re Isa 7 comments, Rikki has made a good point. Isa 7 is about - I think - virgin daughter JERUSALEM/ISRAEl no longer enjoying "people of God" status, due to the failure of King Ahaz to trust God. "GOD WITH US" refers now to the faithful remnant. So Matthew is announcing the birth of Jesus in these terms - the TRUE ISRAEL, true remnant etc. Matthew sets the verse in a context where Jesus is recapitulating the history of Israel - out of Egypt, through wilderness testing etc...
Phil Campbell
Queensland Australia
I have been lurking on and off for a couple of months and as I am more a generalist have not felt qualified to enter into many debates. However, I do have a few thoughts some of which have already been expressd by Joe and Phil. If what follows below has already been covered or is inconsequential please hit your delete button.
1. Matthew is comfortable in the world of rabbinical discussion and argument more than any of the other Evangelists and places Jesus within this context. He does so to make a point to the Jews: the thesis is that Jesus Messiah is the new Moses, the new Israel, and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
2. Isaiah 7 and the Septuagint: There is no question in my mind that the Hebrew text as written by Isaiah used the word 'almah which had the meaning of "young girl" or "maiden". As has already been pointed out this term does not speak to the issue of physical virginity and my personal opinion is that it refers to any unmarried woman of marriagabel age. Thus, at best the only way Isaiah can be seen predicting the birth of Jesus is as a sensus plenior.
3. As to exegesis of Isaiah 7:14: I have difficulty separating this one verse from the full context of the Matthew's Infancy Narrative. It is clear that the text is Sitz im Leben Evangelium as it is divided into five episodes which are built on five Old Testament episodes which make this a theological work and not a biography. Each episode, both Old and New Testament, are linked together and it is difficult to understand the full meaning of one episode isolated from the others as follows:
A. The virginal conception of Jesus fulfills the prophesy of Isaiah (RSV, Isaiah 7:14)
B. The appearance of the Magi fulfills the prophesy of Michah (RSV, Michah 5:2)
C. The flight into Egypt fulfills the prophesy of Hosea (RSV, Hosea 11.1)
D. The massacre of the children fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah (RSV, Jeremiah, 31:15)
E. The return to Nazareth fulfills the prophesy of Isaiah (RSV, Isaiah, 11.1)
4. There are numerous problems with Matthew's construct: Matthew speaks much of the troubles of the times as when the Magi arrive in Jerusalem when Herod and all of Jerusalme were troubled. The problem is that none of these troubles are mentioned by any other gospel or secular writers. Matthew also reports a star over Bethleham. Not only is he the only gospel writer to mention a star there is no eveidence of a notable star in either astronomy or legend outside of Matthew. The picture of Herod is one of a man who is inept and bungling by letting the Magi escape. No where else in recorded history is Herod percieved as inept and bungling. To the contrary he was considered an able administrator. Additionally, he summoned the chief priests and scribes to verify the Magi's prophesy when in fact he was not a Hebrew or religioius man and probably would not have believed Hebrew prophesy. Herod then orders the death of all male children under the age of two but neither Josephus or any other text mentions the massacre of the children which it would if it had happened.
5. Why would Matthew construct such an elaborate schema and then destroy his credibility by intentionally falsifying information about Jesus: The obvious answer is that Matthew's goal was to create a birth narrative which fit the cultural expectations of the time predicated on a long cross cultural history of such conception of saviours and other important men. Thus, he had to try to make his "square" information fit into a "round" hole to show that his narrative is a dialogue, a national history, and an anthology: not a biography.
6. Perhaps the most strident falsehood Matthew makes is that he has messiahship connected with the birth of Jesus when in fact messiahship was not ascribed until after his resurrection.
7. In summary it is my opinion that Matthew created the narrative as he did for one reason only; that is, the Infancy Narrative as constructed by Matthew is the only way he could convince his readers of the validity of the resurrection and that Jesus was in fact the fulfillment and culmination of Hebrew history.
I also think that Joseph's comments about Immanuel being the same child in both Isaiah chapters makes sense. However, I must take excpetion with his thesis that the God-entity would know the difference between right and wrong from birth. As we know the matter of Jesus divinity was not finally determined until the Council of Chalcedon. In fact, the matter of Jesus' divinity did not exhist until several hundred years after his death. Certainly the teaching of Chalcedon as expressed diagramatically as a circle with a verticle line separating Jesus human and divine aspects leaves room for the construction of a small triangle at the bottom of Jesus's human side which represents his less than perfect human knowledge.
Jack
Check out my book, the Church of Antioch, and my ministry to adoptees
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