Short answer
No. The sign in Isaiah 7:14 was given to King Ahaz about seven hundred years before Jesus. Ahaz was afraid of two enemy kings. Isaiah told him that before the child could tell good from evil, both kings would be gone from the land he feared. So the sign was for Ahaz's own day. The Hebrew word in the verse is almah, which means a young woman. The usual Hebrew word for a virgin is bethulah. In the Gospels, no one calls Jesus Immanuel. The angel named him Jesus. A name meaning "God is with us" does not make anyone God, just as the name Elijah, "my God is Yahweh", did not. Isaiah 7:14 is simply not a prophecy of the virgin birth. Muslims believe in it because the Qur'an teaches it: God (﷾) created Jesus by His word "Be", as He created Adam.
Full explanation
How Matthew reads the verse
Matthew tells the story of Jesus' birth. Then he says it happened to fulfil the words of the prophet. He quotes Isaiah 7:14 and explains the name Emmanuel (the Greek spelling of Immanuel) as "God with us". Christians read this as a prophecy of the virgin birth. They read the name as a sign that the child is God come among his people.
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 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.”
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Who the sign was for
Isaiah says when and why the sign was given. Ahaz was king of Judah. He was afraid because two kings had come against Jerusalem: Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel. Isaiah speaks to the house of David, the royal family of Ahaz. The sign was meant to calm him. Isaiah 7:16 sets its time. Before the child is old enough to tell good from evil, the land whose two kings he feared will be forsaken by them. A sign fulfilled some seven hundred years after Ahaz died would have been no sign to him at all.
“And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.”
“And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?”
“For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.”
What the Hebrew word means
The Hebrew text says ha-almah, "the young woman". The word describes a girl of marriageable age. It does not by itself say she is a virgin. Hebrew has another word for a virgin, bethulah. The law uses it when it tells the high priest to marry a virgin. The Jewish Publication Society's translation of 1917 gives "the young woman". Matthew's wording follows the old Greek translation of Isaiah, the Septuagint. It has parthenos, the Greek word for a virgin. But the same Greek translation also calls Dinah parthenos in Genesis 34:3, after Shechem had lain with her. So the Greek word did not always mean a virgin. And Aquila and Theodotion, second-century converts to Judaism who made new Greek translations, give "young woman" at Isaiah 7:14.
“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
“And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.”
“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.”
In the Greek Old Testament, after Shechem has lain with Dinah, the verse says he loved "the parthenos" and spoke to the heart of "the parthenos", using the same word Matthew uses for "virgin".
Irenaeus objects that Theodotion of Ephesus and Aquila of Pontus, both of whom he calls Jewish proselytes, translated Isaiah 7:14 as "Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bring forth a son".
His name was Jesus
The Gospels never record anyone naming Jesus Immanuel, or calling him by that name in his lifetime. The angel told Joseph to call the child Jesus. Luke says that was the name he was given. Many Hebrew names contain the word for God (﷾). Elijah means "my God is Yahweh", and Elihu means "he is my God". The same El is in the cry Matthew records from the cross, "Eli, Eli". Matthew translates it "My God, my God". Jesus' own Hebrew name, Yeshua, means "Yahweh saves", and the angel explains it: "he shall save his people". No one takes Elijah, Elihu or Jesus to be God because of their names. A name that means "God is with us" is a statement about God (﷾), not about the one who bears it.
“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Explains Hebrew personal names built on the names of God: Elijah as "my God is Yahweh", Eliab as "my God is father", Michael as "who is like God?", Immanuel as "with us is God", and Joshua as "Yahweh is salvation".
What the birth accounts say
Only Matthew and Luke tell of Jesus' birth. Neither says that God himself would be born. Luke says a holy child would be born and be called the Son of God. Matthew says the child would be named Jesus.
“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
The virgin birth in the Qur'an
Muslims believe that Mary conceived Jesus with no man touching her, because the Qur'an teaches it. The Qur'an also explains the miracle without making Jesus divine. He was created by God's (﷾) command, as Adam was, who had neither father nor mother. So rejecting Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy takes nothing from the virgin birth.
