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Expert: LEBoyd - 12/25/2007


Question
Hello :)

Today at our Christmas church service, our pastor quoted from Isaiah 9:6, where it foretells Jesus' birth and names Him with many names. However, he read the passage as saying "wonderful counselor". (I believe he was reading from the NIV.) My mom and I were following along in the New King James version, where it says "wonderful, counselor"... meaning Jesus is both Wonderful, and a Counselor.

So... my question seems nitpicky, but I'm curious... what translation does the original Hebrew match more closely? Is there some kind of break between the two words, or is it meant to be a single emphatic title?

Thanks for any help. :)
~Dreams

Answer
I hope you enjoyed your Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, in the Hebrew, there is little indication whether one version is better than the other.  The Hebrew was written in all caps, with no punctuation or vowels.  So a sentence might look like:

TDYTRCHRSTMSCHRCHSRVCRPSTRQTDFRMISHWHRTFRTLLS

Of course it would be Hebrew alphabet going right to left.  It's definitely not easy to read, and thank goodness others have done a great job of getting it into a readable format.

Even so, in the readable format, you cannot say that the common should or should not be there.  We know He is wonderful and we know He is the counselor.  He is also the wonderful counselor.

Probably not very helpful to you, but maybe a little.

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LEBoyd

Expertise

I am available to answer questions on most subjects dealing with the Old and New Testaments. I have more than 30 years of detailed study in both Testaments. Additionally, I have studied the many facets of evolution, including a detailed study of Darwin's Origin of the Species. I am a fundamentalist, in that I believe that all Scripture is inspired, or God-breathed, (II Tim. 3:16). I believe that there are no contradictions in the Bible, and that the Bible is complete in telling us our purpose on earth, how to gain salvation and how we should live to obtain salvation. I believe in sin, Satan, heaven, hell, choice-immersion, grace as the free-gift of God and that one can fall from grace. I am a 'layman' in that I taught myself Hebrew (in the English alphabet) and Greek (in the Greek alphabet).

Experience

I have taught many adult classes on the Scriptures on many different subjects over the last 25 years. I have also debated many people (several at once) over subjects such as evolution, original sin, the Diety of Jesus, whether Jesus was perfect by choice, and so-called Biblical contradictions.

Education/Credentials
I am a layman, so I come as a self-trained "expert". I can provide copies of sermanets, classes and emails where I have debated Scripture with others. I do have a BBA and an MBA from a Top-10 MBA School. I also have several NASD/SEC licenses.

Awards and Honors
In Bibilical areas, I have scored the highest score, or in the top 10, with other adults in an all day annual test on specific Bible books. Some of these books were Luke, Revelation, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronmy, Joshua, Judges, II Kings, and others. Currently, I am teaching an indepth study on the book of Judges.

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