The prophet Isaiah announced that a specific virgin will give to birth to Immanuel,

“Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign for yourself from Yahweh your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not test Yahweh!’ Then he said, ‘Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey in order that He will know to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house days which have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah—the king of Assyria!’” Isaiah 7:10-17 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

According to Matthew, this was fulfilled when the blessed Mother of our Lord conceived and gave birth to Christ as a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:18-23 LSB

Luke also confirms that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit:

“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.’ But Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:30-35 LSB

Needless to say, Jesus’ virginal conception and birth are a sign in the fullest sense of the term, since this is a miracle that transcends the depth of Sheol and the heights of heaven!

Not surprisingly rabbinic Judaism disagrees, and in so doing the rabbis have had a difficult time explaining who this child was or what was the exact nature of the sign.

One specific rabbi, on the other hand, seemed to have come very close to the Christian interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The following exposition of Isaiah’s prophecy is attributed to Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, otherwise known as “Rashi” (1040–1105 AD):

 “Behold the almah shall conceive and bare a son and shall call his name Immanuel. This means that our Creator shall be with us. And this is the sign: the one who will conceive is a girl (na’arah), who never in her life has had intercourse with any man. Upon this one shall the Holy Spirit have power.” – (Rashi, Mikraot Gedolot – as cited in The Prophet Isaiah, written by the Hebrew Christian Victor Buksbazen, and published by The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p. 150) 

Astonishingly, Rashi seemingly admitted that this is a prophecy of a virgin miraculously conceiving a son!

Some, however, claim that the above is a mistranslation of Rashi’s words. As such, I cite a rabbinic translation of Rashi’s interpretation of Isaiah 7:14:

14Therefore, the Lord, of His own, shall give you a sign; behold, the young woman is with child, and she shall bear a son, and she shall call his name Immanuel.

the Lord, of His own, shall give you a sign: He will give you a sign by Himself, against Your will.

is with child: THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FUTURE, as we find concerning Manoah’s wife, that the angel said to her (Judges 13:3): “And you shall conceive and bear a son,” and it is written, “Behold, you are with child and shall bear a son.”

the young woman: My wife will conceive this year. This was the fourth year of Ahaz.

and she shall call his name: Divine inspiration will rest upon her.

Immanuel: [lit. God is with us. That is] to say that our Rock shall be with us, and this is the sign, for she is a young girl, and she never prophesied, yet in this instance, Divine inspiration shall rest upon her. This is what is stated below (8:3): “And I was intimate with the prophetess, etc.,” and we do not find a prophet’s wife called a prophetess unless she prophesied. Some interpret this as being said about Hezekiah, BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE, because, when you count his years, you find that Hezekiah was born nine years before his father’s reign. And some interpret that this is the sign, that she was a young girl AND INCAPABLE OF GIVING BIRTH. (The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15938/showrashi/true#v14; see also https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Isaiah.7.14?lang=bi; bold capitalized emphasis mine)

Note how Rashi acknowledges that this prophecy cannot possibly be about Hezekiah, and therefore seeks to identify the child as the one whom the prophetess bore to Isaiah. Also notice how this renowned rabbi admits that there were some Jewish authorities that viewed this text as a prediction of a young girl having a son who, otherwise, was unable to conceive.

In other words, these Jewish interpreters are acknowledging that the sign that God promised to give is that of a young maiden miraculously conceiving and giving birth to a male Child!  

It, therefore, seems that the translation of Rashi’s words by Victor Buksbazen wasn’t as wrong as some anti-Christian rabbinic polemicists would have us believe.

In fact, a particular anti-Christian rabbinic website indirectly acknowledges that “Divine inspiration” can also be rendered as “spirit of prophecy”:

What does Rashi in Mikroas Gadolos really say there? Here is my translation of it:

EMMANUEL: That is to say, our Rock will be with us. And this is the sign, that behold she is a young girl and never prophesied in all her days, and in this there will rest a spirit of prophecy on her…. (Judaism’s Answer, Dr. David Stern and what Rashi says on Isaiah 7:14; emphasis mine)

Since prophesying is a work of the Holy Spirit, this again shows that Buksbazen wasn’t far off the mark in paraphrasing Rashi’s words as referring to the Holy Spirit coming upon this maiden to empower her.

