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The Holy Bible: King James Version Chapter 1

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 B. The King’s Amazing Birth (1:18–25)

In these verses Matthew provided the first of many direct quotes from the Old Testament, and the first of many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the earthly life of Jesus.

23 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.

1 The Holy Bible: King James Version., electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. (Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), Mt 1:23.

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,* 1

* * 1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version).

1 Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Mt 1:23.

23 Listen! A virgin d will be pregnant,

she will give birth to a Son,

and he will be known as “Emmanuel,”

which means in Hebrew,

“God became one of us.”e 1

d d See also v. 25, which clarifies that Mary was indeed a virgin.

e e Or “God with us” or “God among us”; that is, God incarnated. See Isa. 7:14; 8:8, 10 (LXX).

1 Brian Simmons, trans., The Passion Translation (BroadStreet Publishing, 2017), Mt 1:23.

Holman NT Commentary

1:22–23. In these verses Matthew provided the first of many direct quotes from the Old Testament, and the first of many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the earthly life of Jesus. These Old Testament quotes and prophecies show, in part, the linkage and unity between the Old and New Testaments, helping us understand how God was preparing the way for the Christ from centuries past. They also validate the identity of Jesus as the promised Messiah, strengthening our faith in him. And their perfect fulfillment in Jesus gives us confidence that God is faithful and mighty to keep his word to us today.

Matthew is quick to support the doctrine of the virgin birth, and his quote in 1:23 is from Isaiah 7:14, originally written by the prophet Isaiah over seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth. This verse in its original Old Testament context seems to be referring to a child who was to be born in that setting of Isaiah’s day, rather than centuries later. However, Matthew’s inspired revelation fills the original statement out to its full intention. God is never so clearly present with his people as he is through his virgin-born Son, the Messiah of Israel. Jesus is Immanuel! The linguistic components of the name Immanuel and their individual translations—Im = “with,” anu = “us,” and el = “God”—make it clear that Isaiah’s original prophecy could refer in its fullest sense only to the promised Messiah. This name of Jesus is a strong argument for his deity.

1:24–25. The dream that had begun for Joseph in verse 20 ends in these verses with him waking and choosing to obey everything the angel had told him to do. This fine man had learned to “trust and obey.”1

1 Stuart K. Weber, Matthew, vol. 1, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 18–19.

18 This was how Jesus, God’s Anointed One, was born.

His mother, Mary, had promised Joseph to be his wife,c but while she was still a virgind she became pregnant through the powere of the Holy Spirit.f 1

c c In the Jewish culture the engagement was a prenuptial contract (ketubah), which was entered into before witnesses, that gave legal rights over the girl to the bridegroom. This agreement could only be nullified by going through the formal divorce process. Since the girl still lived with her family, sexual relations were prohibited until after the second event of the public marriage ceremony. This engagement period was usually entered into when the girl turned thirteen. Mary was just a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus.

d d Or “without them being united (sexually).”

e e Implied in the text. Although it is the genitive of source, not agency, “the power of the Holy Spirit” is supplied for clarity. See Deut. 20:7.

f f The “Holy Spirit” can also be translated “the Sacred Breath (Spirit-wind)” or “the Spirit of Holiness.”

1 Brian Simmons, trans., The Passion Translation (BroadStreet Publishing, 2017), Mt 1:18.