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“The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confuses People

Christmas morning

For many years, the prophecy that confused me most was Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Every Christmas I heard pastors quote this, but none had ever explained its context. What confused me was that the next three verses say that the prophecy will be fulfilled within 14 years. If it was supposed to be fulfilled in the eighth century BC, how could it apply to Jesus?

Let’s go ahead and clear that up.

What Triggered “The Virgin Shall Conceive” Prophecy

First, here’s what brought on this prophecy.

King Ahaz’s dad had died, leaving him the sole king of Judah at age 20. Judah was a small kingdom south of Israel and Syria. Farther north and east, the kingdom of Assyria was growing rapidly by conquering one kingdom state after another. The kings of Israel and Syria knew they couldn’t stop the powerful Assyria alone, so they wanted to form a coalition along with Judah. But Ahaz refused to join them.

Ahaz’s refusal angered the kings of Israel and Syria, so they attacked. Unfortunately, Ahaz was not a godly king, and so the Lord allowed the two kings some victories. When Ahaz still wouldn’t join, the two kings decided to depose Ahaz and replace him with a puppet king who would do their bidding.

Assyrian conquests prompted the prophecy, "the virgin shall conceive"
Assyrian relief depicting conquests from the British Museum, photograph by Jean E. Jones

The Lord’s Offer

The Lord God sent Isaiah with a message for this young, frightened king. He told Ahaz not to fear the two kings because they would not take the throne from him (Isaiah 7:3-7). Instead, Israel would cease to exist within 65 years (verse 8). He cautions Ahaz, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (verse 9). Then he makes this incredible offer:

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

Isaiah 7:11

In other words, God tells the scared ruler to ask any sign he wants as proof that the Lord will be with him and will not allow his two enemies to remove him from the throne. He can request a miraculous sign that is as deep as hell or as high as heaven.

What did Ahaz do? He refused God’s offer! He told Isaiah, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test” (Isaiah 7:12). Why? Because he had already decided what he wanted to do and it didn’t involve submitting to or trusting the King of kings.

The Promise That the Virgin Shall Conceive

Isaiah was not fooled by Ahaz’s fake piety. If Ahaz would not request a sign, God would give him a sign nonetheless. Isaiah replied,

Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

Isaiah 7:13-16

Isaiah no longer calls God “your God,” but rather “my God,” for Ahaz has rejected God as his King of kings.

“Virgin,” “Immanuel,” Curds, and the Child’s Age

According to John N. Oswalt in The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1–9, the Hebrew word translated virgin means “young woman of marriageable age.” Jews would assume she was a virgin, of course, so the Hebrew word can be translated either “maiden” or “virgin.” There’s another Hebrew word that can only be translated “virgin,” but that’s not what Isaiah uses here. We’ll come back to why later. For now, note that the prophecy in its immediate context refers to a young woman who is a virgin at the time of the prophecy. She’ll marry, conceive, and bear a child. The woman is not named, but it is not the mother of the crown prince Hezekiah, for he was born before Ahaz rose to sole king.

The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Therefore, the child would be a sign that God was with Judah even though the king was abandoning God. God’s presence is a comfort for the godly, but terror for the ungodly.

Curds (a milk product like ricotta cheese) and honey were wealthy fare. Yet, when the child knows right and wrong (age 12-13), he will eat curds and honey and both Israel and Syria will be deserted.

Ahaz Openly Rejects God

Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria, saying “I am your servant and your son” (2 Kings 16:7). These are titles that show Ahaz has rejected his covenant duty to serve under God alone and has put Assyria’s fearsome king in God’s place.

Here’s what this means. A king who rules over other kings is called a suzerain, and the kings serving him are called vassals. In those days, the suzerain protected his vassals in exchange for money, soldiers, and submission. The suzerain called his vassals “sons,” and the vassals called their suzerain “father.” So when Ahaz said to Assyria’s king, “I am your servant and your son,” he was offering to be his vassal.

In other words, Assyria didn’t have wait to conquer Judah—Ahaz sought him and surrendered before Assyria came near. Ahaz did this so that this king of kings would rescue him from Israel and Syria.

The trouble was that in Judah, the kings were supposed to have the Lord God as Suzerain. Ahaz had switched teams. And he used the temple treasures which belonged to the Lord God as tribute to his new lord.

