‘Immanu-’El
God is with us – and more
André H. Roosma
31 January 2016
An international friend and avid student of old Biblical Hebrew asked me
about the Name or Title that the Bible applies to Yeshu‘a, the Son of God: ‘Immanu-’El ( עִמָּנוּ אֵל in Hebrew, Ἐμμανουήλ in Greek). I decided
to publish here what I wrote to him, because it may interest more people.
In Yesha‘-yahu (a.k.a. Isaiah) 7:14 the prophet wrote down:
| Therefore my Master Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name
‘Immanu-’El. |
לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוְּא לָכֶם אֹות
הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן
וְקָרָאת שְׁמֹו עִמָּנוְּאֵל |
The apostle Mattit-yahu (Matthew)
cites and explains this in 1:23 as:
| 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. |
ιδου η παρθενος εν γαστρι εξει και τεξεται
υιον και καλεσουσιν το ονομα αυτου εμμανουηλ ο εστιν μεθερμηνευομενον μεθ
ημων ο θεος |
The עִמָּ֥נוּ - ‘immanu, in the Hebrew
עִמָּנוּ אֵל - ‘Immanu-’El is, in
effect, purely a grammatical prefix, where ‘imma = with, and nu
= us. The Hebrew אֵל is the word for God.
So, most literally, ‘Immanu-’El is the with-us God.
Isn’t that almost too good to be true? God, the Great Creator,
wants to be with the people He created, many of whom even never were
very friendly to Him.
But there is more. We see that frequently in the Bible. There is a truth
that is simple to see, and then, when you look closer, there is an additional
layer, with more revealed to those who study a bit further...
To see that here, we have to read the Hebrew in the old script of the
time of the patriarchs and Moses.1 In that script,
‘Immanu-’El was written as:     -   (with the possibly doubled).
As often, the Bible helps us in the explanation, here a.o. in Yesha‘-yahu
(Is.) 53:10. “Yet it pleased YaHUaH
to crush Him; to grieve Him; [that] He
should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering. He shall see [His] seed, He shall prolong [His] days, and the will of YaHUaH shall prosper
in His hand.” With Mat.4:25; 5:1; John 12:24; Acts 13:45; Hebr. 2:13
and Rev.7:9; 17:15; 19:6 (here we even get explained
that the vocabulary of 'the waters' = 'the (great) multitude(s) ...')
we see that [His] seed / offspring will be
manifold indeed, or in Hebrew idiom: multitudes of multitudes; throughout
all ages, places, continents and cultures!
This gives as meaning of ‘Immanu-’El: He sees (to it that)
- multitudes (of multitudes) - of seed / offspring - (get) connected/attached
- to ’El / God (lit: the First/Primary Shepherd
/ the Founding Leader).
Note that the symbol of
- the eye: 'to see' is often to be interpreted not only as 'to observe',
but also as 'to see to it' / 'to care that'. Yes, He watches over His
Word(s), to carry them out. As in the beginning (Genesis
1): He saw it was (very) good, because He had seen to it that it
would be (very) good. Intention, foresight and realization are as one with
God.
‘Immanu-’El describes - as most names do - the main task
in the life of Yeshu‘a. He sees to it that
there are multitudes of offspring connected to God. A task He has fulfilled
and is still fulfilling faithfully at this very day, and until He returns
for the great Marriage party, when those multitudes have been sanctified
into His glorious Bride.
Hallelu YaH !
Notes
Derek TownsendExcellent
Work! Thank you for posting this article. I just found it. How simple is
His Word, and how beautiful the picture language. It just makes sense. He
doesn’t make His instructions for obeying Him difficult, so that His
children can easily follow His Word. Thank you for putting this out there.
The more people know about the true meaning of His Name/Titles, the more it
makes it easier for people to either choose YES, I’ll follow Him, or
NO I won’t. Truth forces people to make a decision. There is so much
truth to be learned. And I thank you for your consistency in putting that
truth out there for people to study the ancient ways. Shalom!
André (author)Thanks Derek Townsend!
Yes! The pure Word of God is easier to comprehend
and so much more consistent than what the teachings of men have often made of
it. Therefore, it is my joy to search and lead the way back to the pure Word
as God gave it.
Shalom & blessings!
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