Isaiah 45:23

Hebrew Bible

21 Tell me! Present the evidence! Let them consult with one another. Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me,a God who vindicates and delivers; there is none but me. 22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, all you who live in the earth’s remote regions! For I am God, and I have no peer. 23 I solemnly make this oath—what I say is true and reliable: ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; 24 they will say about me, “Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” All who are angry at him will cower before him. 25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord and will boast in him.

Philippians 2:10

New Testament

8 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! 9 As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,

 Notes and References

"... Paul’s presentation of the Messiah as “Wisdom” in 1 and 2 Corinthians and as a preexistent heavenly being in Philippians is analogous to the depiction of the heavenly Messiah in the Similitudes of Enoch ... In both cases, the Messiah is portrayed as divine, both functionally and, to some degree, ontologically. But in neither case is the preexistent figure equal to God. Thus, we do not yet seem to have an expression of binitarianism in Paul’s letters. Hurtado also points out that Philippians 2:10 is an adaptation of Isaiah 45:23. He infers from this allusion that: The monotheistic thrust of Jewish tradition that is stridently expressed in Isaiah 45:23 is adapted to express in equally strong terms a new and remarkable “binitarian” form of monotheism, with two closely linked but distinguishable figures: God and Jesus. But this inference seems to be an overinterpretation. The worship of the God of Israel alone can, in the Second Temple period, be combined with obeisance to God’s primary agent, the Messiah ..."

Collins, Adela Yarbro "How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?: A Reply" in in Bond, Helen K. (ed.) Israel's God and Rebecca's Children: Christology and Community in Early Judaism and Christianity (pp. 55-66) Baylor University Press, 2007

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.