“Immanuel”
Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A straightforward prediction of a virgin birth.
The cultural key
Two things reward a closer look. First, the name: Immanuel is Hebrew for 'God with us' (immanu, 'with us'; el, 'God'), a name that is itself the promise, that God has not abandoned His people. Second, the word translated 'virgin' is almah, which in Hebrew denotes a young woman of marriageable age; a strictly technical word for 'virgin' (betulah) exists and is not the one used here, though an unmarried almah would normally be assumed to be a virgin. Around two centuries before Christ, the Jewish translators of the Greek Septuagint rendered almah with parthenos, 'virgin,' and Matthew, writing in Greek, quotes that version and sees the sign fulfilled in the virgin birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23). Honesty requires noting the layers: a Hebrew word for a young woman, a Greek translation specifying 'virgin,' and a New Testament application. The name's meaning, 'God with us,' is the fixed point all readers share.
Recovered meaning
'Immanuel' means 'God with us,' a name that is itself the promise. The word behind 'virgin,' almah, means a young woman; the ancient Greek translation specified 'virgin,' and Matthew applies the sign to Jesus. Layers of language sit behind the familiar verse.