There are a number of messianic prophecies about Jesus' birth: prophecies about the location, manner, and time of his birth, about his genealogy, and about events that were to occur at the time of his birth. Probably the most famous of these prophecies is the prophecy that Jesus would be born to a virgin found in Isaiah. Isaiah 7 chronicles the interactions between the prophet Isaiah and King Ahaz. In Isaiah 7:3 we read: Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. In the conversation between Isaiah and King Ahaz contained in Isaiah 7:14-17 we read: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings" (Isaiah 7:14-17 The New American Bible).
In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet predicts hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. The translation of the Hebrew name Immanuel "God is with usö or alternatively ôGod united with us.ö This prophecy came true. It is one of the dozens of prophecies in the Old Testament that predicted elements of Jesus' life, and which were proven true by the New Testament as having happened.
We read in Isiaih 7:14: ôBehold, a virgin shall conceive.ö The word Behold is used emphatically to denote the greatness of the event. This is the manner in which the Holy Spirit speaks of great and remarkable events, in order to elevate the minds of men. The Prophet Isaiah tells his readers to be attentive to the passage, and to consider this extraordinary miracle performed by God.
This name Immanuel was be...