Virgin shall be conceived

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Matthew 1:22 and 23, sets forth that Jesus was born of a virgin, in order that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel."

The reader will remember from the First Part of this work that we have had frequent occasion to speak of the method employed in the New Testament and other Christian works, of citing from our Scriptures certain passages, which, on careful examination, have no reference whatever to the immediate subject. Thus they quote also the passage from Isaiah 7:14, "behold הָעַלְמָה" (meaning the young woman and not virgin) "Is with child, and about to bring forth a son." The prophecy was given to Ahaz, King of Judah, in order to allay his apprehensions regarding the two kings who were to come to carry on war against Jerusalem. What connection could there subsist between a sign necessary to convince the King of Jerusalem, and the event of the birth of Jesus which happened so many centuries after? How could Ahaz receive consolation from prophecy, the fulfillment of which he was not to live to see?

Isaiah’s own declaration in Is 8:18 -

Here I am, and the children, whom the L-rd has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the L-rd of Hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion.

This verse leaves no doubt about the way Isaiah’s children (at least those sons mentioned in Hebrew Bible) were named. Isaiah himself declares that G-d has given him children for signs to the nation of Israel - all have names that are symbolically connected with certain events that are prophesied. The major clue in this verse is shown in bold font – the children are (named) for signs and wonders in Israel.

Now, let’s use this clue to see if we can identify Isaiah’s children (those he names, anyway). The first name we find is (and I will use the properly transliterated Hebrew [not anglicized] names directly out of the Hebrew Bible) She’ar Yashuv (Is 7:3), which translates as ‘a remnant shall return’, and there’s no question about this boy being Isaiah’s son – it is stated so explicitly in v. 3

The L-rd said to Isaiah, “Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shear-Yashuv your son, at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool in the highway of the washers’ field;

OK then, can we find this sign mentioned by Isaiah anywhere else? The answer is YES, not once, but twice. Here are these two places:

Is 10:21-22 – (21) A remnant shall return (she’ar yashuv in Hebrew) , a remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty G-d. (22) For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, still a remnant [of them] shall return (she’ar yashuv in Hebrew) ; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

Next, let’s go to the son mentioned in Chapter 8, whose name is Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz(Is 8:3), which translates as ‘Plunder-Hastens-Spoil-Quickens’, and there’s no question here either that this boy is Isaiah’s son – it is states so explicitly in v. 3 -

And I got close to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the L-rd to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz”.

Can we find this sign mentioned by Isaiah anywhere else? The answer is YES, once in identical form and TWICE more where the same terminology is used without the ‘quicken’ (“maher”) and ‘hasten’ (“hash”), though in the same context. Here are these three places:

Is 8:1 - And the L-rd said to me, “Take a great scroll, and write on it in clear script, ‘quicken spoils hasten plunder’ (maher shalal hash baz in Hebrew).

Is 10:2 - To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of My people, that widows be theirspoils (shlalam in Hebrew), and that they plunder (yavozu in Hebrew) the orphans!

Is 10:6 - I will send them against a hypocritical nation, and against the people that anger Me will I give them a charge, to take spoils (lishlol shalal in Hebrew), and to plunder (v’lavoz baz in Hebrew), and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

OK, so now we have two of Isaiah’s sons identified in person, and we have also located the signs that correspond to their respective names. This brings us to Immanu’el (Is 7:14), which translates as ‘G-d is with us’, whose identity is somewhat obscure (i.e., whose kid is he anyway?). His impending arrival is, of course, noted in Is 7:14 -

Therefore the L-rd Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the young woman is with child [“harah”, ‘is pregnant’], and she will bear a son, and shall call his name Immanu’el.

Our challenge here is to see if this “sign” mentioned by Isaiah can be found anywhere else. Is it mentioned anywhere else by the Prophet? The answer is YES, not once, but twice. Here are these two places:

Is 8:8 - And it shall pass through Judah; it shall overflow and go over, it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of your land, O Immanu’el.

Is 8:10 - Take counsel together, and it shall come to nothing; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for G-d is with us (ki immanu E-l in Hebrew).

In the first instance, the boy is actually mentioned by his name, Immanu’el, as part of the prophecy there, and in the second instance the actual sign signified by his name is noted – ‘G-d is with us’ – as part of that prophecy.

So there you have it, three sons named – She’ar Yashuv (7:3), Immanu’el (7:14, 8:8), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3) – along with the specific events for which these names were signs – she’ar yashuv (10:21-22), imanu E-l (8:10), and maher shalal hash baz (8:1, 10:2,6)

In summary, then, we know from Isaiah’s own words that his children were given as signs from G-d (Is 8:18), and the names given to them each carried a message (She’ar-Yashuv in 7:3, Immanu’el in 7: 14, and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz in 8:3). This is true of all other significant names mentioned by Isaiah. Moreover, this was also the case with the children of Hosea (Isaiah’s contemporary in the Northern Kingdom of Israel): Yizre’el, Lo-Rukhamah, and Lo-Ammi (Hosea 1:4,6,&9, respectively) – these names were all requested by G-d and carried messages with them.