This week we continue discussing the sign given to king Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah that "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isa 7:14). After providing a quick overview of the passage for anyone who missed the first class, we then began an in depth study of the Hebrew word almah, including its range of meaning, its usage, and its relationship to words like betulah.

As we continue our study, this will help us understand how the apostle Matthew accurately understood how Isaiah pointed not just to his own son, born of the prophetess, as a sign of God's presence with his people in his own day but to an incomparably greater, Davidic "Son" who in his very person, work, names, status, and authority would manifest God's very presence and everlasting reign in the midst of his people, the nations, and all of creation (e.g., Isa 9:1-7; Isa 11:1-16; 52:10; cf. 2:1-4; 4:2-6; 6:1-5; 12:1-6; 33:10; 57:10). Moreover, Matthew seeing this also recognized that God had performed an even greater sign and miracle in his own day, demonstrating that Jesus the Christ is truly "God with us", clothed in human flesh.