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

Pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom^[a] is a prophetic name or title which occurs in Isaiah 9:5 in the Hebrew Bible or Isaiah 9:6 in English Bibles. It is one of a series of prophetic names found in chapters 7, 8 and 9 of the Book of Isaiah, including most notably Immanuel^[b] and Maher-shalal-hash-baz^[c] in the previous chapter (Isaiah 8:1–3), which is a reference to the impending plunder of Samaria and Damascus by the king of Assyria.

The meaning of Pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom is sometimes interpreted as "Wonderful in counsel is God the mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of Peace" (Hertz 1968).

Translation


Hebrew	Transliteration	English
פֶּלֶא‎	pe-leʾ	wonder
יוֹעֵץ‎	yō-ʿēṣ	counselor or he counsels; Targum renders plan.
אֵל‎	ʾēl	God
גִּבּוֹר‎	gīb-bōr	mighty or hero
אֲבִי-‎	ʾáḇī-	father of
-עַד‎	-ʿaḏ	eternal
שַׂר‎	śar	prince
שָׁלוֹם‎‎	šā-lōm	peace

The name is translated in the Latin Vulgate and most English Bibles. The name could be left untranslated,^[1] and is so in the Jewish Publication Society of America Version (1917), though this caused discussion among the translators and led to an English translation in the New Jewish Publication Society of America Version (1985).^[2] The Latin Vulgate reads that his name will be called "Admirabilis consiliarius, Deus fortis, Pater futuri saeculi, Princeps pacis" (the Douay-Rheims version translates this as 'Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace').

Wycliffe Bible 9:6 Forsooth a little child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and princehood is made on his shoulder (But a little child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and princehood is placed upon his shoulders); and his name shall be called Wonderful, A counsellor, God, Strong, Father of the world to coming, A prince of peace.

The Masoretic cantillation marks imply pauses after Pele, gibbor, and ad, perhaps for the meaning, "Wonder, adviser to the mighty God. . ."; however the Versions and the traditional rabbinic commentaries agree that Pele yoetz should be read as a phrase, "Designer of wonders."^[3]^{[citation needed]}

El-gibbor

The uncommon term "El-gibbor"^[4] is typically translated into English as "Mighty God" (e.g. King James Version; cf. Isaiah 10:21) or occasionally as "Powerful God" (e.g. New Century Version). Martin Luther translated "El gibbor" as "hero" (Held):

Denn uns ist ein Kind geboren, ein Sohn ist uns gegeben, und die Herrschaft ist auf seiner Schulter; er heißt Wunderbar, Rat, Held, Ewig-Vater Friedefürst.^[5]

Jewish interpretation

Edersheim (1883) notes that this verse is applied to the Messiah in the Aramaic Targum.^[6] In rabbinical interpretation, such as Joseph Herman Hertz (1968) citing Rashi and Luzzatto, the name is taken as referring to the 'crown prince.'^[7] Rashi, having applied Emmanuel to Hezekiah also applies the Pele Yoez, "Wonderful Counsellor" prophecy to Hezekiah, saying that God "called the name of Hezekiah "Prince of Peace"."^[8] In the Greek Septuagint the name is translated, "Messenger of Great Counsel" as a description of the prince: "he shall be named Messenger of Great Counsel, for I will bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health to him."^[9]^[10]

Christian interpretation

In Christian interpretation, based partly on the proximity of a quote of Isaiah 9:2 found in Matthew 4,^[11] the name is taken as referring to Jesus and Messianic prophecy. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that the term "Hero-God" is preferable to "Mighty God" here and similarly in Isaiah 10:21.^[12]^[13]^[14]

The full verse^[d] is quoted in the libretto of Handel's Messiah.

Notes

^ Hebrew: פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ‎ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִיעַד שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם‎ Peleʾ yōʿēṣ ʾēl gībbōr ʾáḇīʿaḏ śar-šālōm
^ "God with us"
^ Hebrew: מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז‎, "He has made haste to the plunder!"
^ "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (KJV)

