How many references are there to the Birth of Christ in the Old Testament?

Answer 1

There are no real references in the Old Testament to the birth of Christ. However, it is commonly accepted by Christians that the Book of Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus.

A reference to a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah can be found in the Gospel According to St Matthew at 1:22-23. Matthew was looking for a biblical reference he could use to prove that Jesus was prophesied to be born of a virgin. Being a Greek-speaking Jew, he relied on an early early translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek language, the Septuagint.

The Septuagint incorrectly translated Isaiah 7:14 to say that a virgin would conceive and bear a child. The correct translation would have been "the young woman", and the young woman in question did have a child a few verses later in Isaiah. The author of the Gospel of Matthew relied on this mistranslation to show that it was prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin. However, we can see that the passage in Isaiah was simply about an ancient young woman about to have a child.

Matthew claims that Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfils the prophecy in Micah 5:2.

But this is unlikely for two reasons.

"Bethlehem Ephratah" in Micah 5:2 refers not to a town, but to a clan: the clan of Bethlehem, who was the son of Caleb's second wife, Ephrathah. 1 Chorinthians 2:18, 2:50-52, 4:4

The prophecy does not refer to the Messiah, but rather to a military leader, as can be seen from Micah 5:6 . This leader is supposed to defeat the Assyrians, which, of course, Jesus never did. It should also be noted that Matthew altered the text of Micah 5:2 by saying: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda" rather than "Bethlehem Ephratah" as is said in Micah 5:2. He did this, intentionally no doubt, to make the verse appear to refer to the town of Bethlehem rather than the family clan. (Matthew 2:5-6)

Nowhere: The Old testaments idea of the Messiah is a Military ruler who will saved the Israelites from their enemies or present occupier of their land, not saviour from hell and a promised reward in heaven.