Isaiah chapter 7 contains one of the most famous—and contested—prophecies of about Jesus. The prophet Isaiah, speaking to king Ahaz of Judah in about 734 BC, says this:
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: The virgin[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel.[f] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.” (Isaiah 7:10-16, NIV)
The Gospel writer Matthew sees here an unmistakable Messianic prophecy. After narrating the story of Joseph discovering Mary’s pregnancy and the angel instructing him to accept this child as his son and name him Jesus, (which means “the Lord saves”), Matthew writes this:
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:22-23, NIV)
Jesus is the true Immanuel—God with us—miraculously conceived and born of a virgin. However, it is important to ask how this prophecy was fulfilled in a way that made sense when Isaiah spoke it.
In context, king Ahaz has received news that two of his northern enemies, Israel and Syria, are plotting to invade. The Lord invites faithless Ahaz to ask for a sign to believe that God was trustworthy. Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, probably using pious language to cover-up his unbelief. Then comes Isaiah’s famous prophecy that God will give him a sign. A “virgin” (Heb. alma) will conceive and give birth to a son.
Here’s the issue. In Hebrew, the word alma usually means “a young woman of marriageable age.” It can also mean “a young woman who has never had intercourse.” But did Isaiah prophecy two virgin births—the boy in his time and the boy Jesus, 730 years later? Or is there something else in view?
Below, see comments from the entry in D.A. Carson and G.K Beale’s encyclopedic The New Testament Use of the Old Testament:
It is widely agreed that the Hebrew word, in and of itself, need carry no more than this meaning [“young woman”], a child who will be God’s sign (7:14). Before the child is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, the lands of the dreeaded kings will be laid waste (7:15-16). But before that can be interpreted as good news, the prophet adds that they will be replaced by an even worse invader: Assyria (7:17)
Who is this special child? Although a handful of very conservative scholars insist on seeing solely a messianic prophecy here, most recognize that there is at least a provisional fulfilment in Isaiah’s day, given the explicit statements of 7:15-16. Many have suggested Ahaz’s royal son, King Hezekiah, or some anonymous prophet…but the most probable interpretation is that Isaiah’s prophecy refers to his own son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Isaiah 8:3, introducing this son, echoes the language of 7:14 as Isaiah goes to his wofe, and she concieves and then gives birth to the child with a symbolic name (“quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil” [NIV mg.]). The next verse repeats the sense of 7:15, describing how the wealth of Damascus (in Aram) and Samaria (in Israel) will be plundered before the child can say “My father” or “My mother” (8:4). This same son is called “Immanuel” in 8:8, which is explained in 8:10 as “God with us,” accounting for Matthew’s linking the two portions of Isaiah together. In 8:18 Isaiah describes his two sons, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz and Shear-Jashub (cf. 7:3) as “signs and symbols in Israel,” which description toes back in with the sign God promised in 7:11. (D.A. Carson and G.K. Beale, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Baker, 2007. p. 4)
In short, the “Immanuel” that Ahaz knew may have been the prophet Isaiah’s own son. This boy was a living, breathing sign that God was still with Judah even though they had forsaken him. He was not conceived miraculously of a virgin, for that was not the point of the original prophecy.
However, Matthew understood by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in the truest and deepest sense. He really was conceived and born of a virgin. He holds the true identity of “God with us.” He is true Savior of his people from even greater enemies—not two hostile nations, but the powers of sin and death.
