Matthew 1:21-23
What is written? (ESV)
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).
What does it say?
She (Mary) will give birth to a son and you (Joseph) shall name him Jesus, and he will save his people from their sins. All of this happened in order to fulfill what God had spoken through the prophet (Isaiah), “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” which means, God with us.
What is its immediate context?
Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus begins with the Hebrew-emphasized genealogy (1:1) and continues with an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph, Mary’s husband, in a dream. He tells him about Mary’s conception “from the Holy Spirit” (vss 18-20). The quotation is from the prophet Isaiah 7:14.
How Matthew 1:21-23 is applied across Bible answers
Must a New Testament writer always quote in context?
Matthew, a New Testament writer, recounts an angel of God quoting Isaiah's prophecy and applies it to the birth of Jesus.
Isaiah's prophecy, in its original context, is about the birth of boy that would be a sign for Ahaz, king of Judah, that God will not allow Ephraim (e.g. Israel), who is in league with Syria, come against Judah.
