9.
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah vii, 14).
This is cited as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. The only thing in it suggestive of the story of Jesus is the word “virgin.” The word thus translated, however, does not necessarily mean virgin in the common acceptation of this term, but simply “young woman,” either married or single. Correct this error and the text reads: “Behold, a young woman shall conceive, and bear a son.” All that is suggestive of the miraculous conception vanishes. But this is not the only error. The forms of the verbs have been changed. The passage should read as follows: “Behold, a young woman is with child and beareth a son.” The woman was with child when the prophet wrote. This precludes the possibility of a reference to Jesus Christ. Not only this, the context utterly forbids it. All the events named by the prophet, including the birth of this child, occurred more than seven hundred years before Christ.
Michaelis rejects this prophecy. He says: “I cannot be persuaded that the famous prophecy in Isaiah (chap. vii, 14) has the least reference to the Messiah.”