Interestingly, Rashi wasn’t the only reputable Jewish authority who rejected the notion that Isaiah 7 refers to Hezekiah. Here’s what Ibn Ezra wrote:

Therefore the Lord himself etc. Though you do not ask a sign, He will give it you. It is to me a matter of surprise that there are those who say the prophet here refers to Jesus, since the sign was given to Ahaz, and Jesus was born many years afterwards; besides, the prophet says, For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land shall be forsaken; but the countries of Ephraim and Syria were wasted in the sixth year of Hezekiah, and it is distinctly said of whose two kings, etc. Many make THE MISTAKE OF IDENTIFYING Immanuel WITH HEZEKIAH; they cannot be the same, granting even this prophecy to have been uttered at the beginning of the reign of Ahaz; he reigned only sixteen years, and Hezekiah was at the death of Ahaz twenty-five years old. According to others, Immanuel is another son of Ahaz, and others again take the names (Immanuel, Maher Shalal and Shear Yashub) as symbolical of the kingdom; but if so, what meaning would be in the child’s knowing good and evil and in Maher Shalal calling father and mother? (8:4). I THINK that Immanuel is the son of Isaiah, as well as Maher Shalal; the latter is proved by And I went unto the prophetess, etc. (8:3). Shear Yashub is similarly related to the prophet (ver. 3); each of the three sons received a name that contained some hint at future events; Immanuel implied that God would help them and be with them during the troubles caused by the two kings; Maher Shalal, that the time for the exile of Samaria had arrived; and Shear Yashub, that the remnant of Israel would repent; this explanation is well borne out by the words, Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders. Comp. The children which the Lord hath graciously given to thy servant (Gen. 33:5). Those that in the former passage regard children as equivalent to pupils must produce us some analogy from Scripture. Isaiah himself was a sign and an example concerning Egypt (20:3).—The Gaon says that the sign consisted in the child being a male child; but in my opinion the sign was that the child was to eat butter and honey; for it is not usual that children eat these things immediately after their birth.

We know that a male child is called (na’ar) נער, a female child (na’arah) נערה or (almah) עלמה—the feminine of (elem) עֶלֶם—whether she be a virgin or not; for עלמה signifies a person of a certain age, like the masculine עלם; and in דרך גבר בעלמה the way of a man with a young woman (Prov. 30:19) עלמה is certainly not a virgin; because at the beginning of that passage it is said, which I know not (ibid. 18).

וקראת And shall call. Subject is, העלמה; comp. וחטאת And it sinneth (Ex. 5:16). (https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.7.14?lang=bi&with=Ibn%20Ezra&lang2=en; emphasis mine)  

Despite his rejection of the Christian interpretation, Ibn Ezra’s uncertainty regarding the precise identity of the child or what the miraculous sign actually refers to, i.e., to the child’s gender or of his eating butter and honey, merely highlights the fact that the rabbinic authorities really did not know what to make of this prophecy. Their rejection of Jesus led the rabbis to scramble to find some particular individual who could fit the role of Immanuel, and further led them to undermine the miraculous nature of the sign that God said would be the assurance that he was truly with his people to deliver them.

FURTHER READING

A MESSIANIC SCHOLAR ON JESUS’ VIRGIN BIRTH

ISAIAH 7:1-16: IMMANUEL HAS COME!

Isaiah 7:14: Of whom does this prophecy speak?

The Virgin has Conceived and God is Now With Us!

Response To Jim Lippard’s The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah

Letters to Rabbi Cohen Concerning Messiah

The following excerpts are taken from Messianic Jewish scholar and translator Dr. David H. Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary, published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. 1992. All emphasis mine.

20 Adonai, literally, “my lords”; but grammarians consider it the “plural of majesty”; so a slightly less literal translation would be “my Lord.” Long before Yeshua’s day, however, the word “Adonai” had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as “YHVH,” “Yahweh” and “Jehovah.” The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce the Tetragrammaton (the word means the “four-letter name” of God), and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition (which, in my view, is unnecessary but harmless) the JNT uses “Adonai” where “YHVH” is meant. (Incidentally, the name “Jehovah” is a modern invention, an English hybrid based on the four Hebrew letters as transliterated into German, J-H-V-H, with the individually transliterated Hebrew vowel-points of “Adonai,” e-o-a.)

The Greek word here is “kurios” which can mean (1) “sir,” (2) “lord” in the human sense, as in “lord of the manor,” (3) “Lord” in the divine sense, or (4) God’s personal name YHVH. The JNT uses “Adonai” only when one can be certain that “YHVH” is meant; it is not used if there is doubt. So far, editions of the JNT are conservative on this score; there are probably additional places in the text where “Adonai” could safely be substituted for “Lord.” For more on “kurios” see 7:21&N.

21 This verse is an example of a “semitism” (an allusion to Hebrew or Aramaic) brought over literally into the Greek text. It provides strong evidence in favor of the theory that there was a Hebrew or Aramaic oral or written tradition behind the extant Greek manuscripts, for only in Hebrew or Aramaic does the explanation here of Yeshua’s name make any sense; in Greek (or English) it explains nothing.

