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The LORD Our Righteousness — Jeremiah 23:5–6

Nazaryah
9 min read
Jeremiah Trinity YHWH Tsidkenu Theophoric Names Messiah Proof Text Yahuah Davidic King

Trinitarian Argument Strength: ★★☆☆☆ 2 out of 5 — Surface-level appeal based on the presence of the divine name in the title, but collapses immediately when Jeremiah 33:16 gives the identical name to Jerusalem.

Part One — The Trinitarian Claim

1.1 — The Passage

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” — Jeremiah 23:5–6 (KJV)

The key phrase is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” In Hebrew, this is YHWH Tsidkenu. The entire Trinitarian argument depends on what this phrase means.

1.2 — What Trinitarians Claim

Trinitarians argue like this: the Branch (the coming Messiah) is given the name YHWH. Since YHWH is the personal name of the Almighty, the Messiah must therefore BE Yahuah. In other words, they say the name proves that the Messiah is not just a human king but Yahuah in the flesh.

Some also try to use the Granville Sharp rule to support this reading. But that rule is a Greek grammar observation that applies to certain patterns in the New Testament. It has no power over a Hebrew title in the Old Testament.

1.3 — The Logical Problem Before We Even Open the Text

The Trinitarian argument has a basic flaw you can spot before looking at a single Hebrew word. They pull the divine name out of the phrase and apply it to the Branch on its own. That is reading backwards. The correct way to read it is to take the whole phrase together: “YHWH Tsidkenu” is the name — the complete phrase. The word tsidkenu (“our righteousness”) tells us something about what Yahuah does through this king. It does not say the king IS Yahuah.

On top of this, Hebrews 1:1–2 tells us that Yahuah (God) spoke through the prophets in the past, and only “in these last days” spoke through His Son. The Son was not the one speaking in the Old Testament. The Branch in Jeremiah 23 is the one being spoken about, not the one doing the speaking.

Part Two — Verse-by-Verse Examination

2.1 — Verse 5: The Branch Is Raised by Yahuah

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” — Jeremiah 23:5 (KJV)

Yahuah is the one speaking. He says He will raise up a Branch for David. The relationship is clear: Yahuah is doing the raising, and the Branch is being raised. The Branch does not raise himself. If the Branch were Yahuah, then Yahuah would be raising Himself up for David — which makes no sense.

2.2 — Verse 6a: Judah Saved, Israel Secure

“In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely.” — Jeremiah 23:6a (KJV)

Everything the Branch accomplishes is described as something Yahuah does through him. This is the same pattern throughout the Old Testament. Moses freed Israel from Egypt, but Moses was not Yahuah. Joshua led them into the promised land, but Joshua was not Yahuah. Kings and judges ruled with authority that came from Yahuah, but none of them were Yahuah.

2.3 — Verse 6b: The Name

“and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” — Jeremiah 23:6b (KJV)

This is the critical point. The Branch is given a name that contains the divine name YHWH. Trinitarians stop here and say: “The Branch is called YHWH — therefore he IS Yahuah.” But that conclusion ignores one of the most basic features of Hebrew naming.

Part Three — The Naming Pattern

3.1 — Theophoric Naming in the Hebrew Bible

A theophoric name is a name that contains the divine name or a title of Yahuah, but is given to a person, place, or thing. The name does not make that person Yahuah. It tells you what Yahuah is doing through that person or through that place.

  • “Isaiah” (Yeshayahu) means “Yahuah has saved.” Isaiah is not Yahuah.
  • “Elijah” (Eliyahu) means “My God is Yahuah.” Elijah is not Yahuah.
  • “Zechariah” (Zekharyahu) means “Yahuah remembers.” Zechariah is not Yahuah.
  • “Nathanael” (Netanel) means “Given of God.” Nathanael is not God.
  • Abraham’s altar was called “Yahweh-Yireh” — “The LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:14). The altar is not Yahuah.

All of these names contain divine titles. None of the people or places are divine because of it. They are named for what Yahuah does — not for what they are.