“She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?"”
“The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was.”
| The claim | What the text shows |
|---|---|
| The verse says “virgin” | The Hebrew word is almah, a young woman. Hebrew has another word for a virgin, bethulah. |
| It foretells the birth of Jesus | The sign was given to King Ahaz, who feared two enemy kings. Before the child could tell good from evil, both kings would be gone from the land he feared. It was a sign for Ahaz's own day, about 700 years before Jesus. |
| Jesus was called Immanuel | No Gospel records anyone naming him or calling him Immanuel. The angel named him Jesus. |
| “God with us” makes him God | A name that speaks of God (﷾) does not make anyone God. Elijah means “my God is Yahweh”, and Elijah was not God. |
Muslims do believe in the virgin birth, because the Qur'an teaches it. It is Isaiah 7:14 that is not about Jesus.
Verse by verse
Isaiah 7:14 — Nevi'im, Yeshayahu, chapter 7, verse 14
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Cited for
Isaiah foretold that a virgin would conceive, and this was fulfilled when Mary gave birth to Jesus.
The response
The Hebrew says almah, a young woman, as the Jewish translation shows. The sign was given to Ahaz. Isaiah 7:16 says that before the child could tell good from evil, the land of the two kings Ahaz feared would be forsaken by them.
Where it lands — Isaiah 7:14 is a sign for Ahaz's own time, so it is not a prophecy of the birth of Jesus.
Isaiah 7:16 — Nevi'im, Yeshayahu, chapter 7, verse 16
“For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.”
Cited for
The sign was fulfilled twice: once by a child in Ahaz's day, and again by the virgin birth of Jesus.
The response
Then the first fulfilment was an ordinary birth in Ahaz's day. So the verse itself did not speak of a virgin birth. And on that reading, a child who was not God bore the name Immanuel, so the name proves nothing about Jesus.
Where it lands — A second fulfilment grants that the sign's own child was an ordinary boy, so neither the word nor the name points to a divine child.
Matthew 1:22-23 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, verses 22-23
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 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.”
Cited for
Matthew explains Emmanuel as "God with us", so the child born of Mary is God.
The response
The angel named the child Jesus, and that is the name Luke records. A name that speaks of God (﷾), like Elijah or Elihu, tells us about God (﷾). It does not make its bearer God.
Where it lands — No one in the Gospels calls Jesus Immanuel, and the meaning of a name does not make anyone divine.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Isaiah 7:14 foretells the virgin birth of Jesus, and Matthew says so plainly. The name Immanuel, "God with us", shows that the child is God come in the flesh.
Matthew says the birth of Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 7:14 and explains Emmanuel as "God with us".
Rebuttal
Matthew does say this. But Isaiah 7:16 sets the sign in Ahaz's own day, so its child was born then, of a young woman. Reading it as fulfilled again centuries later cannot turn that sign into a prophecy of a virgin birth or of a divine child.
Christians hold that the name Immanuel describes who the child is: God present among his people.
Rebuttal
The name does mean "God with us". But the angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus, and no Gospel records anyone calling him Immanuel. A name with God (﷾) in it, like Elijah, tells us about God (﷾), not about its bearer.
The Islamic perspective
Isaiah 7:14 was a sign for King Ahaz in his own day. Muslims believe in the virgin birth because the Qur'an teaches it, not because of this verse. A name meaning "God is with us" makes no one God.
The Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 is almah, a young woman. The Jewish translation of 1917 renders it "the young woman".
The sign was given to Ahaz and the house of David about the two kings they feared. Isaiah 7:16 fixes its time within the child's early years.
Jesus was named Jesus by the angel, and no Gospel records him being named or called Immanuel.
Hebrew names often contain a word for God (﷾). Matthew itself translates Eli as "my God", and Jesus' own Hebrew name, Yeshua, means "Yahweh saves". No one takes the bearers of such names to be God because of what their names mean.
Neither Gospel birth account (Matthew and Luke) says that God himself would be born of Mary.
The Qur'an teaches the virgin birth, and compares Jesus' creation to Adam's.