The Hebrew word for “he will save” is “yoshia‘,” which has the same Hebrew root (yud-shin-’ayin) as the name Yeshua (yud-shin-vav-’ayin). Thus the Messiah’s name is explained on the basis of what he will do. Etymologically the name Yeshua‘ is a contraction of the Hebrew name Y’hoshua‘ (English “Joshua”), which means “YHVH saves.” It is also the masculine form of the Hebrew word “yeshu‘ah” which means “salvation.”

The KJV renders this verse, “…and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” But in English, saving people from sins is no more reason for calling someone Jesus than for calling him Bill or Frank. The Greek is no better; only in Hebrew or Aramaic does the explanation explain.

In modern Hebrew Yeshua is usually called Yeshu (yud-shin-vav, without an ‘ayin) by nonbelievers. This verse also shows why the name “Yeshu” cannot possibly be correct — it does not include all three letters of the Hebrew root of yoshia‘. However, the matter bears further scrutiny.

According to Professors David Flusser and Shmuel Safrai, Orthodox Jews, “Yeshu” was how the name “Yeshua‘” was pronounced by Galilean Jews in the first century. We know from 26:73 below that Jews of the Galil had a different dialect than those of Judea. According to Flusser (Jewish Sources in Early Christianity, p. 15) Galileans did not pronounce the Hebrew letter ‘ayin at the end of a word, much as Cockneys drop “h” at the beginning. That is, instead of saying “Ye-shoo-ah” they said “Yehshoo.” Undoubtedly some people began spelling the name according to this pronunciation.

However, that is not the end of the story. In Jewish anti-Christian polemic it became customary not to use Yeshua’s correct name but intentionally and consciously to use the distortion “Yeshu,” because at some point someone realized that “Yeshu” is also an acronym consisting of the first letters of the Hebrew insult, “Yimach sh’mo v’zikhro” (“May his name and memory be blotted out”; the words adapt and expand the last phrase of Psalm 109:13). Thus “Yeshu” was a kind of coded incantation against Christian evangelism. Moreover, since Yeshua came to be regarded in nonMessianic Judaism as a false prophet, blasphemer and idolater wrongly being worshipped as God, and since the Torah says, “You shall not even pronounce the names of their gods” (Exodus 3:13 [sic]), the Messiah’s name was purposely mispronounced. Today most Israelis saying “Yeshu” suppose this is the man’s correct name and intend no disparagement. The JNT avoids “Yeshu” because of its history and also because in Hebrew it, like “Jesus” in English, carries the valence of “the god the Gentiles worship.”

But Yosef Vaktor (see 10:37N) reinterprets the acronym to praise Yeshua, “Yitgadal sh’mo umalkhutol” (“May his name and kingdom be magnified!”)

22 To fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet. The New Covenant consistently presents itself as fulfilling prophecies and promises made by God in the Tanakh. Such conformity to statements and predictions made hundreds of years earlier, in defiance of all reasonable probabilities, proves beyond reasonable doubt that God “knows the end from the beginning.” Moreover, in this case, it proves beyond reasonable doubt that Yeshua is the Messiah. Prophecy fulfillment is the chief rational reason, based on empirical observation of historical events — that is, based on facts — for Jews and others to accept Yeshua as the Messiah.

There have been more than fifty messianic pretenders in the last two thousand years of Jewish history, starting with Todah (Theudas) and Judah HaG’lili (Ac 5:36–37&NN), continuing with Shim’on Bar-Kosiba (died 135 C.E.), whom Rabbi Akiva recognized as the Messiah by changing his name to “Bar-Kochva” (“son of a star”; see 2 Ke 1:19N on “the Morning Star”), and culminating in Shabtai Tzvi (1626–1676), who became a Moslem, and Jacob Frank (1726–1791), who became a Roman Catholic. But none of them met the criteria laid down in the Tanakh concerning the identity of the Messiah; whereas Yeshua met all of them that are applicable to his first coming (these fulfilled prophecies are listed in 26:24N and in Section VII of the Introduction to the JNT). Of the four gospel writers Mattityahu especially concerns himself with pointing out these fulfillments (see 2:5, 15, 17; 3:3; 4:14; 8:17; 11:10; 12:17; 13:14, 35; 21:4; 22:43; 26:31; 27:9). His object is to demonstrate that Yeshua should be recognized as the Messiah because he fulfilled what Adonai said about the Messiah through the prophets of the Tanakh.

What Adonai had said through the prophet. On this phrase see 2:15N, third-from-last paragraph.

23 The virgin will conceive and bear a son. This verse introduces a major controversy concerning the use of the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament. Following are three objections which non-Messianic Jews and other skeptics often make to Mattityahu’s quoting Isaiah 7:14b in this verse, along with Messianic Jewish replies.

