Immanuel
Immanuel or Emmanuel (Hebrew: עִמָּנוּאֵל, romanized: ʿĪmmānūʾēl, meaning, "God with us" or "God is with us"; also romanized: Imanu'el; and Emmanouël or Ἐμμανουήλ in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David.[1]
The
In
Isaiah 7–8
Summary
The setting is the
Isaiah 7:17 follows with a further prophecy that at some unspecified future date God will call up Assyria against Judah: "The Lord will cause to come upon you and your people and your ancestral house such days as have not been seen since Ephraim broke away from Judah—the king of Assyria" (verse 7:17). Verses 7:18–25 describe the desolation that will result: "In that day a man will save alive a young cow and two sheep…in that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines…will be turned over to thorns and briars" (verses 7:21–23).[4] Isaiah 8:1–15 continues the previous chapter: the prophet tells of the birth of another child, his own son named Maher-shalal-hash-baz (a third symbolic name), then predicts that after Ephraim and Syria are destroyed the Assyrians will come like a river in flood to "cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel" (Isaiah 8:8).[5]
A fourth, even longer, prophetic "name", is found in
Interpretation
Isaiah 7:1–8:15, is on the surface set in the time of king Ahaz, and a prophecy concerning the two kings whom Ahaz dreads, namely Pekah and Rezin. The defeat and death of both these kings at the hands of the Assyrians is dated around 732 BCE, placing the birth of the Immanuel child late in the reign of Ahaz.
Scholars generally date the written version of these events from the reign of Ahaz's son Hezekiah some thirty years later, the purpose being to persuade Hezekiah not to join with other kings who intended to rebel against their joint overlord, Assyria. Isaiah points to the dreadful consequences that followed for Judah's northern neighbours, the kingdom of Israel and Aram-Damascus (Syria) when they rebelled in the days of Ahaz and brought the Assyrians down on themselves. In the event, Hezekiah ignored Isaiah and joined the rebels, and the prophet's warning came true: the Assyrians ravaged Judah and Hezekiah barely escaped with his throne. A century later, in the time of Josiah, the prophecy was revised to present Ahaz as the faithless king who rejected God's promise of protection for Jerusalem and the house of David, with the result that God brought Assyria to devastate the land until a new and faithful king (presumably Josiah) would arise.[6]
Matthew 1:22–23
The
- 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
- 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The gospel of Matthew was written by an author who believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, "God with us".[9][10] At first, titles such as "Messiah" and "son of God" had described Jesus's future nature at the "deutera parousia", the Second Coming; but very soon he came to be recognised as having become the Son of God at the resurrection; then, in Mark, he becomes known as Son of God at his baptism; and finally Matthew and Luke add infancy narratives in which Jesus is the Son of God from the very beginning, long before being conceived of a virgin mother without a human father.[11]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Sweeney 1996, p. 169, 174.
- ^ a b France 2007, p. 46–47.
- ^ "IMMANUEL". jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ Childs 1996, p. 61.
- ^ a b Finlay 2005, p. 173.
- ^ Sweeney 1996, p. 159.
- ^ Barker 2001, p. 506.
- ^ a b Finlay 2005, p. 178–179.
- ^ Burkett 2002, p. 185.
- ^ Brown, Fitzmyer & Donfried 1978, p. 86.
- ^ Loewe 1996, p. 184.
Works cited
- Barker, Margaret (2001). "Isaiah". In Dunn, James D.G.; Rogerson, John (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
- Brown, Raymond E.; Fitzmyer, Joseph A.; Donfried, Karl Paul (1978). "Gospel of Matthew". Mary in the New Testament. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809121687.
- Burkett, Delbert (2002). An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521007207.
- Childs, Brevard S (1996). Isaiah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664221430.
- Finlay, Timothy D. (2005). The Birth Report Genre in the Hebrew Bible. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 9783161487453.
- France, R.T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802825018.
- Loewe, William P. (1996). The College Student's Introduction to Christology. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814650189.
- Sweeney, Marvin A (1996). Isaiah 1–39: With an Introduction to Prophetic Literature. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802841001.
Further reading
- Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1996). A History of Prophecy in Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664256395.
- Coogan, Michael D. (2007). "Isaiah". In Coogan, Michael D.; Brettler, Mark Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann (eds.). New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288803.
- Duling, Dennis C (2010). "The Gospel of Matthew". In Aune, David E. (ed.). The Blackwell companion to the New Testament. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781444318944.
- Ehrman, Bart D. (1999). Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512473-6.
Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium.
- Keener, Craig S. (1999). A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802838216.
- Rhodes, Ron (2009). The Complete Guide to Bible Translations. Harvest House Publishers. ISBN 9780736931366.
- Saldarini, Anthony J. (2001). "Matthew". In Dunn, James D.G.; Rogerson, John (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
- Sweeney, Marvin A (2001). King Josiah of Judah: The Lost Messiah of Israel. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198030522.
- Tremmel, Robert (2011). The Four Gospels. Xlibris Corporation. ]
- White, L. Michael (2010). Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061985379.