This episode was great! It really gets you to slow down and take a closer look into Yehovah’s Word.
I would like to comment on Isaiah 42:6. This verse is controversal to both Jews and Christians. If I were to open up an ESV (Christian) Bible I would see this,“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.” In the JPS (Jewish) Bible I see this,”I the LORD, in My grace, have summoned you, And I have grasped you by the hand. I created you, and appointed you A covenant people, a light of nations—” The big difference is the last part in the two translations. In the ESV we get the picture that presumingly Jesus is a “covenant for the people, a light for the nations.” In the JPS we get the picture of God appointing Israel as “A covenant people, a light of nations.” However, if we look at the last part in the Hebrew we see this:
וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ לִבְרִ֥ית עָ֖ם לְא֥וֹר גּוֹיִֽם׃
“And I will give you (singular) to a covenant people, to a light of nations. (LGV)”
Here Yehovah gives the “you (singular)” TO a covenant people! We don’t see the “lamed” prefix translated correctly in both the ESV and JPS. When the object of “natan-give” has a “lamed” prefix it means “to give” (see Gen. 13:17).
No matter what your opinion may be on this verse let’s translate correctly and THEN get to the interpretation. Thanks Nehemia and Keith for making me slow down on this verse!