Prophecy #16
The virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
Only two in all of the history of mankind on earth have ever experienced virgin birth. You are probably wondering about that statement and thinking, “I don’t know of anyone else apart from Jesus Christ.” The two I am thinking of are Mary and Jesus; one as the birther and the other as the birthed. You have to admit this is greater than a one in a million chance . No one else has ever been born without a human father’s involvement in the way that Jesus was. I know some of you will be wanting to tell me that “in the prophecy of Isaiah in 7:14 the word [almah] doesn’t mean virgin in the sense of never having had intercourse with a man. The meaning is rather a young woman. [Bethulah] is the word for virgin and that is not used in the verse in Isaiah.”
Isaiah tells of the mystery of our faith and hope: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.” I know that the Jews are accustomed to meet us with the objection that in Hebrew the word almah does not mean a virgin but “a young woman.” And, to speak truth, a virgin is properly called bethulah, but a young woman, or a girl, is not almah but naarah! What then is the meaning of almah? A hidden virgin, that is, not merely virgin, but a virgin and something more, because not every virgin is hidden, shut off from the occasional sight of men.
Jerome
Some translators translate the word for “virgin” as “young woman.” There is no reason to think that the virgin was not also a young woman; in fact it is likely that the virgin who conceived the Savior was not fully grown but a young maiden.
Eusebius of Caesarea
What is fascinating about the debate over the word used is the fact that Isaiah was actually using the word to refer to his wife. Look at Isaiah’s statement:
I and the children the LORD has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.
Isaiah 8:18
How does the fact that Jesus would be born of a virgin convey a sign to Ahaz related to his refusal to ask for a sign from God to confirm the word that God had already spoken? It doesn’t! There are two things going on here. Biblical prophecies have cyclical effect. They relate first to the context they are first spoken into and then they have a relevance to a subsequence situation. This is a perfect example of that process. The first utterance of the prophecy was spoken by Isaiah to Ahaz who didn’t want to ask for a sign from God to confirm the word spoken (Isaiah 7:11-12). Matthew then picks up the prophecy from Isaiah and relates it to Christ’s birth, simply because it is clear and obvious from the words he uses that Jesus Christ was born by virgin birth.
[παρθένος] (parthenos) is a virgin; a young woman or maiden who had never had sexual relations with a man. This is the term used in Matthew 1:23 in the new Testament. “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” The term [ἰδοὺ] in this verse is an exclamation of surprise. It is not a surprise for a young married woman “to be with child”; we expect, even hope for that. It is however a surprise for a virgin to be with child. All debate must be set aside with the following additional texts:But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matt 1:18
“While she was still a virgin” is not based on any word which means or doesn’t mean virgin. It is based on the verb [συνέρχομαι] (sunerchomai) ‘to come together’, ‘to co-habit’ or ‘to consummate their relationship’. Meaning ‘before they had done anything’; ‘before they had had sexual intercourse together’. Now you have to admit that is pretty definitive and clear cut. Add to that the following verses:
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Matt 1:20
All of this occurred to fulfil the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
Matt 1:22-23
This application of the Isaiah prophecy by Matthew is actually three miracles in one.
- The child was conceived through the Holy Spirit.
- The virgin gave birth to a child
- He was called Immanuel, God with Us.
No God fearing Jew would ever call their child Immanuel. Note the use of Immanuel in the longer passage in Isaiah 7 and 8.
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:14
This flood will overflow all its channels and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel. “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified. Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us!” Isaiah 8:7-10
The term initially used by Isaiah likely refers to his wife, but [almah] can have a double meaning, virgin or young woman. The way God uses Immanuel in the mouth of Isaiah in the following verses is as a judgement message. However, it is clear when Matthew uses [parthenos] in the Immanuel passage in Matthew 1:18-23, it is a not a judgement passage. In that context Immanuel has come to rescue us.
I made the comment in Prophecy Eleven that the estimated number of the people who have ever lived on the earth is circa 100,000,000,000 or approximately 100 billion. Therefore I could rationally opt for a probability factor for this prophecy coming to pass as being in the realm of 1:100,000,000,000. Especially given the fact it combines a Holy Spirit conception, a virgin birth and the naming of the child ‘Immanuel’. That very name, if applied to any other child, would be blasphemy to orthodox Jews.
But once again allow me to reduce the probability to 1:1,000,000.
Another true, statistical ‘one in a million’ chance that this statement would come to pass.
Ian’s Note: I have now completed a second set of 8 prophecies related to Messiah. Watch what happens in the next Nugget; it is truly gold. Don’t miss it.