But Isaiah isn’t done with prophecies about a child. He recorded more in the next two chapters.

Prophecies about Isaiah’s Child

Here’s what introduces the next set of child prophecies:

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.

Isaiah 8:3

The Hebrew translated “went to” is a euphemism in the Old Testament that usually means the first time that a husband and wife come together for marital relationships. Because of this, some scholars think that Isaiah’s first wife may have passed away and he married a prophetess who bore him another child. Thus, Isaiah 7:14 might refer to this child.

Immanuel’s Land

Isaiah 8:4 prophesies that before Isaiah’s newborn reaches three, the two kings won’t threaten Ahaz anymore. Assyria would demolish Syria and subdue Israel. But Ahaz’s trust in Assyria instead of God would cost him dearly because Assyria wasn’t trustworthy. Assyria would sweep into Judah and wreak havoc in “your land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:8).

By calling Judah “Immanuel’s land,” Isaiah links this prophecy about his son to the previous chapter’s prophecy about a child called Immanuel, God With Us. Now we have two prophecies about a child being born as a sign that God is with Judah. They’re also linked by the name Immanuel.

Isaiah then says this about his own children:

Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Isaiah 8:18

Isaiah’s newborn is a sign of what’s to come within three years. But he and his children are not just signs; they portend (or foreshadow) future events. We’ll come back to this too.

For to Us a Child Is Born

Isaiah has another child prophecy in the ninth chapter:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7
Virgin Shall Conceive: "The Adoration of the Shepherds by Murillo
The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Museo Nacional del Prado (Public Domain)

Unlike the prophecies in the previous chapters, this prophecy of a child is about no ordinary child. It was obviously a prophecy about a future child, not a child in Isaiah’s day. This child would bring the righteousness that Ahaz abandoned, and he would rule forever.

The Initial Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”

So what happened next? Assyria attacked both Syria and Israel, just as Ahaz had requested. Within three years of Isaiah’s son’s birth, the two kings that threatened Ahaz were dead. A decade after Ahaz refused God’s offer, Assyria demolished Israel.

But the king of Assyria was untrustworthy and swept into Judah too, killing many. So many died that the remnant left could not use all the milk. They turned the milk into curds, and everyone ate curds and honey. So the child prophecies of Isaiah 7 and 8 were fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but not the child prophecy of Isaiah 9.

Now that we have seen Isaiah 7:14 in its original context, let’s look at how the Gospels use it.

The Later Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”

By the time of Christ, most Jews were using the Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 with a Greek word that meant virgin, not a young woman of marriageable age.

Matthew 1:18 records that Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” An angel confirmed this to her fiancé Joseph (verse 20). Matthew explained all this and wrote,

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23

Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, so why did he write this? Because he also understood how OT portents work. The Bible uses a number of words for portents, including type, shadow, foreshadow, figure, and picture.

Most people today are less familiar with portents, so I’ll explain with a story.

A Potato Portent

A potato illustrates forshadowing
Adobe Stock, used by permission

Sometimes my husband calls me from the grocery store saying, “I found great looking salmon. Would you like some for dinner tonight?” I’ll reply, “Yes! Don’t forget to buy a potato.”

That night, I’ll sauté half the fish while Clay slices and boils the potato. I serve most of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers and the potato. The next night, I sauté the rest of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers.

Are you wondering about the cold, uneaten potato? Its presence foreshadows that something more will happen with the fish. And more will happen. On the third night, I’ll beat an egg, mash the potato into it, and stir in minced chives, salt, and pepper. Next, I’ll break up the leftover fish and fold it into the egg and potato mixture. Finally, I’ll form the mixture into fish cakes that I’ll sauté in butter and oil until they are browned and crispy and oh-so delicious.

Just as I made obvious links between the potato and fish before I told you how they were related, so Isaiah placed obvious links between the child prophecies in chapters 7, 8, and 9 without fully telling us how they were related. He linked the birth of a child, the name Immanuel, and the land of Judah. He also contrasted the current king’s wickedness with the future king’s righteousness, and Assyria’s king’s ruthlessness with Immanuel’s justice.

Just as the unused potato foreshadowed that something more was coming, so the unfulfilled chapter 9 prophecy foreshadowed that something more was coming as well.