3.2 — The Killer Parallel: Jeremiah 33:16

This is the verse that settles the question. Jeremiah returns to this same prophecy one chapter later:

“In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our Righteousness.” — Jeremiah 33:16 (KJV)

Look carefully. In Jeremiah 23:6, the Branch is called “YHWH Tsidkenu.” In Jeremiah 33:16, Jerusalem — a city — is called by the exact same name: “YHWH Tsidkenu.”

Is Jerusalem Yahuah? No Trinitarian on earth claims that the city of Jerusalem is a divine person. Yet the city receives the identical name that Trinitarians claim proves the Branch is Yahuah. If the name proves deity when applied to the Branch, then it should also prove deity when applied to Jerusalem. But it proves neither. The name is a theophoric title — it describes what Yahuah does through that person or place, not what that person or place essentially is.

3.3 — The Direction of the Name

The full phrase is YHWH Tsidkenu — “YHWH is our Righteousness.” Read it as a complete sentence. YHWH is the subject. “Our Righteousness” is the predicate. The statement is about Yahuah, not about the Branch. The Branch is the vehicle through whom Yahuah’s righteousness reaches His people. Yahuah remains the source. The Branch is the channel.

This is the same theology Paul articulates in 1 Corinthians 1:30: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” Yahuah made the Messiah “unto us righteousness.” The righteousness belongs to Yahuah. It reaches us through the Messiah. The Branch does not possess righteousness independently. Yahuah provides it through him.

Part Four — What the New Testament Actually Says About the Branch

4.1 — The Branch in the Apostolic Writings

The apostles did not use Jeremiah 23:5–6 to prove that Yahushua is Yahuah. When they wanted to prove that Yahushua was the promised Messiah, they quoted Davidic covenant passages and resurrection texts. When they explained the righteousness that comes through him, they consistently placed Yahuah as the source and Yahushua as the agent.

Romans 5:17 — “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

The righteousness is a gift. Gifts come from a giver. In the New Testament, the giver is always Yahuah. The Messiah is always the one through whom the gift is delivered.

4.2 — The Sender and The Sent

Throughout Jeremiah 23, the pattern is unmistakable. Yahuah speaks. Yahuah raises. Yahuah names. The Branch receives, reigns, and is named. Everything flows from Yahuah to the Branch. The Branch is never portrayed as co-equal with Yahuah. He is always dependent on Yahuah’s initiative.

This is the consistent pattern across all of Scripture. The Father sends. The Son is sent. The Father raises. The Son is raised. The Father names. The Son is named. One is always the source. The other is always the recipient. That is not the language of co-equal persons sharing one divine essence.

Part Five — Summary and Conclusion

5.1 — What the Text Actually Says

Jeremiah 23:5–6 is a prophecy about a Davidic king Yahuah will raise up. That king will be righteous, will reign wisely, and will bring safety to Judah and Israel. He will receive a theophoric name — YHWH Tsidkenu — that describes Yahuah’s righteousness working through him. The name belongs to a pattern of Hebrew naming where the divine name appears in a title without making the bearer of that title divine.

Jeremiah 33:16 proves the point by giving the identical name to Jerusalem — a city. No one concludes the city is Yahuah. No one should conclude the Branch is Yahuah either.

5.2 — What the Trinitarian Reading Requires

To make Jeremiah 23:5–6 a proof of the Messiah’s deity, Trinitarians must: extract the divine name from the phrase and apply it to the Branch independently, ignoring the complete title YHWH Tsidkenu as a theophoric statement about Yahuah’s character; ignore Jeremiah 33:16, where Jerusalem receives the identical name; pretend that theophoric naming in the Hebrew Bible works differently in this verse than it does in every other verse; and set aside the consistent New Testament teaching that righteousness belongs to Yahuah and is delivered through the Messiah.

5.3 — Conclusion

YHWH Tsidkenu is a statement about Yahuah, not a claim that the Branch is Yahuah. The name tells us what Yahuah does through this Davidic king. It does not tell us that the king and Yahuah are the same person. If it did, we would have to conclude that Jerusalem is also Yahuah — which no one believes.

“I am Yahuah: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.” — Isaiah 42:8 (KJV)