References

^ James R. Beck Jesus & personality theory: exploring the five-factor model p11 1999 "When translators come to Isaiah 9:6, they could also leave the name of the promised Messiah in its transliterated state, in which case the name would be even longer than that of Isaiah 8:1: Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom."
^ Ernest S. Frerichs The Bible and Bibles in America Scholars Press, 1988 p100 "Samuel Schulman of the JPS translation committee urged his colleagues to follow the same practice, since "it calls attention to the fact, that we wish to avoid any possible Christological interpretation of the phrase. . And the government is upon his shoulder; And his name is called ° Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom That is, Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty "
^ "MikraotGedolot – AlHaTorah.org". mg.alhatorah.org (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-22.
^ Gibbor Gesenius
^ Luther Bible 9:6
^ Alfred Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah 1883 "and there is a very curious comment in Debarim R. 1 (ed. Warsh., p. 4a) in connection with a Haggadic discussion of Genesis 43:14, which, however fanciful, makes a Messianic application of this passage - also in Bemidbar R. 11." Philologos | The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah | Appendix 9
^ Joseph Herman Hertz The Pentateuch and Haftorahs 1968 "This clearly indicates that the 'crown prince' is the person referred to. pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom. i.e. Wonderful in counsel is God the mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of Peace (Rashi and Luzzatto)."
^ Géza Vermès Studia post-biblica 1959 p62; reprinted in Scripture and tradition in Judaism: Haggadic studies 1983 p62 "Rashi, for instance, follows it in his commentary : The Holy One, blessed be He, who is a Wonderful Counsellor, a Mighty God, and the Father of Eternity, called the name of Hezekiah "Prince of Peace". It would be incorrect to see an ..."
^ LXX Is.9:5 [i.e.9:6] ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν αὐτῷ
^ translation Tessa Rajak Jewish perspectives on Hellenistic rulers 2007 p261 "Because a child was born for us, a son also given to us, whose sovereignty was upon his shoulder; and he shall be named Messenger of Great Counsel, for I will bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health to him." NB translation accords with that, or may be following Géza Vermes Scripture and tradition in Judaism: Haggadic studies. p62 1959, 1983
^ R. T. France The Gospel of Matthew 2007 p142 "It also emphasizes the link between his Galilean location and the dawning of the light, which in the Isaiah context is the prelude to the great messianic prophecy of the child “born to us” who is called “wonderful counsellor,.."
^ Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Isaiah 9, accessed 17 March 2018
^ Franz Delitzsch Biblical commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah 1877 "Not, indeed, if we render the words "Strength, Hero," as Luther does ; or "Hero of Strength," as Meier has done ; or " a ... 21, where He, to whom the remnant of Israel will turn with penitence, is called El gibbor (the mighty God)."
^ W. O. E. Oesterley The Evolution of the Messianic Idea A Study in Comparative Religion (London: Pitman, 1908); "of them, at any rate, express "Heilbringer" conceptions of the clearest kind; "El Gibbor", Hero-God", is, one might almost say, a synonym for "Heilbringer" and the Old Testament ideas connected with the two words 'El and Gibbor ..."

[1] Hebrew: פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ‎ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִיעַד שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם‎ Peleʾ yōʿēṣ ʾēl gībbōr ʾáḇīʿaḏ śar-šālōm

[2] "God with us"

[3] Hebrew: מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז‎, "He has made haste to the plunder!"

[18] "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (KJV)

[4] James R. Beck Jesus & personality theory: exploring the five-factor model p11 1999 "When translators come to Isaiah 9:6, they could also leave the name of the promised Messiah in its transliterated state, in which case the name would be even longer than that of Isaiah 8:1: Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom."

[5] Ernest S. Frerichs The Bible and Bibles in America Scholars Press, 1988 p100 "Samuel Schulman of the JPS translation committee urged his colleagues to follow the same practice, since "it calls attention to the fact, that we wish to avoid any possible Christological interpretation of the phrase. . And the government is upon his shoulder; And his name is called ° Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom That is, Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty "

[6] "MikraotGedolot – AlHaTorah.org". mg.alhatorah.org (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-22.

[7] Gibbor Gesenius

[8] Luther Bible 9:6

[9] Alfred Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah 1883 "and there is a very curious comment in Debarim R. 1 (ed. Warsh., p. 4a) in connection with a Haggadic discussion of Genesis 43:14, which, however fanciful, makes a Messianic application of this passage - also in Bemidbar R. 11." Philologos | The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah | Appendix 9

[10] Joseph Herman Hertz The Pentateuch and Haftorahs 1968 "This clearly indicates that the 'crown prince' is the person referred to. pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom. i.e. Wonderful in counsel is God the mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of Peace (Rashi and Luzzatto)."

[11] Géza Vermès Studia post-biblica 1959 p62; reprinted in Scripture and tradition in Judaism: Haggadic studies 1983 p62 "Rashi, for instance, follows it in his commentary : The Holy One, blessed be He, who is a Wonderful Counsellor, a Mighty God, and the Father of Eternity, called the name of Hezekiah "Prince of Peace". It would be incorrect to see an ..."

[12] LXX Is.9:5 [i.e.9:6] ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν αὐτῷ

[13] translation Tessa Rajak Jewish perspectives on Hellenistic rulers 2007 p261 "Because a child was born for us, a son also given to us, whose sovereignty was upon his shoulder; and he shall be named Messenger of Great Counsel, for I will bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health to him." NB translation accords with that, or may be following Géza Vermes Scripture and tradition in Judaism: Haggadic studies. p62 1959, 1983

[14] R. T. France The Gospel of Matthew 2007 p142 "It also emphasizes the link between his Galilean location and the dawning of the light, which in the Isaiah context is the prelude to the great messianic prophecy of the child “born to us” who is called “wonderful counsellor,.."

[15] Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Isaiah 9, accessed 17 March 2018

[16] Franz Delitzsch Biblical commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah 1877 "Not, indeed, if we render the words "Strength, Hero," as Luther does ; or "Hero of Strength," as Meier has done ; or " a ... 21, where He, to whom the remnant of Israel will turn with penitence, is called El gibbor (the mighty God)."

[17] W. O. E. Oesterley The Evolution of the Messianic Idea A Study in Comparative Religion (London: Pitman, 1908); "of them, at any rate, express "Heilbringer" conceptions of the clearest kind; "El Gibbor", Hero-God", is, one might almost say, a synonym for "Heilbringer" and the Old Testament ideas connected with the two words 'El and Gibbor ..."

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