(1) Objection: A virgin birth is impossible.

Reply: In liberal scholarship miracles are characteristically explained away as natural phenomena in disguise. One might pursue this line here by pointing to observed instances of parthenogenesis in the animal kingdom or modern cloning experiments. But there is no instance of human parthenogenesis. Therefore one must regard a virgin birth as supernatural.

Usually objection to a virgin birth as impossible follows as a logical consequence of objecting to any and all supernaturalism. But the God of the Bible is literally “supernatural,” above nature, since he created nature and its laws. Therefore, if it suits his purpose he can suspend those laws. The Bible in both the Tanakh and the New Testament teaches repeatedly that God does intervene in human history and does sometimes overrule the natural course of events for his own reasons.

Frequently his reason, as in this instance, is to give humanity a sign of his sovereignty, presence and concern. In fact, Isaiah 7:14a, immediately preceding the portion quoted, reads, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.” The Hebrew word for sign (“’ot”) means an extraordinary event that demonstrates and calls attention to God’s direct involvement in human affairs. The “God” of Deism, pictured as starting the universe like a man winding a watch and leaving it to run by itself, is not the God of the Bible.

(2) Objection: Isaiah, in using the Hebrew word “‘almah” was referring to a “young woman”; had he meant “virgin” he would have written “b’tulah.”

Reply: “‘Almah” is used seven times in the Hebrew Bible, and in each instance it either explicitly means a virgin or implies it, because in the Bible “‘almah” always refers to an unmarried woman of good reputation. In Genesis 24:43 it applies to Rebecca, Isaac’s future bride, already spoken of in Genesis 24:16 as a b’tulah. In Exodus 2:8 it describes the infant Moshe’s older sister Miryam, a nine-year-old girl and surely a virgin. (Thus the name of Yeshua’s mother recalls this earlier virgin.) The other references are to young maidens playing on timbrels (Psalm 68:25), maidens being courted (Proverbs 30:19) and virgins of the royal court (Song of Songs 1:3, 6:8). In each case the context requires a young unmarried woman of good reputation, i.e., a virgin.

Moreover, Mattityahu here is quoting from the Septuagint, the first translation of the Tanakh into Greek. More than two centuries before Yeshua was born, the Jewish translators of the Septuagint chose the Greek word “parthenos” to render “‘almah.” “Parthenos” unequivocally means “virgin.” This was long before the New Testament made the matter controversial.

The most famous medieval Jewish Bible commentator, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (“Rashi,” 1040–1105), who determinedly opposed Christological interpretation of the Tanakh, nevertheless explained that in Song of Songs 1:3 “‘alamot” (plural of “‘almah”) means “b ‘tulot” (“virgins”) and refers metaphorically to the nations.

Victor Buksbazen, a Hebrew Christian, in his commentary The Prophet Isaiah, quoted Rashi as writing that in Isaiah 7:14 “‘almah” means “virgin.” In the first four editions of the Jewish New Testament Commentary I cited this Rashi. It has been pointed out to me that Rashi did not write what I represented him as having written, so I have removed the citation from the main body of the JNTC and herewith apologize for not checking the original source. For more details, see Appendix, p. 929.

Also, in earlier editions, I referred to a 1953 article in the Journal of Bible and Religion, in which the Jewish scholar Cyrus Gordon held that cognate languages support translating “‘almah” in Isaiah 7:14 as “virgin.” However, Michael Brown, a Messianic Jewish scholar with a Ph.D. in Semitics, informs me that Gordon’s observations were based on an early incorrect reading of a key Ugaritic text. In this case, my error stemmed from unfamiliarity with recent scholarship.

However, the Bible itself shows us how we can know when an ‘almah is a virgin. Rivkah is called an ‘almah at Genesis 24:43, but it can be deduced from Genesis 24:16 (“Neither had any man known her”) that she was a virgin. In the same way, we know that the ‘almah Miryam was a virgin from Lk 1:34, where she asks the angel how she can be pregnant, “since I am a virgin?” A possible reason for Isaiah’s using the word “‘almah” instead of b’tulah is that in Biblical (as opposed to later) Hebrew, “b’tulah” does not always unambiguously mean “virgin,” as we learn from Joel 1:8: “Lament like a b’tulah girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” Deuteronomy 22:19 speaks of a woman after her wedding night as a b’tulah.

(3) Objection: In Isaiah the context (vv. 10–17) shows that Isaiah was predicting as a sign to King Achaz that before the ‘almah’s as yet unconceived and unborn child would be old enough to choose good and refuse evil, Syria and the Northern Kingdom would lose their kings, and Assyria would attack Judah. This prophecy was fulfilled in the eighth century B.C.E. Therefore the prophet was not predicting an event some 700 years in the future.

