A short exchange on "savior" and Isaiah 43.11.

                     A short exchange on "savior" and Isaiah 43.11

On the CARM forum board "Jehovah's Witnesses" we see yet another serious exegetical and linguistic error by Robert V. Frazier. It started because he insisted that when Jehovah says there are no other "gods" but He (Is.43.10, 44.6, 45.5) this is an "absolute statement" and therefore is an argument against the New World Translations' "a god" translation for QEOS, "God/god" at John 1.1c for how could the Word be "a god" if Jehovah is the only "god" in existence.

The following shows how Frazier ignores the context of Jehovah's 'statement' of 43:11 that there is no "savior" besides He and his ignorance about the Hebrew word yasha often translated "savior," "deliverer" in English Bible translations. RVF is Robert V. Frazier. JJ3 is apparently a Jehovah's Witness:

JJ3: According to this premise then what of the 'absolute statement' of Jehovah that beside he there is "no saviour"(43.11) yet we know from the scriptures there are those who Jehovah calls "saviours"(eg., Judges 3.9)?

RVF: What of it? The Hebrew word yasha` has more than one meaning. Only God is the Savior, since only God can save people from sin. Humans can be deliverers, and deliver their people from human enemies. The NIV translates the word as "savior" in Isaiah 43:11 and "deliverer" in Judges 3:9. So does the NASB, KJV, and many others. Only if you assume for no reason that yasha` always means "savior" do you have a problem. I do not so assume.

JJ3: Did the NET Bible translators "assume" also that yasha means the same in both Is.43.11 and Judges 3.9 Robert? For do they not translate in both the same way, by "deliverer"?

(The Bible- An American Translation translates both places with "savior." as does the NWT)

http://www.bible.org/netbible target

Judges 3:9: "When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer(Heb. yasha) for the Israelites who rescued"-NET

God's Word says that Othniel was "a deliverer(yasha)."

Compare Isaiah 19.20- "...the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer(Heb. yasha) and defender who will rescue them."-NET

Isaiah 43:11-"I, I am the Lord, and there is no deliverer(Heb. yasha) besides me."- NET

God's Word says that besides Jehovah there is "no deliverer(yasha)."

Now, what is it that you said about so-called "absolute statements" in Isaiah?

Our copy of The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon for this word, yasha, under its Hiphil perfect entries, including nominatives....1. deliver, save....Specif, save from evils and troubles a. of heroic men, saving the nation in war...these are named...saviour Ju 3.9, 15.....b. of God, who saves his people from external evils.....Is.43.12..accordingly God is ...saviour Is.43.11"

In the context of Isaiah 43 God is a "savior" because of what he had done for the nation, Israel, saving them from their enemies, the nations around about them and doing this by way of raising up numerous human "saviours," such as Othniel(Judges 3.9)et al

Now then, who is it that really has a "problem"? Silence in reply will show who has!

End.

Robert Frazier never did respond.