A word behind the word
Immanuel, God With Us
Immanuel, sometimes spelled Emmanuel, is a Hebrew name that means God with us. It appears first in the prophecy of Isaiah and returns in the opening chapter of Matthew as a title for Jesus, framing the whole story of his coming.
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”Matthew 1:23
What the word actually means
What the word actually means. Immanuel is a Hebrew phrase used as a name, formed from words meaning God and with us, so that the name itself declares God with us. It appears in Isaiah 7:14, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, given as a sign to King Ahaz in a time of national crisis. The name recurs in Isaiah 8:8 and is echoed in Isaiah 8:10, for God is with us. The whole point of the name is its meaning; it is not a personal label chosen for its sound but a declaration about God's nearness to his people. In Matthew 1:23 the Gospel writer quotes the Isaiah prophecy directly and, aware that his readers may not know Hebrew, translates it: they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew provides the interpretation precisely so the meaning is not lost, showing how central that meaning is to understanding who Jesus is.
The myth to clear up
The myth to clear up. The confusions around Immanuel are usually not about the word, whose meaning God with us is plain and even translated for us in Matthew 1:23, but about how the prophecy relates to Jesus. Some claim the name proves Jesus was never called by it, as though a mismatch between Immanuel and the name Jesus were a contradiction. But Immanuel is given as a descriptive title, a declaration of what the child is, not necessarily the everyday name he would answer to, just as Isaiah 9:6 heaps up titles like Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God without meaning those were his given names. Matthew presents Immanuel as the truth about Jesus, that in him God is with us, alongside the name Jesus, which means the Lord saves. The sober point: the word's meaning is not in dispute. Immanuel tells us who Jesus is, God with us, and there is no contradiction in his also being named Jesus.
How the word opens onto Christ
How the word opens onto Christ. Immanuel is one of the clearest windows in all of Scripture onto the identity of Jesus. Matthew opens his Gospel by declaring that the child born of Mary is God with us, and he closes it with the same promise on Jesus' own lips: lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, in Matthew 28:20. The whole Gospel is bracketed by the truth that God is with his people in this one person. In Jesus the transcendent God did not merely send help from afar; he came near, took on flesh, and dwelt among us, as John 1:14 says. Immanuel means that the God who was with Israel in cloud and temple is now with us bodily in his Son, and through the Spirit remains with us still. Every comfort of the Christian life flows from this name: we are not alone, for God himself has come to be with us in Christ and has promised never to leave.
Questions people ask
What does Immanuel mean?
It is Hebrew for God with us. Matthew 1:23 even translates it for readers, they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
If his name is Immanuel, why is he called Jesus?
Immanuel is a descriptive title declaring who he is, God with us, much like the titles in Isaiah 9:6. Jesus is his given name and means the Lord saves. Both are true of him without contradiction.