Verse 14: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give to you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Sign: In Hebrew this is the same word that was used for the supernatural mark that was placed on Cain (Genesis 4:15).

Virgin: ה ָָ֗מ ְל ַעָ)al·māh): In Genesis 24:16 the word used for a young woman is the word ָָָ֗֗רֲעַנַֽ)na·‘ă·rā) and the word used for ‘virgin’ is the word ה ָָ֕ולּת ְב)bə·ṯū·lāh). The writer of Genesis goes on to clarify that this is referring to a woman who had never known a man.

The rabbis say that ‘batulah’ means ‘virgin’ but they deny that ‘almah’ also refers to a virgin. This is not an honest mistake, and we can prove it from Genesis 24:43. In this verse, when the story of Rebekah meeting the old servant at the well is retold, he refers to her as an
‘almah’ – a virgin. In Genesis 24:43 it does not emphasise that no man had ever known her.

The word ‘almah’ was the accepted term for a young woman who was a virgin, so it did not need to be clarified. The word ‘batulah’ was not so well known and that is the reason why the author of Genesis had to clarify in Genesis 24:16 that ‘batulah’ was referring to a woman who had never known a man.

Immanuel: God with us. The rabbis teach that this name is the redemptive name for Messiah. Through redemption God is with us.

Note: A virgin conceiving by just a Word is a very supernatural or miraculous sign – something that only God can do. The rabbis do not teach that this is a supernatural sign – hence the need to scrub this text of the word ‘virgin’. However, this is a vital prophecy that
helps us to understand the truth of how Messiah entered into this world – being born of a virgin. Those who deny the virgin birth are not saved as they do not know Yeshua. The virgin birth is also directly tied to the divinity of Messiah. If we do not believe that Yeshua is God, who came in the flesh and dwelt among us, then we cannot be saved. It is only through redemption, the work of Messiah, that we can have intimacy and a relationship with a holy God.


Verse 15: “Butter and honey he will eat, that he may know to flee from evil and choose the good.”

Butter and honey he will eat: This has a connection to the verse found in Exodus 3:8. God considered the land of Israel as a land “flowing with milk and honey”. Honey is mentioned in this verse, but instead of milk the word ‘butter’ or ‘cream’ is used. Butter is richer than milk.
An infant would not be given butter as a baby (it would get milk), but, as he matured, butter would be introduced into his diet. Another application to the use of the word ‘butter’ rather than ‘milk’ is that milk becomes butter after churning it for a long period of time. This verse is alluding to a change that is going to take place over a period of time. A maturing process is going to happen.

Know to flee from evil and choose the good: This again speaks about a change, a maturing. A very young infant does not know evil from good and he cannot choose or make a decision to do either. However, as he matures, he is able to make these decisions. 

Verse 16: “For before he, the youth, knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land will be forsaken by the ones that you dread.”
Youth: The word used here is a word that refers to a youth or to an adolescent. It is not the Hebrew word for a child or an infant. Time has passed and now the child/infant is being referred to as a youth/adolescent.

Note: In Isaiah 8:3-4 a child was also born to Isaiah. This was not in fulfilment of this verse, but it was a confirmation that this prophecy was going to happen.

The land: Referring to the land of Judah.

Forsaken: Abandoned

The ones: Speaking about the confederacy between Northern Israel and Syria.

Verse 17: “The Lord will bring the king of Assyria unto you and unto your people and unto your father’s house – days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you: Ahaz did not need to fear the Syria/Israel confederacy. God was going to allow Assyria (modern day Iraq and parts of Turkey, Iran, Kuwait and Syria) to take the Northern kingdom into captivity (722BC) but, at the same time, Assyria was also going to bring much suffering upon the Southern kingdom.

Days that have not come since the day: Referring to a unique time in the Southern kingdom’s history. Assyria tried to lay siege to Jerusalem around 701 BC (in the days of King Hezekiah) but their mission was aborted (we will study more on this in Isaiah 36 and 37).
Although Assyria brought destruction to many cities in Judah, their king was not successful in bringing a fall to Judah