Immanuel
Encyclopedia
Elohim
Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
[is] with us" consists of two Hebrew words: אֵל (’El
El (god)
is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "deity", cognate to Akkadian and then to Hebrew : Eli and Arabic )....
, meaning 'God') and עִמָּנוּ (ʻImmānū, meaning 'with us'); Standard Hebrew 'ʻImmanuʼel, Tiberian Hebrew
Tiberian Hebrew
Tiberian Hebrew is the extinct canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh and related documents in the Roman Empire. This traditional medieval pronunciation was committed to writing by Masoretic scholars based in the Jewish community of Tiberias , in the form of the Tiberian vocalization...
'ʻImmānûʼēl). It is a theophoric name used in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in and . It appears once in the Christian New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
: in Matthew's quotation
Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament
Numerous quotations of the Hebrew Bible are made in the New Testament. In general, the New Testament writers quote from the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, as it was then in common use among Gentiles, both Roman and Greek, while Jews of the time spoke mainly Aramaic and Hebrew, and would...
of Isaiah 7:14.
Christian usage
Christian belief holds that Immanuel is Jesus, and the MessiahMessiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
foretold in the other prophecies of Isaiah. In Isaiah 8:8, Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
is called the land of Immanuel, though in other passages it is termed the land or the inheritance of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, so that Immanuel and God are identified. Again, in the Hebrew text of Isaiah 8:9-10, the Prophet predicts the futility of all the enemies' schemes against Canaan, because of Immanuel. The characteristics of the child Immanuel as described in 9:6-7, are viewed by Christians as indicating his Messianic mission, and the eleventh chapter pictures the Messianic blessings which the child Immanuel will bring upon the earth. Moreover, the Gospel of Matthew (1:23
Matthew 1:23
Matthew 1:23 is the twenty-third verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Joseph has just been informed of the nature of Jesus by an angel and in this verse the author of Matthew relates this to a quote from the Old Testament....
) expressly identifies the Immanuel with Jesus the Messiah, and Christian tradition has constantly taught the same doctrine. A number of the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
, such as St Irenaeus, Lactantius
Lactantius
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son.-Biography:...
, St Epiphanius
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...
, St John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, and Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, regarded the name "Immanuel" not merely as a pledge of Divine assistance, but also as an expression of the mystery of the Incarnation
Incarnation (Christianity)
The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...
by virtue of which the Messiah will be "God with us".
Christian interpretation of Isaiah 7:14
Christians generally hold that Immanuel as described in Isaiah 7:14 cannot be an ideal or metaphorical person, and cannot be identified with the regenerate people of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, nor with religious faith, for "he shall eat butter and honey."(Isaiah 7:15) It is thought that both the text and the context indicates that the Prophet does not refer to a child in general, but points to an individual. In particular Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
gives the prophecy to Ahaz
Ahaz
Ahaz was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. He is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew....
as a sign that the two kings he dreads, Rezin
Rezin
King Rezin of Aram or Rasin of Syria in DRB ruled from Damascus during the 8th century BC. During his reign he was a tributary of King Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria....
king of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and Pekah
Pekah
Pekah was king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah ....
king of Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
, will shortly be destroyed by "the king of Assyria" when Immanuel is still an infant. Most scholars identify this as being fulfilled by Tiglath Pileser III in 732 BCE, which leads some Christians to argue for a dual fulfillment
Dual fulfillment
The dual fulfilment of prophecy or dual fulfillment or dual prophecy or duality in prophecy or present and future application is the mainly Christian idea that some prophecies in the Bible have both a short-term and long-term fulfilment.-Messianic Prophecies:Examples include the Immanuel prophecy...
.
Christians and Jews alike differ amongst themselves that the name Immanuel refers to a son to be born of either Isaiah or Ahaz, in which case perhaps the future royal heir Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
, son of the almah Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. As well there are those who believe that Immanuel cannot be Jesus either, for three reasons, the first being the angels who spoke to Mary did not say he would be called Immanuel, secondly he was named Jesus by his parents, and finally because in Isaiah 9:6 it is said that "...His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." However, it is clear that Matthew believed Jesus to be the ultimate fulfillment of such prophecy as "God with us" or "Immanuel".
In the Nativity of Jesus
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
the prophet" instead of merely "the prophet" (e.g. D), but this does not have the support of other important witnesses.
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
which forms the basis of most modern Christian Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
translations, Matthew's quotation is taken from the Septuagint. The verb кαλεω caleò ("I call") is used by both Isaiah and Gabriel; but whilst the former employs the third person plural (they shall call), the latter has the second person singular you shall call. Gabriel himself therefore is not applying Isaiah's prophecy to Joseph, but his purpose is to invite him to assume legal paternity of the son to be born of Mary by naming him. It is the following comment that explains Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit, Joseph's vocation as the child's legal father, and the child's own vocation as the Saviour of his people as indicated by the name Jesus, in the light of Isaiah's prophecy that henceforth "God is with us".
Scholars have other concerns with Matthew's reference to Isaiah; for instance, they argue that it is much more likely that Isaiah is referring to the far more immediate future, particularly as the text can be considered to be past tense
Past tense
The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future...
—implying that the savior in question was already conceived when Isaiah was writing. Matthew also appears to have adjusted the meaning slightly, but in a significant way—although Matthew --- quoting the LXX --- uses the Greek term parthenos, usually translated virgin, Isaiah uses the Hebrew word almah, which translates as "maiden," "young woman," or "virgin" (as translated by the Alexandrian translators of the Septuagint in the 3rd century B.C.E.).
The purpose of the quotation is better understood by looking at the context in which it is used in Isaiah. Isaiah is in the process of promising that God can save Israel from the immediate threat of the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, but that if the Jews continue to sin, the Assyrian empire will be the instrument of God's vengeance.
Jewish usage
JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
understands the passages in Isaiah literally as referring to a child born during the reign of king Ahaz
Ahaz
Ahaz was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. He is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew....
to whom the prophecy was made and does not consider the verses to be connected with the Messiah. Opinions differ as to whether this is a son of Isaiah or Ahaz and in the latter case whether he is identical to Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
who ruled after Ahaz. According to Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's reckoning Hezekiah would have been 9 years old at the time. Rashi interprets the verse as referring to a son of Isaiah, Maher-shalal-hash-baz
Maher-shalal-hash-baz
Maher-shalal-hash-baz - "Hurry to spoil!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!" - was the second mentioned son of the prophet Isaiah. The name is a reference to the impending plunder of Samaria and Damascus by the king of Assyria. Maher-shalal-hash-baz is mentioned in the Bible in , which section...
, who is called Immanuel in Isaiah 8. With the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz comes the destruction of Damascus and Samaria, as Isaiah 7 predicts would accompany the birth of Immanuel.
Spelled in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as "Emanu-El," "Emanu El," or "Emanuel," Emanu-El
Emanu-El
Temple Emanu-El is the name of numerous Jewish synagogues. It is also spelled Emanuel and Emanu El in English. Emanu-El means "God is with us" in Hebrew.-Canada:*Congregation Emanu-El...
is a common name for Jewish synagogues.
See also
- Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14 is a verse of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah, addressing king Ahaz of Judah , promises the king a sign that his oracle is a true one...
- List of names referring to El
- List of synagogues named Emanu-ElEmanu-ElTemple Emanu-El is the name of numerous Jewish synagogues. It is also spelled Emanuel and Emanu El in English. Emanu-El means "God is with us" in Hebrew.-Canada:*Congregation Emanu-El...