Immanuel (Immanu-el), read in the European tradition as Emmanuel or Immanuel, is not the personal name of the Son of God, but a symbolic title. It means "God with us"...
Immanuel (Immanu-el), read in the European tradition as Emmanuel or Immanuel, is not the personal name of the Son of God,
but a symbolic title. It means "God with us". The One whom Scripture calls Immanu-el is
the One in whom the presence of God with us, among us, is realized.
The prophet Isaiah, who used this symbolic title, wanted to convey exactly this
meaning to us. The personal name of the Savior was hidden from Isaiah, and only to the Immaculate Virgin and Joseph did the Angel give the command
to name the Child Jesus. This latter name, like most Jewish names, is also meaningful; it
translates as "God saves" or "God the Savior". Such a name was often given to children in Judea (tradition
claims that this was the personal name of the robber Barabbas and some others mentioned in the New Testament).
In relation to an ordinary child, this name was translated as "God is
the Savior of this person".
Given to Jesus, this name acquired its true significance. The Evangelist Matthew, addressing predominantly
a Jewish audience, writes that Joseph received the command to name the Child Jesus, and this was in
fulfillment (and not in violation) of the prophecy of Isaiah. In the biblical context, this is an almost obvious fact, because
the prophecies of the Old Testament are not literal predictions, but a revelation of the meaning of coming events.
