And you will call him Emmanuel: But Jesus' name is not Emmanuel. So how is this a prophecy?

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Holly3278

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I am really confused. I have always heard that Isaiah 7:13-14 is a prophecy of Jesus. Here it is:

And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
(Isaiah 7:13-14 DRB)

Okay, well I don’t understand how this can be a prophecy of Jesus. Isaiah clearly says that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. The birth of Jesus is supposedly the fulfillment of this prophecy but His name is not Emmanuel, it is Jesus. Isaiah 7:14 says His name is supposed to be Emmanuel. I am really confused. Can someone please help me clear this up?
 
Holly3278 said:
I am really confused. I have always heard that Isaiah 7:13-14 is a prophecy of Jesus. Here it is:

And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
(Isaiah 7:13-14 DRB)

Okay, well I don’t understand how this can be a prophecy of Jesus. Isaiah clearly says that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. The birth of Jesus is supposedly the fulfillment of this prophecy but His name is not Emmanuel, it is Jesus. Isaiah 7:14 says His name is supposed to be Emmanuel. I am really confused. Can someone please help me clear this up?
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I think it is the Hebrew translation of what the word Emmanuel means. You would need to ask one of the apologists or Fr Serpa to get an accurate answer on this one.
God Bless,
Bernadette173
I found it, it is an ancient Hebrew translation for the term ‘‘God is with us.’’ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel
 
Darryl1958 said:
Thank you too, and Merry Christmas.
The prophecy is fulfilled in the Nativity for sure.🙂
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Yes it truly is. God is here with us. We need not fear He is with us until the end of time. Remember He told Peter,’‘Do not be afraid, I am with you always.’’

Insomuch that we manifest His love for one another in acts of kindness, love and peace. Along with teaching His good word and works.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you all.
Bernadette173
 
Typology is the key to understanding this. The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 is a prophecy with dual fulfilment. In the literal sense, it referred not to Jesus, but to a child who would be born during the time when King Ahaz was living.

However, Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament. And therefore the many of the Old Testament figures are merely “types” which would find their ultimate fulfilment in Christ. Matthew, therefore, sees this typological figure of Isaiah 7:14 being ultimately fulfilled in Christ, and applies that prophecy to Christ.
 
The phrase which is translated to ‘his name shall be called’ is wə·qā·rāṯ šə·mōw. This when translated literally is shall call his name, but when you look at it in the original Hebrew you find some inflections there. Weqarat has more of a feeling of ‘shall be proclaimed’ or to be ‘read as’ (very fitting for the Word of God no?) Semow while indeed can mean name, it also has a sense of being an authorial title, honor, renown, even fame.

So while it could be taken as “his name will be Emmanuel” it can also be taken as "they shall proclaim his honor and fame as Emmanuel. So “they shall proclaim with much honor and joy that God is with us!”

See Strong’s 8034, and 7121.
 
bmullins said:
The phrase which is translated to ‘his name shall be called’ is wə·qā·rāṯ šə·mōw. This when translated literally is shall call his name, but when you look at it in the original Hebrew you find some inflections there. Weqarat has more of a feeling of ‘shall be proclaimed’ or to be ‘read as’ (very fitting for the Word of God no?) Semow while indeed can mean name, it also has a sense of being an authorial title, honor, renown, even fame.

So while it could be taken as “his name will be Emmanuel” it can also be taken as "they shall proclaim his honor and fame as Emmanuel. So “they shall proclaim with much honor and joy that God is with us!”

See Strong’s 8034, and 7121.
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Ah okay. Thank you very much Bmullins! I hate to say this but your post is the only that actually answered my question.

As for the other posts, I do thank you all for them but they didn’t really provide the answer that I was looking for. Thank you anyway though and a Merry Christmas to you call. 🙂
 
From here:

A couple of quick pieces of evidence to show this: People and groups in the OT were OFTEN getting special ‘place’ names and temporary names, to be used for a specific purpose. Solomon, for example, got TWO names at his birth (II Sam 12.25)–Solomon and Jedidiah. No reference is ever made to Jedidiah after that, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue. See also the story about Pashur in Jer 20:1-6. Israel and Judah consistently receive ‘temporary’ and symbolic names in the Prophets (cf. Ezek 23 and Is 62.3-4) Matthew is the one who quotes the ‘Immanuel’ passage one verse AFTER the he reports the angel’s command to name the son JESUS, AND four verses BEFORE reporting that his parents called him ‘Jesus’…he doesn’t show the SLIGHTEST concern over this “problem”! (in other words, it WASN’T an issue in that culture).

