10

Was the choice of Jesus (Joshua) in addition to Immanuel(Matthew 1: 21 and 23) in order to fulfil the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18: 15? This gives a message that Jesus, like His namesake, would lead Israel into the promised land and not Moses (the law).

Can the answers concentrate on the prophesy in Deuteronomy.

Improve this question
8
  • I think it has to do with the meaning of the name, such as 'Abram' is transitioned to 'Abraham'. – Double U Oct 6 '13 at 18:11
  • 1
    Brother gideon, Wikipedia says that 'Immanuel' was a title, not a name, and that 'Jesus' was the official name. In fact in the Bible is not uncommon to read 'the Immanuel', true. – Elberich Schneider Oct 6 '13 at 18:40
  • The Immanuel as a title is dealt with quite completely on this site somewhere. I am happier with what I read there than wiki so I will stick with it as a name. In Isaiah (from Hebrew) a title would make no sense in any case. – gideon marx Oct 6 '13 at 19:24
  • 1
    The Abram to Abraham idea is pretty good. – gideon marx Oct 6 '13 at 19:27
  • 3
    Related - If Jesus was Emmanuel why was Christ named Yeshua? – Mawia Oct 7 '13 at 6:03
2
+50

Immanuel means "god with us."

Christ means "messiah" which we know means savior.

As Christians we believe that Jesus is the only person who walked and never sinned. God descending to Earth in human flesh.(while the father still exists in heaven also. Father, son, Holy Spirit)

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

People in Jesus life called him by the name Yeshua.

Really the thing that matters most is what Christ did for us. The technicalities are good to have opinions on, but never something we divide ourselves over.

Improve this answer
7
  • You are leaving out the meaning of the name Joshua. Names were very important in those days and the meaning of the two names must be important but I can't figure out why the addition of the second name was required. – gideon marx Oct 23 '13 at 9:29
  • Bounty is yours. I didn't quite realize but it is obvious. Joshua = 'God saves'. Messiah = 'saviour'. Joshua led Israel into the promised land. All so easy. Thank you. – gideon marx Oct 24 '13 at 14:05
  • Not sure how this happens????? – gideon marx Oct 24 '13 at 14:06
  • Did you get your bounty? – gideon marx Oct 24 '13 at 16:19
  • Yes gideon :) Ty and God bless. – Garrett Hedrick Oct 25 '13 at 2:40
9

Because Emmanuel/Immanuel is a nick name. It is like saying Clark Kent, his name is SuperMan, though people also know him as Man of Steel. Which is the same with Jesus, he's name is Jesus of Nazareth, we call him Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah) but we know him as Emmanuel because he's God in the flesh who walked with us.

and the prophecy is

Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

(And Abram to Abraham has no connection to this. Abram did wrong things, lying to those kings and allowing Sarai to be taken as the King's wife while Abram accepted the good/provision over Sarai. A man to be Father of all nations should not bare a name and remembrance of someone who lied and gave up his wife. God had to change his name to Abraham. The thing was back in those times, names actually meant something. Jacob's name meant cheating and his name was changed to Israel. Jacob who would become the first to bear Israel was cheating a lot of people and did wrong things, so we cannot let the Jews bare the forever name Jacob to someone who cheats. That was why God had to change his name to Israel. Saul people knew him as a persecutor so he had to change his name to Paul. I do think it's important for us to look at our name meanings for they can impact our lives. If name makes changes to our life as a bad thing, it is best to change our name. If you look at the prophet names in the bible, they all have good meaning outcome like David means beloved.)

God bless

Improve this answer
2
  • Xino has came out well with the answer as for with my thought. – Emmanuel Angelo.R Oct 19 '13 at 9:32
  • Isaiah promised redemption for the whole world. The world ignored God. 'I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles'. The world ignored Israel. God had to send Christ. Immanuel and Joshua in one to save the Gentiles. – gideon marx Oct 19 '13 at 20:06
1

The best reason I know of is because God told them to name him Jesus

Mat 1:21 KJV And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins.

Improve this answer
-1

Actually, it's because Immanuel was born in the next chapter of Isaiah (8:8)! Verse 7:14 mis-translates the Hebrew word "almah" as virgin instead of "young woman". IF it meant to indicate virgin, a good Hebrew example of the word would be "betulah".

In addition to life choices and prophecy, the bible is also a history book. Isaiah 7 speaks of King Ahaz seeking comfort due to the alliance of Rezin (king of Aram) and Pekah (son of the king of Israel). The context is that by the age of (Immanuel's) maturity, the kings of the 2 enemy nations will be gone; in fact, killed (ref. 2 Kings, 15:29-30 & 2 Kings 16:9).

Further context is the Lord telling Ahaz that he could ask for a sign but Ahaz responds that he "will not try the Lord". Then comes Isaiah 7:14...but it would make little sense that the Lord's comfort for Ahaz would be the birth of Christ 700 years hence.

For other reference, check out Proverbs 30:18-20. Here, Solomon compares a man with an "almah" to 3 things: an eagle in the sky, a serpent on a rock, & a ship in the sea. The common bond? All leave no trace - after an eagle flies by, there's nothing in the sky to show it was there; a snake slithers away & leaves no trail; a ship moves across the sea & the water comes back together...after a man has been with an almah, there is no trace of the fornication between them. No...DO NOT go there because that's not what I'm implying! Simply: when we're addressing apologetics, it's critical to view it within the context of the circumstance at the time as well as have a working knowledge of language(s).

The Lord Bless and Keep You! (Numbers 6:24-26)...Michael

Improve this answer
6
  • The idea the almah means "young woman" makes no sense contextually. Imagine this: God is going to give you a sign... a woman is going to have a baby! What kind of sign is that? How would anyone know when the sign was coming. The Septuagint translates it into the word parthenos which definitely means virgin in Greek, so the translators at that time understood almah to mean virgin. Also Matthew quotes Isaiah and also translates the word as parthenos. So, almah most certainly means virgin. – Narnian Dec 27 '13 at 17:16
  • Thank-you for the comment Narnian! Part of the problem is exactly as you state: Matthew quotes Isaiah in Greek. As someone in a marriage with an ESL individual, I can tell you first hand the difficulties in translation! – Michael Dec 27 '13 at 17:32
  • An aside, in all likelihood, Jesus spoke to his disciples in Hebrew &/or Aramaic. Much gets lost when we go from Hebrew to Greek to English. Then we throw in multiple translations and revisions & it's easy to see how a language can so easily be misinterpreted. As one who can speak/read Hebrew, I can tell you the original context is as indicated: young woman. – Michael Dec 27 '13 at 17:35
  • Well, I lived overseas for a few years, so I understand issues with translation as well. The fact that the Septuagint translates it as parthenos indicates they understood it to mean virgin. To translate "young woman" into "virgin" in this context would be extraordinary unless they really understood it to mean virgin. So, you can believe what you want, but the translators of the Septuagint disagree with you. – Narnian Dec 27 '13 at 17:35
  • You should check out this article which goes into greater detail about the word almah: jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/january-1980/almah – Narnian Dec 27 '13 at 17:41

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.