Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear John,

Thank you for reading my paper, and thanks for the further thoughts, which
I enjoyed and plan to file. I liked all the points, but my favorite was the
following:

>I doubt you could find anywhere else a prediction of the
>birth of a child where there is no further reference to the
>child's birth or his activities after his birth - especially
>when his birth serves as a sign.

One could argue that the child of 7:14 reappears in 7:15-16 and 8:8. 10. He
could serve partly as a time marker, and partly as an ironic sign of
changing fortunes due to his name. However, given the other bridges between
the child in 7:14 and the one in 9:6, including the defeat of all foreign
nations in 8:8-10 and 9:4-5, this minimalist view of the child in 7:14
seems less likely. The direct address of Immanuel in 8:8 encourages the
idea that he is not just an anonymous child used in a functional way. The
connection of the Davidic house in 7:13 and 9:7 with events that God
Himself accomplishes (7:17-18, 20; 8:10; 9:7) also links the child in 7:14
with the one in 9:5.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard
                                Dallas, TX