Reply (for which I am grateful to the Jewish believer Arnold Fruchtenbaum): On the contrary, the context, which includes all of Isaiah 7, not just eight verses, shows that the “sign” of v. 14 was not for King Achaz, who is referred to as “you” (singular) in vv. 11 and 16–17, but for the entire “House of David,” mentioned in v. 13, and referred to as “you” (plural) in vv. 13–14.

The sign for Achaz was that before the na‘ar (“child,” at least a toddler, never a newborn baby) should know how to choose good and refuse evil, the events of vv. 16b–17 would occur. That child was Isaiah’s son Sh’ar-Yashuv (v. 3), who was with him as he prophesied and at whom he was probably pointing, not the son (Hebrew ben) of v. 14. This leaves v. 14 to provide a sign to the whole House of David, including all the descendants of David from that time onward until the prophecy should be fulfilled — which it was by Yeshua’s virgin birth.

Occasionally persons unacquainted with Christian tradition, specifically Roman Catholic tradition, confuse the term “virgin birth” with “immaculate conception.” The virgin birth of Yeshua — his being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit of God in Miryam before she had ever had sexual contact — is accepted by all Bible-believing Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians. The immaculate conception, the Roman Catholic doctrine (first taught by the Church Fathers) that Miryam herself was sinlessly conceived, is not accepted by Protestants because the New Testament makes no mention of it.

Immanu’el is the name given to the Messiah at Isaiah 7:14, 8:8. As Mattityahu himself explains, it means “God is with us” which is how Hebrew immanu El is translated at Isaiah 8:10. However, Yeshua was not known by that name during his life on earth; rather, the name gives a hint (remez; see 2:15N) at who he is by describing him: he is God-with-us. God’s people experience the final fulfillment at Rv 21:3, where in the new heavens and new earth “God-with-them” dwells among them.

In the Tanakh names frequently describe an aspect of the person named. In fact the Tanakh uses several names to refer to the Messiah, including “Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10), “Branch” (Isaiah 11:1), “Sprout” (Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15), and the longest, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:5–6(6–7)). All describe the Messiah, yet he was known by just one name, Yeshua. (Pp. 36-42)

And:

APPENDIX

The following paragraphs, added since the first printing in 1992, are too long for inclusion in the main body of the commentary.

Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:23 (see pp. 6–8). As I said at the top of page 7, I am embarrassed by a mistake uncorrected in the first four editions of this Commentary, in which I misquoted Rashi as having written:

“‘Behold, the ‘almah shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanu’el.’ This means that our creator will be with us. And this is the sign: the one who will conceive is a girl (na‘arah) who never in her life has had intercourse with any man. Upon this one shall the Holy Spirit have power.”

What happened is that I relied on the commentary The Prophet Isaiah, written by the Hebrew Christian Victor Buksbazen (The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971). I assumed that in his remarks on Isaiah 7:14 (page 150) he had given an accurate translation of Rashi’s comment, and that he correctly cited Mikra’ot G’dolot as the source. (Mikra’ot G’dolot is considered the definitive edition of the Masoretic text of the Tanakh; it was published together with a collection of commentaries thereon, Rashi’s among them, by Daniel Bomberg in 1525.)

In fact, the Hebrew text of Rashi as it appears in Mikra’ot G’dolot says something quite different and far less supportive of the case I am making that in Isaiah 7:14 “‘almah” means “virgin.” Following is a literal translation of Rashi’s remarks in Mikra’ot G’dolot.

Isaiah: God gives you (plural) a sign.

Rashi: He gives it to you (plural) by himself upon you against your will. Isaiah: Pregnant. Rashi: In the future she will be like we found with Manoach’s wife, that was spoken to her by the angel and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and it was written, and he will say to her; here you are pregnant, etc.

Isaiah: The young girl [‘almah].

Rashi: My wife pregnant this year? and it will be the fourth year of King Achaz?

Isaiah: And she will call his name.

Rashi: The Holy Spirit will descend upon her.

Isaiah: Immanu’el.

Rashi: This will be to say that God is with us. And this is the sign that after the na‘arah who will have never prophesied in all her life and with him (the son) will come the Holy Spirit. And that has been said in [Talmud tractate] Sotah, “and he will draw near to the prophetess,” etc. We never find a prophet’s wife is called a prophetess unless she prophesied. And there are some who understand this to be referring to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah). But this is impossible. After you count the years you will find that Chizkiyahu would have been born nine years before his father’s kingship began. And there are some who interpret this to mean that this is the sign, that she was an ‘almah for whom it was not appropriate that she give birth — or, with Hebrew r’uyah translated differently, the ‘almah was not suited to giving birth, i.e., she was too young.

