Immanuel
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- Immanuel is also a town in Israel, near Ariel. For other articles, please see Emanuel (disambiguation).
Immanuel or Emmanuel or Imanu'el (עִמָּנוּאֵל "God [is] with us", Standard Hebrew ʿImmanuʾel, Tiberian Hebrew ʿImmānûʾēl) is a name used in the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, and also appears in Matthew 1:23 in the Christian New Testament.
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Judaism and the Hebrew Bible
Judaism reads the verse in Isaiah 7:14 as:"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman (Ha-Almah) shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanu-el". See the original Hebrew with English translation [1]. Importantly, the words 'young woman' do not refer to a virgin. Had the Torah intended to refer to such, the specific Hebrew word for vigin of betualah would have been used, and not simply Ha-Almah. This is discussed in greater detail below.
Context of Isaiah 7:14 according to Judaism
Ahaz king of Jerusalem was besieged. Through Isaiah, God sends a message. Ahaz is reluctant to accept it, but is told he will get a sign. So Isaiah 7:10-17 states:
- And the LORD spoke again unto Ahaz, saying:
יא שְׁאַל-לְךָ אוֹת, מֵעִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ; הַעְמֵק שְׁאָלָה, אוֹ הַגְבֵּהַּ לְמָעְלָה. 11 'Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God: ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.' יב וַיֹּאמֶר, אָחָז: לֹא-אֶשְׁאַל וְלֹא-אֲנַסֶּה, אֶת-יְהוָה. 12 But Ahaz said: 'I will not ask, neither will I try the LORD.' יג וַיֹּאמֶר, שִׁמְעוּ-נָא בֵּית דָּוִד: הַמְעַט מִכֶּם הַלְאוֹת אֲנָשִׁים, כִּי תַלְאוּ גַּם אֶת-אֱלֹהָי. 13 And he said: 'Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also? יד לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא, לָכֶם--אוֹת: הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה, הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן, וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ, עִמָּנוּ אֵל. 14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. טו חֶמְאָה וּדְבַשׁ, יֹאכֵל--לְדַעְתּוֹ מָאוֹס בָּרָע, וּבָחוֹר בַּטּוֹב. 15 Curd and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good. טז כִּי בְּטֶרֶם יֵדַע הַנַּעַר, מָאֹס בָּרָע--וּבָחֹר בַּטּוֹב: תֵּעָזֵב הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה קָץ, מִפְּנֵי שְׁנֵי מְלָכֶיהָ. 16 Yea, before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou hast a horror of shall be forsaken. יז יָבִיא יְהוָה עָלֶיךָ, וְעַל-עַמְּךָ וְעַל-בֵּית אָבִיךָ, יָמִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא-בָאוּ, לְמִיּוֹם סוּר-אֶפְרַיִם מֵעַל יְהוּדָה: אֵת, מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר. {פ} 17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria'. [2]
Thus this states that God will send a "sign" in the days of Ahaz who lived many centuries before Jesus. Moreover, there is no indication that Immanuel will be the Messiah, whatever the timing of his birth. The Jewish tradition has accordingly never considered Isaiah 7:14 as a messianic prophecy. Modern Jewish scholars argue that this is a Christian innovation, unwarranted by the text.
Hebrew translation
Meaning of “almah’”
The word almah is not used in Hebrew to refer to a virgin. The word for virgin is betulah. Betulah, meaning virgin, is used in Genesis 24:16, Exodus 22:16-17, Leviticus 21:14, and most explicitly in Deuteronomy 22:13-21.
Jewish tradition states that the "young woman" was in fact Isaiah’s wife and the birth of the child is recorded later in Isaiah 8:3.
Almah is definitely not a "virgin" in the instance of Proverbs 30:18-20: :18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,, yea, four which I know not:
יט דֶּרֶךְ הַנֶּשֶׁר, בַּשָּׁמַיִם-- דֶּרֶךְ נָחָשׁ, עֲלֵי-צוּר; דֶּרֶךְ-אֳנִיָּה בְלֶב-יָם-- וְדֶרֶךְ גֶּבֶר בְּעַלְמָה. 19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a young woman.
כ כֵּן, דֶּרֶךְ אִשָּׁה-- מְנָאָפֶת: אָכְלָה, וּמָחֲתָה פִיהָ; וְאָמְרָה, לֹא-פָעַלְתִּי אָוֶן. 20 So is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith: 'I have done no wickedness.' [3]
Thus "the way of a man with a young woman (i.e. alamah) is not referring to a virgin in Proverbs.
The article in “ha-almah’”
The word “ha” is generally translated as the definite article “the”. Some interpreters (e.g. the authors of the New English Translation) however believe that its use here means that the young woman was present to the conversation, and thus render “ha-almah’” as “this young woman”. That is taken to refer to either a member of the royal family or the “profetess” mentioned in Isaiah 8.
Adjective “hrh” and time of pregnancy
The adjective “hrh” is used predicatively. From the narrator’s perspective, this in the Scriptures generally means a past, or present, or imminent future pregnancy (see 1 Sam 4:19,; Gen 16:11 and 38:24; 2 Sam 11:5; Judg 13:5, 7). The translation of Isaiah 7:14 could thus be either “the [or this] young woman is pregnant” or “the [or this] young woman will soon be pregnant”.
Naming of Immanuel
The verb "tar?q*" has mostly been taken as an archaic form of the third feminine singular, and rendered as “she will name”. However, some interpreters (see reference above) think that it should be more naturally understood as a second feminine singular. If this was so, the meaning would be “and you [young woman] will call his name Immanuel”. The name itself, meaning “God [is] with us”, while noble, does not imply a divine nature of the boy.
Christian interpretation
In the King James Bible, the relevant verse runs like this:
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
However the New English Translation or NET Bible renders the same verse in this way:
Isaiah 7:14 “For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.”
There is thus considerable dispute about the precise meaning and application of this verse, but most Christians believe it to be a prophecy of the birth of Jesus, who is therefore sometimes called Immanuel or Emmanuel.
It is used as first name among Christians. Examples are Immanuel Kant, Victor Emmanuel of Italy. In Greece the name Manolis is considered a nickname for Emmanuel.
"...and his name shall be called Immanuel (which means, God is with us)." - Matthew 1:23