Claim 26
Is ‘salvation’ Jesus's name?
The song celebrates God's rescue at the sea; a Christian advocate links its salvation language with Jesus's name and Stephen's vision.
The Old Testament text
Exod 15:2 · BSBThe LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
Translation note:
The claimed New Testament fulfilment
Matthew links Jesus's name with his mission to save, while Acts pictures him exalted at God's right hand. Christians connect both ideas with the LORD's salvation and power in Exodus.
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Why Christians see a prophecy
Jesus’s Hebrew name shares a root with ‘salvation’, and Matthew 1:21 explains his name by his saving mission. Stephen sees him at God’s right hand. A Christian divine-identity reading can connect these scenes with the LORD who saved Israel.
Why it is less convincing
The song looks back at the sea crossing. Its word for ‘salvation’ is a common noun, not the proper name Yeshua. Israel exalts the LORD in praise; that differs from God exalting Jesus at his right hand. Stephen does not quote this verse, and the right-hand imagery comes from another line of the song.
Our assessment
Depends on disputed text or translationWordplay, not a forecast
This can be meaningful Christian theological wordplay, but the verse does not directly predict Jesus's name or Stephen's vision.
Sources and further reading
- Robert Clifton Robinson, 26: Exodus 15:2. Robert Clifton Robinson, The Prophecies of the Messiah; opening claim; Application paragraphs on Matthew 1:21 and Acts 7:55–56.
- S. R. Driver, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: Exodus 15. Cambridge University Press; Bible Hub edition; Exodus 15:1–2 and song introduction.
- NASB Hebrew Lexicon editors, Exodus 15:2 Hebrew lexicon. Bible Hub electronic edition; entry for yshuw’ah and Yah.
- BSB Publishing, Berean Standard Bible v5.9. BSB Publishing; Exodus 15:1–2, 15:6; Matthew 1:21; Acts 7:55–56.
Biblical quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.