiah to atone for others (Isaiah 55:6-7, Jeremiah 36:3, Ezekiel chapters 18 and 33, Hoseah 14:1-3, Jonah 3:6-10, Proverbs 16:6, Daniel 4:27, 2-Chronicles 7:14).

The article points out that: His "silence" goes with his being “hidden” and merely delivering the message before him, without bringing attention to himself, without exalting himself, without rising up and seeking the limelight as a famous politician or preacher (as Isaiah prophesied). And it goes with his willingness to "offer his soul in restitution."

The leaders of today's "Christian Right," of course, do everything they can to fight and discredit that, because it proves that the book of Isaiah is not about Jesus of Nazareth but about the modern son of man. But the truth about Isaiah's prophecies is just part of a huge amount of growing evidence that show how and why the actual prophecies of Isaiah and Jesus are about the same modern son of man.
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