Prophecies and Portents

As I noted above, Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day. But he also knew that Isaiah 9:6-7 had not been fulfilled prior to Jesus’s coming. Jesus alone fulfilled it. And he was familiar with Mary’s story of Jesus’s miraculous birth to her as a virgin.

As Matthew read the passages—especially in the Septuagint—he realized that Isaiah 7:14’s prophecy that the “virgin shall conceive” was no coincidence. There was more going on than what was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day.

He realized that Isaiah 7:14 is a direct prophecy that was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but its fulfillment portended a future event. In other words, the woman and child in Isaiah’s day foreshadowed Mary and her son Jesus. The woman in Isaiah’s day was a virgin at the time of the prophecy, but Mary was a virgin at the time of conception. The child in Isaiah’s day was called Immanuel, or God With Us, as a sign that God was still with Judah. But that child foreshadowed Jesus, who was literally God with us.

And that is why Isaiah used an ambiguous Hebrew word for virgin. The first meaning was meant for the initial fulfillment, but the second for the ultimate fulfillment.

Fulfilled Prophecy as Portents

Here’s another analogy for understanding prophecies that have fulfillments that foreshadow a significant future event.

I live in sunny Southern California where it doesn’t snow. Most of the year, we see what looks like one brown mountain range to the north. But sometimes in the winter, we’ll see a massive, snow-covered mountain range in the distance and a smaller brown mountain range closer to us (see the photo).

Near and future fulfillment of "the virgin shall conceive" illustrated by 2 mountain ranges
Photo by Virginia Thompson

The nearer mountain range leads our eyes up to the mountain range that is farther off and obviously much bigger. In the same way, some prophecies have a nearer fulfillment that points to and leads our eyes to a greater, future fulfillment. The nearer fulfillment foreshadows the coming fulfillment.

Deep as Sheol or High as Heaven

Let’s look back at the Lord God’s generous offer to King Ahaz:

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

Isaiah 7:11

Consider that the immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s day wasn’t a sign that was as deep as Sheol (hell) or as high as heaven.

But the typological fulfillment in Jesus’s day certainly was.

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  1. […] “The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 14 Confuses People […]

  2. […] Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah’s name would be Immanuel, God With Us (Isaiah 7:14), but he also prophesied that the Messiah’s name would be Pele Yoetz (Wonderful Counselor), Avi-Ad (Father of Eternity), El Gibbor (The Mighty God), and Sar Shalom (The Prince of Peace) (Isaiah 9:6). Same author, same book, so I’m sure you get the picture. These are not his literal names. This is what you call in a remez in hermeneutics. First, there’s the peshat, which is the simple literal interpretation of a text. Then there’s a hidden (hint) or allegorical interpretation of a text called a remez. Jesus uses remez quite often. For example, while dying on the cross, Jesus cries out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”. This is Jesus’ way of pointing the people to the passage ground in Psalm 22 where David wrote, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.” It was David’s cry, but Jesus cries it out to remind his listeners that this passage describes his death. Now would be a good time to read Psalm 22. It mentions his garment being parted and lots being cast for it. It mentions strong bulls are round about him which would have the symbol on the Roman army’s shields. It says his tongue cleaves to his mouth (due to dryness and making him thirsty), etc. Jesus was assuring his listeners of the events that were seeing were foretold through David’s Psalm. Jesus wasn’t asking His Father a question here. He was still even upon his death on the cross, teaching the people by pointing them to Psalm 22. Matthew uses a remez when pointing Isaiah 7:14 to Jesus. He is hinting in his gospel that Jesus fulfills that original promise to Ahaz. There are actually two prophesies about a child being born as a sign that God is with Judah and links the name Immanuel. https://www.jeanejones.net/2020/12/the-virgin-shall-conceive-why-isaiah-714-confuses-people/ […]

  3. […] “The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confuses People […]

  4. […] “The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confuses People […]

  5. […] “The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confused People […]

  6. […] The Virgin Shall Conceive: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confuses People-For many years, the prophecy that confused me most was Isaiah 7:14: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Every Christmas I heard pastors quote this, but none had ever explained its context. What confused me was that the next three verses say that the prophecy will be fulfilled within 14 years. If it was supposed to be fulfilled in the eighth century BC, how could it apply to Jesus?: https://www.jeanejones.net/2020/12/the-virgin-shall-conceive-why-isaiah-714-confuses-people/ […]

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