Contrary to Buksbazen’s citation, Rashi never explicitly says that the na‘arah has never in her life had intercourse with any man (i.e.: is a virgin). Rather, he simply defines the ‘almah as a na‘arah and then says that some interpret this to mean either that it was improper for her to give birth (presumably because she was unmarried, in which case what would be proper is that she would be a virgin) or that she was too young to be physically capable of giving birth (in which case, unless she had been abused, she would be a virgin). I regret misrepresenting Rashi. Nevertheless, even without the Rashi paragraph at the beginning of this note (at the top of page 7 in earlier editions), I believe the overall case I have made on pp. 6–8 for understanding the ‘almah of Isaiah 7:14 as a virgin remains convincing. (A friend says that Rashi did write the paragraph as quoted, but it is not in Mikra’ot G’dolot. However, until someone directs me to a genuine Rashi source for it, the matter remains as I have left it in this Appendix note.) (Pp. 1413-1415)

FURTHER READING

ISAIAH 7:1-16: IMMANUEL HAS COME!

Isaiah 7:14: Of whom does this prophecy speak?

The Virgin has Conceived and God is Now With Us!

Response To Jim Lippard’s The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah

Letters to Rabbi Cohen Concerning Messiah

The Scriptures distinguish the true God from the other so-called gods by identifying him as the God of the Patriarchs, i.e., the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sacred writings further do so by referring to him as the God of Israel:

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abi′hu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” Exodus 24:9-11

“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:31-32

“His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he remained in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to Israel.” Luke 1:67-80

“Jesus departed from there, and passed by the Sea of Galilee, and went up on a mountain and sat down there. Great crowds came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and placed them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them, so that the crowds wondered when they saw the mute speak, the maimed made whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:29-31

“The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.” Acts 5:30

“who found favor in the sight of God and asked leave to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.” Acts 7:46

“The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.” Acts 13:17

“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth;’” Acts 22:14

“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets,” Acts 24:14

The inspired New Testament writings affirm that this is the very same God who glorified his Son Jesus by raising him from the dead to physically sit enthroned alongside of him in heaven as Lord over all creation.

Subsequent to Christ’s post-resurrection exaltation, this same God is now identified as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” 2 Corinthians 1:3

“that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:6

“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for ever, knows that I do not lie.” 2 Corinthians 11:31  

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,” Ephesians 1:3, 17

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” Colossians 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3

Hence, the God of the Patriarchs, the God of Jacob/Israel is now known as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason is because the NT proclaims that Jesus is the promised Seed of Abraham, being the one true Israel who makes all who believe and are baptized into him the spiritual offspring of the Patriarch:     

Moreover, this same God had sent Jesus for the express purpose of fulfilling the promise to Abraham that through his Seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, beginning with Israel:

“As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the entrance that is called Solomon’s Porch, greatly amazed. When Peter saw it, he answered the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Or why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Creator of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in your presence. Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold through all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the One who previously was preached to you, Jesus Christ, whom the heavens must receive until the time of restoring what God spoke through all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses indeed said to the fathers, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall hear whatever He may say to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly eliminated from the people.” Indeed, all the prophets since Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities.’” Acts 3:11-26 Modern English Version (MEV)

The context shows that this Seed who blesses the world is none other than Christ, a point reiterated by the Apostle Paul:

“Thus Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.’… To give a human example, brethren: no one annuls even a man’s will, or adds to it, once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many; but, referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ which is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise… for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3:6-9, 15-18, 26-29

As such, the God of Israel is now said to be the God of both Jews and Gentiles,

“Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,” Romans 3:29

Since in Christ Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles who trust in him are made into one Man, resulting in the Gentiles becoming partakers of the commonwealth of Israel:

“So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:26-29

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now IN Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

In other words, the Israel of God is Jesus and everyone who has been baptized into him, whether Jew or Gentile.

This is why the one true God of the Patriarchs is now to be identified in relationship to Christ. I.e., the God of Israel has forever become the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, since God’s Incarnate Son has become true Israel!

GOD BECOMES A PHYSICAL JEW!

Now to balance things out it is vitally important to emphasize that the divinely inspired Scriptures also proclaim that Jesus, while personally distinguished from God the Father, is himself truly divine since he is fully God in nature.

