Immanuel
Immanuel or Emmanuel or Imanu'el (Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל "God [is] with us" consists of two Hebrew words: אֵל (’El, meaning 'God') and עִמָּנוּ (ʻImmānū, meaning 'with us'); Standard Hebrew ʻImmanuʼel, Tiberian Hebrew ʻImmānûʼēl). It is a theophoric name used in the Bible in Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 8:8. It appears once in the Christian New Testament: in Matthew's quotation of Isaiah 7:14.
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[edit] Christian usage
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This section improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources. |
Christian belief holds that Immanuel is Jesus, and the Messiah foretold in the other prophecies of Isaiah. In Isaiah 8:8, Canaan is called the land of Immanuel, though in other passages it is termed the land or the inheritance of God,[1] so that Immanuel and God are identified.[citation needed] 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) expressly identifies the Immanuel with Jesus the Messiah, and Christian tradition has constantly taught the same doctrine. A number of the Church Fathers, such as St Irenaeus, Lactantius, St Epiphanius, St John Chrysostom, and Theodoret, regarded the name "Immanuel" not merely as a pledge of Divine assistance, but also as an expression of the mystery of the Incarnation by virtue of which the Messiah will be "God with us".
[edit] Christian interpretation of Isaiah 7:14
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This section improperly uses one or more religious texts as primary sources without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources. |
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 Israel, nor with religious faith, for "he shall eat butter and honey."(Isaiah 7:15) It is thought[who?] 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 gives the prophecy to Ahaz as a sign that the two kings he dreads, Rezin king of Damascus and Pekah king of Samaria, will shortly be destroyed by "the king of Assyria" when Immanuel is still an infant. Most scholars[who?] identify this as being fulfilled by Tiglath Pileser III in 732 BCE, which leads some Christians to argue for a dual fulfillment.[citation needed]
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,[2] son of the almah Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.[3] 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".[4]
[edit] In the Nativity of Jesus
In Matthew "an angel of the Lord" appears to Mary's betrothed husband Joseph in a dream and tells him: "she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins". The text continues with the comment: "All this happened to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us'".[5] Some 5-6th century manuscripts of the Gospel according to Matthew read "Isaiah the prophet" instead of merely "the prophet" (e.g. D), but this does not have the support of other important witnesses.[citation needed]
Rather than using the Masoretic text which forms the basis of most modern Christian Old Testament 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".
[edit] In Context of the Book of Isaiah
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—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.).[6]
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, but that if the Jews continue to sin, the Assyrian empire will be the instrument of God's vengeance. However, the Christian view of Isaiah in general holds that throughout the Book of Isaiah, Jesus and the general condition of mankind is referred to, in addition to the immediate situation, in this way the Christian interpretation of this passage fits within the context of the overall Christian interpretation of Isaiah.
[edit] Jewish usage
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Judaism understands the passages in Isaiah literally as referring to a child born during the reign of king Ahaz 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 who ruled after Ahaz. According to Rashi'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, 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 as "Emanu-El," "Emanu El," or "Emanuel," Emanu-El is a common name for Jewish synagogues.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Isaiah 14:2, 25; 47:6; Hosea 9:3; Jeremiah 2:7; 12:14; etc.
- ^ Whittaker H. A. Hezekiah the Great Birmingham
- ^ Beyer, Bryan. Encountering the Book of Isaiah. Baker Academic. 2007. 76-77.
- ^ Matthew 1:23
- ^ Matthew 1:23. Compare to Isaiah 7:14.
- ^ Raymond E. Brown, Mary in the New Testament, Paulist Press (1978), page 92
[edit] External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
