This is the second of six claims tied to Y'shayahu / Isaiah chapter 49. This chapter is speaking of the prophet Isaiah himself, his role as G-d's spokesman to the Jewish people to reclaim their role as a light to the other nations. The very first line says "Hearken, you islands, to me, and listen closely, you nations, from afar; the L-rd called me from the womb, from the innards of my mother He mentioned my name." Y'shayahu / Isaiah chapter 49:1. The root of the name Isaiah is יש"ע, -- salvation. Isaiah the prophet is saying that he was, from before his birth, set aside by G-d to give prophecies of salvation to the Jewish people, and even to the nations of the earth. Isaiah is G-d's servant,, tasked with bringing the Jewish people back to Him, but by extension Isaiah's message is for all the nations of the world -- so that both Isaiah and the Jewish people are a “light unto the nations” so that G-d’s salvation would reach the ends of the world.. G-d's salvation. Not Jesus. "And He said, "It is too light for you to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the besieged of Israel, but I will make you a light of nations, so that My salvation shall be until the end of the earth." Y'shayahu / Isaiah chapter 49:6. Isaiah. As if the text itself was not clear enough the name יְשַׁעְיָהוּ / Isaiah means "G-d's salvation"! "you" (not someone unborn for another 700 years, aka Jesus). G-d is speaking to Isaiah and does not say "700 years from now Jesus will be born and he will be my servant." Nope. G-d says "It is too light for you to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the besieged of Israel, but I will make you a light of nations, so that My salvation shall be until the end of the earth." Y'shayahu / Isaiah chapter 49:6. The Hebrew word for salvation, יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah, is a FEMININE NOUN. Nouns in Hebrew have no gender neutral -- they are either masculine or feminine. In the word is יְשׁוּעָתִ֖י -- יְשׁוּעָה The suffix תי identifies the subject of the verb as first person, singular. Translated it becomes "my salvation." Who is the "my"? G-d. The servants are Isaiah, and by extension the Jewish nation. The salvation of the entire world? G-d. What does salvation even mean, in biblical terms? In the T'nach always refers to our physical lives being saved from danger. Our immortal souls do not need saving. The meaning of יְשׁוּעָה in the Scriptures is very different from the way it is misused in by Christian missionaries. In Hebrew, it simply means being “rescued” from danger—typically by the rescuer engaging in physical combat (fighting) with an assailant who is attacking the person being “saved”. In the T'nach, “saving” is almost always associated with “fighting” or “waging war”.... I refer you to any or all of the following examples: • “Just stand still and you’ll see HaShem’s salvation that He is going to do for your today....” (Sh'mot / Exodus 14:13) • “HaShem saved Israel from Egypt’s power that day....” (Sh'mot / Exodus 14:30) • “HaShem set up a savior for Israel—Otniyél ben K'naz, Kalév’s younger brother....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:9) • “HaShem set up a savior for them—Éhud ben Géra the Bin-y'mini, who had a deformed right hand....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:15) • “....and he, too, saved Israel....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:31) • “If You will save Israel through my hand, as You have spoken....” (Shoftim / Judges 6:36) • “....you didn’t save me from them....and, when I saw that you hadn’t saved me....” (Shoftim / Judges 12:2-3) • “HaShem saved Israel that day....” (Shmuel 1 / 1 Samuel 14:23) • “....so David saved the inhabitants of K'ilah....” (Shmuel 1 / 1 Samuel 23:5) Every time the concept of salvation is mentioned in the T'nach (bible) it always refers to physical lives being rescued from danger. The Christian concept that the soul is damaged and needs saving is not biblical (T'nach). The concept is Christian, not Jewish. Christianity teaches that sin has separated man from G-d, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Christian bible goes so far as to say that only G-d can remove sin and deliver man from sin’s penalty (hell) (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). In the Jewish bible the term "salvation" only refers to being rescued from physical danger. Salvation has nothing to do with our immortal souls. We are not separated from G-d -- indeed He is close to all who call upon Him. In D'varim / Deuteronomy 33:29 Moses said we are “a nation that has been saved by HaShem”) and Yeshayahu / Isaiah 45:17 says the Jewish nation “has been saved by HaShem”, adding that “this is an eternal salvation”). Note that, in both verses, the words used were “has been saved” or "continually being saved" -- but again this is speaking of our physical existence -- not our immortal souls which are perfect and do not need to be saved. Yet again the list maker has lifted a sentence out of context (the passage speaks of Isaiah's role as G-d's messenger to spread the word that G-d is our salvation) and claimed, with zero proof, that it is about Jesus.
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