Meaning of EMMANUEL

(Greek form of a Hebrew name composed of three terms. It means "God with us").
Name applied to Christ by Matthew (Mt. 1:20-23) according to the prophecy of Is. 7:14. It is related to the miraculous birth and union in the person of the Savior of the two natures, divine and human.

When Ahaz, king of Judah, was attacked by Rezin, king of Syria, and by Pekah, king of Israel, Isaiah was sent to tell him to be still and not to fear. The LORD then told Ahaz to ask for a sign, both high and deep; but Ahaz refused to ask for it.

Therefore the Lord gave him the following sign: «Behold, the virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel. She will eat butter and honey, until she knows how to reject the bad and choose the good »(Is. 7: 14,15).

The question has been raised as to how this could be a sign to Ahaz, since this event did not take place until centuries later. The prophetic announcement of the birth of this child was present evidence to the faith that, whatever combinations men carried out, the remnant could count on God (cf. Is. 8:9, 10, where it says : "God is with us").

It should be noted that there are two prophetic children. one "Sear-jasub" (Is. 7:3), figurative of the remnant (this name means "a remnant returns"), and Immanuel; Thus the prophecy continues: "for before the child knows how to reject what is evil and choose what is good, the land of the two kings whom you fear will be abandoned" (Is. 7:16). In verse 3 of this chapter, Isaiah was commanded to take with him his symbolic son Shear-jasub ("a remnant returns") when he went to meet Ahaz.

Verse 16 undoubtedly refers to Shear-jasub; and before this child had reached maturity, Pekah would have been killed by Hosea, and Damascus taken and Rezin killed by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 15:30; 16:9).

It may seem strange that there is no interruption between verses 15 and 16 of Isaiah 7, since the first refers to Immanuel, and the second to Shear-jasub; but these abrupt transitions are not uncommon in prophetic writings. In prophecies the future is often closely associated with present events.

In Isaiah 8:8 it is foretold that the wing of the king of Assyria would fill the land, the land of Immanuel, which took place soon after, and is a premonition and a type of the attacks of the Assyrians in the last days.

In the NT we have the fulfillment of the previous prophecy. The virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to her Son. Her name was Jesus, and also Immanuel, "God with us," showing that He was God, and became man (Mt. 1:23).