Isaiah 7:14

Context

In the eighth century BC, during the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, Aram (Syria) and the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) formed an alliance and threatened Jerusalem, and the king and his people were gripped by fear (7:1-2). The prophet Isaiah urges Ahaz not to be afraid and invites him to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refuses, saying that he will not tempt the Lord (7:10-12). Isaiah then declares that the Lord himself will give a sign and delivers the words of verse 14, adding that before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land of the two kings will be forsaken (7:16). The name "Immanuel" means "God with us."

Interpretation

• As direct prophecy: This view holds that the verse looked forward from the outset to the virgin birth of the Messiah and that Matthew 1:23 identifies its fulfillment. It is widely held among conservative evangelical interpreters.
• As dual fulfillment: This view holds that the sign was first fulfilled through a child born in the time of Ahaz (variously identified as a son of the queen or of the prophet's wife, among other proposals) and was fulfilled more completely in the birth of Jesus. Proponents connect the verse with Isaiah 8:3-4.
• Jewish reading: Judaism reads the verse as a sign concerning a child born in Isaiah's own day and does not regard it as a prophecy of the Messiah's virgin birth.

Debates and Issues

The central question concerns the word almah. The term refers to a young woman of marriageable age, while Hebrew has a separate word, betulah, that more explicitly means "virgin." For this reason some modern translations render it "young woman." The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, however, rendered it parthenos ("virgin"), and the Gospel of Matthew follows this reading. Those who favor "virgin" argue that almah is never used in the Bible of a married woman and that an ordinary birth could hardly serve as a "sign." The strong backlash from conservative churches when an English translation rendering the word "young woman" appeared in the twentieth century is regarded as a classic example of the Bible translation debate. Nevertheless, whichever rendering is adopted, all major denominations confess the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus as attested in the Gospel of Matthew.

In the Korean Church

The verse is a principal text for Christmas and Advent services and is frequently used in Christmas cantatas and worship songs.

Related Passages

• Matthew 1:22-23
• Luke 1:26-35
• Isaiah 8:8-10
• Isaiah 9:6