Here is a sampling of texts where Jesus is described as God in the absolute sense of being the Creator and Sustainer of all creation, and the divine Savior who became flesh for the express purpose of offering his life as a sacrifice for the atonement of sins.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (El Gibbor), Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 – Cf. 10:20-21; Deut. 10:17; Neh. 9:32; Ps. 24:8; Jer. 32:18

“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 fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el’ (which means, God [ho theos] with us).” Matthew 1:21-23 – Cf. Ps. 130:3-4, 7-8

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men… The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

“John begins by giving his Gospel a theological background. By speaking at once of ‘the Word’ he implies that his readers are familiar with the term. To Gentiles it indicated some form of divine revelation or self-expression. Jews would equate it with the divine Wisdom described in Proverbs, which already appears as something more than a divine quality and has some relationship with the visible world. In Sirach and Wisdom the idea is further developed. In the last-named book, Wisdom appears as a pre-existing person, taking part in the creation of the world and having a mission to reveal God to his creatures; cf. Wis 7.22–8.1.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14 – Cf. Gen. 1:1-5; 2:1-7; Pss. 36:9; 27:1; 104:2; Isa. 37:14-20; 40:25-28; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12, 18; 48:12-13; Jer. 10:10-12  

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’” John 20:24-29 – Ps. 35:23

“Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God (tou kyriou kai theou) which he purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28 World English Bible (WEB)

“They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 New International Version (NIV) – Cf. Isa. 45:18-23; John 5:22-23; Rev. 5:8-14; 7:9-17

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He IS before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:13-18 MEV

“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Colossians 2:8-10

“awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesous Christou), who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Titus 2:13-14

“But of the Son he says, ‘Thy throne, O God (ho theos), is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.’ And, ‘Thou, Lord (the Son), didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:8-12 – Cf. Ps. 102:1, 12, 24-27

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou)… so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1, 11

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God (kyrios ho theos), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Per′gamum and to Thyati′ra and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to La-odice′a.’ Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I DIED, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” Revelation 1:7-18 – Cf. 10:1-6; 14:14-16; Isa. 6:1-8; 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Ezek. 1:24-28; 8:1-4; 43:1-9; 2:1-10; Dan. 7:9-10, 13-14; 10:1-6; Matt. 17:1-2

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’ He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20 – Cf. 2:18-23; Matt. 16:27; 25:31-46; 26:1-2; Ps. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Isa. 40:10; 62:11; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 29:23

Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE).

St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote the following in respect to the risen Christ:

“How beautiful you appear to the angels, Lord Jesus, in the form of God, eternal, begotten before the daystar amid the splendors of heaven, ‘the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature,’ the unchanging and untarnished brightness of eternal life? How beautiful you are to me, my Lord, even in the very discarding of your beauty!” (On the Song of Songs, II, Sermon 45, trans. Killian Walsh, Cistercian Fathers Series 7 [Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1976], p. 239)

St. Bernard was echoing specific biblical depictions of our gloriously beautiful Lord Jesus, some of which include:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7

2.6 in the form of God: The Greek shows that divine attributes, and therefore nature, are implied here. It is not the divine nature he set no store by, but equality of treatment and recognition of his divinity.

2.7 emptied himself of this external recognition, which was his right. Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Another inspired text clearly referenced in the aforementioned praise of Christ is this one:

A psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord:^[b] “Sit at my right hand until I have made your enemies a footstool for you.” The Lord will stretch forth from Zion your scepter of power.^[c] The Lord says: “Rule in the midst of your enemies!^[d] Yours is royal dignity in the day of your birth; in holy splendor, before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”^[e]

a. Psalm 110:1 These few surprising verses (which comprise essentially two oracles) became the supreme Messianic psalm in both the Jewish and the Christian traditions. It was so much used and adapted down the centuries before becoming part of the Psalter that it is difficult to reconstruct completely the original text. In its oldest version it certainly goes back to the earliest times of the monarchy.

The psalm was subsequently revised, perhaps on various occasions; the song no longer refers to the kings who are passing away but to the Messiah who is to come at the end of the earthly time and restore everything in the name of God. He will be of royal birth (see 2 Sam 7:16) and will be charged with judging the nations and ruling over the entire world. He will not be counted among the princes of the nations, who have their power from human beings, for God himself will invest him as everlasting King and Priest, as is shown by the parallel with the mysterious Melchizedek, priest and king of Salem, whose earthly ancestry no one knows (see Gen 14:18; Heb 7:3).

