For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon[a] his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
Firstly this prophecy is very likely not about Jesus in its initial application, and secondly the Hebrew text does not actually say “God”. In fact the Bible never clearly calls Jesus “God” in any verse.
The phrase ‘Mighty God’ is Hebrew el gibbor. Gibbor means ‘mighty in battle’. El, though usually translated ‘god’, can also refer to powerful human figures such as ‘rulers’ and ‘warriors’. In this context El Gibbor may be better translated ‘mighty warrior’ (cf. ‘in battle God-like’ [NEB]). El has a wider range of meanings that the usual Hebrew for God himself, which is Elohim used with a singular verb – and therefore singular.
The phrase ‘el gibbor‘ is used in the plural in Ezekiel 32:21 (אֵלֵי גִבּוֹרִים ), where it is translated ‘mighty chiefs,’ ‘mighty leaders’ (modern versions ESV, NIV etc), or ‘strong among the mighty’ (KJV)
Again, it is also worth remembering that this prophecy originally referred to a child born in the days of Hezekiah’s father Ahaz (and probably applies to Hezekiah himself). If it was appropriate to have name for that child “El Gibbor” then why would it be inappropriate to apply the prophecy again to Jesus a child? In fact Isaiah 9:6 is not cited in the New Testament, and is popularly known as a Messianic verse mainly from its inclusion in the libretto for Handel’s Messiah. Nevertheless, since Matthew applies the first of the Immanuel prophecies about a child born in Hezekiah’s time to Jesus, it is not inappropriate to extend from Isaiah 7 to Isaiah 9.
For a fuller understanding of Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecies see Is Isaiah 9:6’s “Wonderful counselor” related to Isaiah 7:14 and 8:8’s “Immanuel”?
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