“this is his name by which he will be called.” When someone is “called” a certain name it does not mean the person is what the name means. In this Messianic prophecy, Jesus is prophetically referred to as being called “Yahweh our Righteousness.” This does not mean that Jesus is being literally identified as Yahweh (“LORD”) simply because Jesus is being called that name. For example, about ten chapters later in Jeremiah, Jerusalem is also called, “Yahweh our Righteousness,” and Jerusalem is obviously not Yahweh (Jer. 33:16). So, calling something a certain name does not mean it is what the name says it is, or even that two things that have the same name have identical attributes in all respects.

Being “called” a certain name is often done simply because the object shares some similarity, likeness, connection, or representation of the name it is called. For example, when Abraham called the mountain on which he was about to sacrifice Isaac “Yahweh will provide,” he was not literally calling the mountain Yahweh. Similarly, calling an altar “Yahweh my banner” does not mean that the altar is Yahweh either, even if Moses called it that: “Moses built an altar and called it ‘Yahweh is my Banner’” (Exod. 17:15). Furthermore, Gideon also built an altar, but gave it a different Yahweh name. He called it “Yahweh is Peace.” Judges 6:24 says, “So Gideon built an altar to Yahweh there and called it ‘Yahweh is Peace.’” These verses show that just because something is called Yahweh (“LORD”), that does not make it literally Yahweh.

An important clarification in the verse is that the Messiah will be called (not will be) “Yahweh our Righteousness” because God Almighty will work His righteousness through His anointed one, Jesus the Christ. The city of Jerusalem will also be called “Yahweh our Righteousness” because God will work His righteousness there and that righteousness will extend over the entire world.

[For more on the subject of “names” and being “called,” see commentary on Matt. 1:23.]

[For more information on Jesus being the fully human Son of God and not being “God the Son,” see Appendix 10, “Jesus is the Son of God, Not God the Son.” For more on “the Holy Spirit” being one of the designations for God the Father and “the holy spirit” being the gift of God’s nature, see Appendix 11, “What is the Holy Spirit?”]