The Book of Matthew (80-85 CE), written 15 years after the Book of Mark, is one of the two Gospels to claim that Jesus was miraculously conceived without a human father (Matthew 1:20-23). To support this notion the first Gospel quotes Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name ‘Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us'”. However, the word “virgin” (‘parthenos’ in the original Greek text) appears to be a mistranslation of the Hebrew word ‘ha’almah‘, which just means “the young woman”. It only conveys age/gender, not sexual purity.

Moreover, it is clear to anyone reading this entire passage in Isaiah that there is nothing in this text that was intended to be a Messianic Prophecy, destined to be fulfilled in the distant future. Rather, this chapter is clearly speaking only of the Syro-Ephraimite War, which occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet Isaiah and the rule of King Ahaz (reigned 732/731 – 716/15 BCE). In fact, this chapter would be nonsensical if it were discussing an event that was set to occur more than 700 years later.

Around the year 732 BCE, two massive armies – the Northern Kingdom of Israel, led by King Pekah, and the Kingdom of Syria (Aram), led by King Retsin – threatened to destroy King Ahaz and the Kingdom of Judah. The allied military forces of the two kings besieged Jerusalem. In the face of invasion, Ahaz and his subjects were gripped with fear. God therefore sent Isaiah to assure King Ahaz that divine protection was at hand; God would shield him and his kingdom. The prophet pledged to Ahaz that his deliverance was certain, his people were safe, and these two hostile armies would fail to subjugate Jerusalem.

The prophet gave a timetable for this lifesaving event: the crisis would end while Isaiah’s soon-to-be-born son was yet an infant. The prophet assured his weary nation that by the time this child (whose imminent birth was foretold in Isaiah 7:14) reached the age of maturity (….”he knows how to reject bad and choose good”….), the kings of the two enemy nations would be destroyed (Isaiah 7:15-16). This prophecy would be fulfilled contemporaneously in 2 Kings 15:29-30 and 2 Kings 16:5-9.

There is nothing in this chapter that even hints at a birth of a future Messiah who would be conceived 700 years later. Bearing this in mind, I am beginning to grasp the full scope of how the Book of Matthew misquoted a famed passage from Isaiah. 

What are your thoughts?