Emmanuel as Jesus

Answer 1

It is Matthew's Gospel that refers to the supposed prophecy in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, in which the child would be called Emmanuel. However, the word Emmanuel does not have to be taken literally as the name to be given to the child - it means "God be with us" and can be understood as a veneration. The angel had already said that Mary's child would be called Jesus.

Additional Comment:

Christians do sometimes use it as one of Jesus' many names.

Answer 2

AnswerThere are at least two reasons that Emmanuel or Immanuel would have been a suitable name for Jesus:

1. Emmanuel means "God is with us". For those who believe that Jesus is God, that would be a fitting name.
   
   
2. Matthew sought to use a passage in Isaiah 7:14 to prove that it had been prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin. This passage used the name Emmanuel. Although the supposed prophecy fails on other grounds, had Jesus actually been called Emmanuel it could have made the reference to Isaiah seem more plausible.

Answer 3

A:The author of Matthew is well known for drawing parallels with the Old Testament, and Matthew's nativity story has many points of comparison with the Old Testament. He sought to use a passage in Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus. In the Hebrew scriptures, this passage reads,

"

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, the young womanshall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This, of course, does not refer to Jesus, nor to a virgin birth. However, the author of Matthew's Gospel

relied on the Septuagint, a flawed early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, which does say: "

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virginshall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." By consequence of an earlier mistranslation, the author now had a plausible prophecy of a virgin birth but, problematically, one that does not mention Jesus.

Many ancient Hebrew names had meanings that demonstrated the devoutness of the father, or hopes for the character of the son. In the case of Immanuel in the Book of Isaiah, the name means 'Yahweh [God] is with us'. This provided an opportunity for the author to explain that Isaiah meant these words literally, not as a name to be given to the baby boy who was born a few verses later in the Old Testament book. Thus, Matthew 1:23: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Answer 4

Emmanuel means "God with us" (See Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14) According to orthodox interpretation the name denotes the same as God-man, which is what Jesus was. He was fully God as He had come down from heaven, and he was fully man as he was born a human being to Mary in Bethlehem when He came to earth to live as a man and die for our sins so that we could be reconciled back to God.

Answer 5

Emmanuel means God with us.