Jesus, who claims to be the Christ, that is, the Messiah, and Son of God, fulfills the promise given in this psalm, as he hints to the Pharisees (see Mt 22:42-45; 26:64); the apostles are inspired by this passage to proclaim the glory of the risen Christ, Lord of the universe (see Mk 16:19; Acts 2:33-35; Rom 8:34; 1 Cor 15:25-28; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 10:12f; 1 Pet 3:22). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews finds in this psalm the proof that Christ is superior to the priests of the Old Testament and that he alone is the Savior of humankind (Heb 7).

b. Psalm 110:1 The first oracle (vv. 1-3) establishes God’s anointed as his regent over all (see Ps 2:7-12). The Lord says to my Lord: a polite form of address from an inferior to a superior (see 1 Sam 25:25; 2 Sam 1:10). By the word “Lord,” the court singer is referring to the king. Jesus, in interpreting this psalm, takes the psalmist to be David, who was acknowledged by all to be referring to the Messiah. Hence, the Messiah must be David’s superior and not merely his son or descendant (see Mt 22:41-46 par). Right hand: the place of honor beside a king (see Ps 45:10; 1 Ki 2:19), in this case making the Messiah second to God himself (see Mt 26:64; Mk 14:62; 16:19; Lk 22:69; Acts 2:33; 5:31; 7:55f; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). Footstool for you: there are secular texts and illustrations as well as biblical texts depicting ancient kings placing their feet on those they had conquered (see Jos 10:24; Dan 7:14). The author of 2 Chronicles (2 Chr 9:18) indicates that a footstool was part of the king’s throne. Paul made use of this text to show that God has placed everything under Christ’s feet (Eph 1:22), including his enemies (1 Cor 15:25; Heb 10:12f).

c. Psalm 110:2 The Lord will expand the Messiah’s reign to the extent that no foe will remain to oppose his rule (see Pss 2:6; 45:7; 72:8).

d. Psalm 110:2 The Messiah is the Lord’s regent over his emerging kingdom.

e. Psalm 110:3 Yours is royal dignity . . . I have begotten you: this is the usual Catholic translation and comes from the revised Latin Vulgate, which is based on the ancient versions. The current Hebrew is obscure and seems to be corrupt. Before the daystar: when the sun had not yet been created, i.e., from all eternity. Like the dew: in a secret, mysterious manner. Hence, the Messiah and Son of God existed before the dawn of creation in eternity.

The Hebrew is translated as follows: “Your people will volunteer freely / on your day of battle. / In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn / the dew of your youth is yours.” It refers to numerous royal troops at the Messiah’s command. The people come voluntarily on the day of battle, as in the days of Deborah (see Jdg 5:2, 9). They consecrate themselves, are fully prepared, and place themselves at his service. They will be as abundant as the dew at dawn. The image is close to those of Paul about “living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1) or a life poured out like a “libation” (Phil 2:17). It should be noted that, even not considering the linguistic difficulties that argue against this reading and the fact that the Septuagint of pre-Christian times already confirms the text of the Vulgate, the Hebrew reading does not fit the great theme of the psalm as well as the Latin translation does. Every connection with the central thought that speaks of the royal and priestly dignity of Melchizedek is missing.

f. Psalm 110:4 The prophet-psalmist pronounces a second divine oracle, guaranteed by an oath. The Lord makes his king his chief priest for life, according to the order and image of Melchizedek. There are three main points of resemblance between Melchizedek and Christ. Both are kings as well as priests, both offer bread and wine to God, and both have their priesthood directly from God (see Gen 14:18; Heb 7). For a prophetic vision of the glorious union of the Messiah-Priest, see Zec 6:13; for the New Testament application, see Heb 5:6-10; 7:22. Forever: perhaps alluded to in Jn 12:34. New Catholic Bible (NCB)

NCB is based on the Latin translation of the Holy Bible, first produced by St. Jerome, which is typically known as the Vulgate.

The following is another English rendering of the Latin Vulgate:

“With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot thee.” Psalm 109:3 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

And here’s how Psalm 110:3 was translated in some of the other languages from very early on, specifically the Greek and Syriac:

“The Lord said to my lord (Eipen ho Kyrios to Kyrio mou), ‘Sit on my right until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ A rod of your power the Lord will send out from Sion. And exercise dominion in the midst of your enemies! With you is rule on a day of your power among the splendors of the holy ones. From the womb, before Morning-star, I brought you forth (egennesa se).” Psalm 109:1-3 (A New English Translation of the Septuagint, p. 603)

“Your people are glorious in the day of power; in the glories of holiness from the womb, from the first, I have begotten you, Son.” Psalm 110:3 Peshitta Holy Bible Translation (PHBT https://biblehub.com/hpbt/psalms/110.htm)

Here’s one final text which St. Bernard alluded to:

“And now in these last days, God has spoken to us again through his Son. He made the whole world through his Son. And he has chosen his Son to have all things. The Son shows the glory of God. He is a perfect copy of God’s nature, and he holds everything together by his powerful command. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than any of their names.” Hebrews 1:2-4 Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

And here’s another English translation of the particular verse, which St. Bernard clearly had in mind:

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Hebrews 1:3 English Standard Version (ESV)