The Use of Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew

“Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23)

Both the books of Matthew and Luke record that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin when she was found to be pregnant (Matthew 1:18, 20, 23, 25; Luke 1:27, 34). Matthew adds the above verses to his narrative which includes a quotation from Isaiah 7:14. This in of itself is not unusual. One of the characteristics of Matthew is the inclusion of quotations from the OT, often along with the citation “prophecy fulfilled”, added to his source material (The Gospel of Mark, Q) (2:15, 17-18; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 21:4-5; 27:9-10).

When we come to Matthew’s use of Isaiah 7:14, we are confronted with a bit of a problem. The Greek word he uses for virgin is parthenos, which can mean either “unmarried woman” or “virgin” but usually means the latter. Matthew gets his term from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. This is the word the translators used for the Hebrew word ‘almah in Isaiah. The problem is that this latter word usually designates a “young maiden” and not a “virgin” (Genesis 24:43; Exodus 2:8; Psalm 68:25; Proverbs 30:19; Song of Songs 1:3; 6:8). Granted a virgin usually is a young maiden (that’s where the dual use comes in), but the Hebrew word that most authors would use to specifically identify someone as a virgin would be bethulah. This is the word that the translators of the Septuagint almost always translated at parthenos. Of the two exceptions of the translators using parthenos for a word other than bethulah is Isaiah 7:14. So if Isaiah had specifically wanted to highlight the young maiden’s virginity, he would have used bethulah. But he didn’t, which suggests that this wasn’t a part of his thinking or prophecy.

A further issue is that the context of Isaiah 7 makes it clear that when God spoke this prophecy through Isaiah to King Ahaz he predicted a fulfillment during that king’s reign. So what is Matthew doing here? What does he mean that this prophecy was fulfilled?

One must be careful how one interprets these claims of “fulfilled prophecies”. Matthew does not often mean that these OT prophets were explicitly predicting the specific events of his Gospel. More frequently, he means that a further fulfillment has occurred or a second, similar event is reoccurring. Almost always he is directing his audience to the passage from which the OT quotation derives. I think that this is what Matthew is doing here with Isaiah 7:14. He is directing us to read the story of Isaiah chapters 7 and 8 in order to grasp the meaning of the Christ event.

A little history is needed to fully understand the prophecy which Isaiah proclaims. Ahaz was king of the southern kingdom of Judah from 735-715 BCE. When he ascended the throne he was met with a coalition formed by the northern kingdom of Israel and Damascus (Syria) that wanted to compel him to join them in opposing the Assyrian Empire that was arming a force against Israel. When the armies of Israel and Damascus approached Judah, the king and his people shook with fear (Isaiah 7:2). So God told Isaiah to take his son Shear-jashub (which means “a remnant shall return”), go to the king, and prophecy that the plans of Israel and Damascus would fail. In doing so, God offered the following sign to show that this prophecy would be fulfilled:

“Behold, a maiden shall be with child, and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken” (Isaiah 7:14-16).

So this prophecy will be fulfilled within the time of King Ahaz. But who is the maiden and who is the child? The answer comes in chapter 8. Isaiah visits his wife (a prophetess) and she conceives and gives birth to a son whom God tells Isaiah to name Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.” God then states that before this child can say “Mommy” or “Daddy” that Assyria will conquer Israel and Damascus and take away its riches. However, the prophecy continues with a warning that the fate of the northern kingdom of Israel will befall the southern kingdom of Judah.

“Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, it will reach even to the neck; and the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:8). Note the second use of Immanuel here.

The prophecies against Israel and Judah (the two kingdoms of God’s covenant people) are about judgment and Exile; prophecies which eventually came to pass.

Isaiah 8:18 informs the reader that Isaiah and his children are signs. So we have Shear-jashub, meaning "a remnant shall return"; Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "swift is the booty, speedy is the prey”; and Immanuel, "God is with us".

These verses indicate that the maiden is Isaiah’s wife and Immanuel is the prophet’s son. And since Isaiah already had a son prior to the 7:14 prophecy, it’s unlikely a virgin conception in the 8^th century is meant. I note that Isaiah prophesied for 64 years and this prophecy occurred towards the beginning of his ministry, so Isaiah and his wife were probably young adults at the time.

So there is a lot going on in these prophecies: fear of attack and the promise of salvation (7:2-9, 14-16), warning of coming judgment (Exile) (7:17-25; 8:1-22; 9:8-21), and the Promise that a remnant will make it through (7:3; 9:1-7; 10:20-34: 11:11-16). The question is what is Matthew doing with this passage?

Matthew has an interest in the return of God to his people (3:3; 21:5, 12-14, 33-46; 22:1-14; 24:29-31, 42-51; 25:14-30) and the coming judgment of the nation of Israel (2:18; 3:3; 21:12-14, 33-46; 22:1-14; 23:37-39; 24:32-41; 25:1-30). In several places these two events coincide. The return of God to his people is the coming of judgment on the nation of Israel. At the same time, Matthew makes it clear from these passages that a remnant will survive the coming disaster and they will be blessed. This is essentially what Isaiah was prophesying in Isaiah 7 and surrounding passages.

I think Matthew is using the coincidence of the Greek translation of ‘almah as parthenos and the fact of the virginal conception of Jesus to point back to the prophecy of Isaiah. I think that he is doing the same with the connection between Isaiah’s son’s name Immanuel (“God with us”) and the fact that God really was “with us” in the person and work of Jesus. While I do not think that Isaiah had Jesus specifically in mind when he spoke his prophecy, Matthew is saying that this old prophecy is happening again. God is really with us in the person and work of Jesus. Judgment is coming to Israel in which the wicked will perish, but a remnant will be saved.