Immanuel

In the seventh and eighth chapters in the Book of Isaiah (RSVCE) we encounter the Hebrew word Immanuel. Since Immanuel symbolically is the name assigned to Jesus the Messiah, it’s worth delving a bit into what this name means.

The Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (Immanuel) is a combination of two words, the word for God and the preposition “with” and so literally means “God with us” or “with us is God.” The Greek text in the Gospel According to Matthew refers to this same word, Ἐμμανουήλ (Emmanouel), but in the carryover to the Greek alphabet, the initial vowel changes, and this change also carried over into Latin texts, which explains why today we usually see Emmanuel rather than Immanuel in more current translations.

An interesting question about this name is posed by this Sunday’s readings. Isaiah’s prophecy suggests the Messiah will be named Immanuel, but we know that his name instead was Jesus. How can Jesus still be a fulfillment of this prophecy if he has a different name? In the ancient world, someone’s name was more than what the person was called. It was a reflection of that individual’s identity. Jesus very literally is “God with us” whether he is called by that name or not. This Advent season, it’s this presence of God among us that we celebrate and await.

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