This is even more striking in that Matthew is the one arguing that the passage was fulfilled! --the name issue wasn’t an issue. If you had to call the kid 'Immanuel" for the prophecy to be fulfilled, what in the world are we gonna do with Is 9.6–where the child gets 4 names (i.e. wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace)?!

And actually, we don’t think it was his mother who had to call him ‘Immanuel’ anyway. Most modern bibles have a footnote at the ‘she shall call him…’ text, that explains that in the MSS, we have a couple of variants (he, she, they)…Matthew quotes it as ‘they’…This could apply to ANYBODY who acknowledged that Jesus was God walking among his people–even John 1 would qualify for this. This is just not generally considered a problem: "There is no problem in referring the names Jesus and Emmanuel to the same person. This may well be the reason Matthew spells out the meaning of the name Emmanuel…“God with us” (LXX Isa 8:8, 10).

Indeed this is not a personal name but rather a name that is descriptive of the task this person will perform. Bringing the presence of God to man, he brings the promised salvation-which, as Matthew has already explained, is also the meaning of the name Jesus (v 21b). “They” who will call him Emmanuel are those who understand and accept the work he has come to do. Matthew probably intends the words of Jesus at the end of his Gospel-“Behold I am with you always, until the end of the age” (28:20)-to correspond to the meaning of Emmanuel. Jesus is God, among his people to accomplish their salvation (see Fenton, “Matthew,” 80-82).
 
Holly3278 said:
I am really confused. I have always heard that Isaiah 7:13-14 is a prophecy of Jesus. Here it is:

And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
(Isaiah 7:13-14 DRB)

Okay, well I don’t understand how this can be a prophecy of Jesus. Isaiah clearly says that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. The birth of Jesus is supposedly the fulfillment of this prophecy but His name is not Emmanuel, it is Jesus. Isaiah 7:14 says His name is supposed to be Emmanuel. I am really confused. Can someone please help me clear this up?
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It’s more like a description of who the child will be. “God with us” as Jesus is Emmanuel.
 
bmullins said:
The phrase which is translated to ‘his name shall be called’ is wə·qā·rāṯ šə·mōw. This when translated literally is shall call his name, but when you look at it in the original Hebrew you find some inflections there. Weqarat has more of a feeling of ‘shall be proclaimed’ or to be ‘read as’ (very fitting for the Word of God no?) Semow while indeed can mean name, it also has a sense of being an authorial title, honor, renown, even fame.

So while it could be taken as “his name will be Emmanuel” it can also be taken as "they shall proclaim his honor and fame as Emmanuel. So “they shall proclaim with much honor and joy that God is with us!”

See Strong’s 8034, and 7121.
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That’s twice in five minutes that I’ve read a clear, concise answer to an OP’s question from you. Well done!
 
bmullins said:
The phrase which is translated to ‘his name shall be called’ is wə·qā·rāṯ šə·mōw. This when translated literally is shall call his name, but when you look at it in the original Hebrew you find some inflections there. Weqarat has more of a feeling of ‘shall be proclaimed’ or to be ‘read as’ (very fitting for the Word of God no?) Semow while indeed can mean name, it also has a sense of being an authorial title, honor, renown, even fame.

So while it could be taken as “his name will be Emmanuel” it can also be taken as "they shall proclaim his honor and fame as Emmanuel. So “they shall proclaim with much honor and joy that God is with us!”

See Strong’s 8034, and 7121.
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:: Applauds:: Thanks for shedding light on the source text, brother!

I used to puzzle over this one myself, when I was in middle school: I remember this passage coming up in a religion textbook and thinking, “Okay, so why was He named Jesus? Why didn’t Mary and Joseph call Him Emmanuel?” Funny things can go through your mind when you’re a bright, observant kid.
 
Holly3278 said:
Ah okay. Thank you very much Bmullins! I hate to say this but your post is the only that actually answered my question.

As for the other posts, I do thank you all for them but they didn’t really provide the answer that I was looking for. Thank you anyway though and a Merry Christmas to you call. 🙂
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Holly, I was wondering the same thing on Christmas Eve. 🙂
 
if he recall the text says not “his literal legal name shall be”, but he shall be called
Emmanuel and then the attributes such as
Wonderful counsellor
prince of peace
etc.
all the other appelations in that prophecy that is the first reading for the vigil Mass (the one that has the geneology as the gospel).

I call my kids lots of names that are not the ones on the baptismal certificate, but then, they are not divine.
 
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