Immanuel

Immanuel (Hebrew Immanu El, meaning God with us) is the name given in Isaiah 7:14 to a child whose birth is announced as a sign to King Ahaz of Judah: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." In its immediate historical context the sign relates to the Syro-Ephraimite crisis of 734–733 BC, assuring Ahaz that the threat from the kingdoms of Syria and Israel would pass before the child reaches an age of moral discernment (Isaiah 7:15–16). The same name appears in Isaiah 8:8, where the land of Judah is called "thy land, O Immanuel," presenting the name as a divine title associated with protection of the covenant land.

The New Testament's definitive interpretation of Isaiah 7:14 appears in Matthew 1:22–23, where the Gospel writer cites it as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, born of a virgin and given the name that summarizes his identity: God present with his people in human form. The theological weight of "Immanuel" thus moves from a sign in the context of eighth-century Judah to the christological center of the incarnation — the claim that in Jesus of Nazareth, God himself took up dwelling among humanity.