The Virgin Birth / Immanuel
A virgin would conceive and bear a son called Immanuel, meaning "God with us."
The Prophecy
Isaiah 7:14
~700 BCE
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Manuscript Attestation
Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaα΅, c. 125 BCE) preserves this verse with a notable variant β uses YHWH where the Masoretic Text uses Adonai. The Septuagint (3rd century BCE) translated the Hebrew 'almah as Greek parthenos (virgin). All codices.
Ancient Jewish Interpretation
The Septuagint translation choice of "virgin" (parthenos) rather than simply "young woman" indicates pre-Christian Jewish understanding included a miraculous element. The Dead Sea Scrolls variant using the divine name YHWH may indicate heightened theological significance.
The Fulfillment
Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" β which means "God with us."
Narrative Context
Matthew directly quotes Isaiah 7:14 and applies it to Mary's virgin conception of Jesus. The name Immanuel ("God with us") is understood as describing Jesus' divine nature.
The Evidence
The Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran confirms this verse existed in its current form over a century before Jesus' birth. The Septuagint's use of parthenos ("virgin") demonstrates that at least some Jewish translators in the 3rd-2nd century BCE understood this as a miraculous sign rather than simply a "young woman." This is significant because the Septuagint was a Jewish translation made centuries before Christianity existed.