I. Name

In Isa. 7.14, the prophet Isaiah announced the birth of a child whose name will be ʿImmānûʾēl (‘God with us’); its mother is designated as ‘the young woman’. This birth will be a sign to the wavering King Ahaz of Judah at the time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel had gone up to attack Jerusalem. The name returns in Isa. 8.8, whereas in Isa. 8.10 the expression ‘God with us’ is used as an assurance of God’s protection for Israel. Isa. 7.14 reappears in Matt. 1.23 as one of the formula quota…