Isaiah 7:14

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Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Commentary

Corrupt Commentaries

The Believer’s Study Bible, edited by W. A. Criswell teaches that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled twice:

7:14 ’Almah (Heb.) is one of two words translated as “virgin.” The other term, betulah (Heb.), is very specific, only meaning “virgin,” whereas ’almah is more general and can sometimes mean “a young woman of marriageable age.” The ambiguity of this term is reflected in its being translated “virgin” in some places and “maiden” in others. . . . it is puzzling why Isaiah chose the ambiguous term, ’almah, over the more frequent and specific one, betulah. The answer may be related to vv.16, 22, which suggest a double fulfillment of the prophecy. The prophet may have used ’almah instead of betulah because the impending birth which would be a sign to Ahaz would not be a virgin birth, but the future birth of Immanuel . . . would be the Virgin Birth.

“A” or “The”

The two articles “a” and “the” make a huge difference in translation here. By using the article “the” in conjunction with an item, it implies that the item discussed must be known; we must know the exact item in which we are discussing. If the article “a” is used in conjunction with an item, it would imply any item; an item that is not defined or known; any item will suffice.

The virgin is very specific, while a virgin is general.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;

The beginning of this verse states that the Lord will give you a sign, doesn’t explain which sign, just states a sign and then is followed by a semi-colon [;] which means the explanation will now be given.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel 06005.

As we can read from the second part of this verse:

A virgin shall conceive a son.
His name will be called Immanuel by the virgin H6005.

This second portion of the verse clearly places emphasis on the fact that a virgin, who is unknown, will bear a son and shall call him Immanuel which is pre-defined. The verse does not state which virgin will bear the child, but rather it focuses on the fact that you need to watch for a sign in which a virgin will bear a son with the predetermined name of Immanuel H6005.

BDB Definition

Immanuel = “God with us” or “with us is God”

1) symbolic and prophetic name of the Messiah, the Christ, prophesying that He would be born of a virgin and would be ‘God with us’

Modern translations soften the focus of the virgin birth by elevating the emphasis of “the” virgin mother. By changing the article from “a” to “the”, it elevates the virgin herself to be on the same prophetic term as the child.

(NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Not only do some of the modern versions of the Bible twist the scriptures, they also cause contention by forcing the reader to ask:

Which virgin?
What is her name?
Who is Isaiah referring to?

By using the article “the”, this implies that at the time of writing Mary would have had to be known, which is not the case. The only known absolutes with this prophecy is that a child will be born of a virgin who will bear the name Immanuel.

Contention Causing

(ESV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

(NIV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

(NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

In Agreement

(KJV) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

(NASB) “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

We need to remember that this verse is not about defining who the virgin is, but rather that a virgin will bear a son with a predefined name, a child who is the Messiah.

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