In Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and call His name Emmanuel.” The word that is used here is “alma.” Literally it means a young unmarried woman of marriageable age. In Genesis 24:43, when the unnamed servant of Abraham goes looking for a bride for Isaac, he bows his knees by the watering place of the flocks, and he prays that God will bring the virgin of his choice.

“Alma” — That’s the word he uses. And we know that that later turned out to be Rebecca. The point we fail to understand is in the culture of the Bible, a young unmarried woman was assumed to be a virgin, and God was not going to use someone who wasn’t to bring forth His son into the world. You know, of course, that in Matthew 1:23, this verse is quoted. Let’s just look at it.

This is where the angel is speaking to Joseph. “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream… ” In verse 20, “… Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to Mary your wife.” Joseph is obviously thinking she’s pregnant. So, you know, there’s been some hanky-panky going on. “… for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

“She will bring forth a son.” Remember the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15? The “seed” of the woman defies science, doesn’t it? The “seed” of the woman; the woman doesn’t have a seed. Seed comes from the man, right? “The Seed” of the woman is a prophecy of the virgin birth. Very first prophecy in the Old Testament. “She shall bring forth a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, …” — literally, “Joshua” or “Yahoshua” — “… for He will save His people from their sins.”

What does Jesus or Joshua mean? “The salvation of Jehovah.” “So all of this was done so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet… ” — that is the prophet Isaiah — “… saying: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated God with us.”

So what name did Mary actually give Jesus? There’s two names mentioned here: “Immanuel” and “Jesus.” Well, she gave him the name “Jesus” (or Joshua.) Note Matthew says, “they” will call His name. This could mean Joseph and Mary or perhaps refer to the people who’d believe in Him. Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Mary is a virgin. The Holy Spirit causes her to become pregnant with the Son of God, and she brings forth not just by virgin birth, by virgin conception. This is the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.

This video was derived from the Isaiah classes here:

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