EMMANUEL or IMMANUEL, a Hebrew symbolical proper name meaning "God (is) with us." At a critical juncture the young King Ahaz of Judah was threatened in B.C. by a coalition of north Israel and Syria which aimed at forcing him into an anti-Assyrian alliance. Isaiah, knowing of the King's intention to appeal to Assyria, dramatically intervened to dissuade him, and offered him a sign from Yahweh (Is. vii. 14-16). The actual character and significance of the sign have been variously interpreted (see G. B. Gray ad loc.). Two main interpretations have emerged: (a) any young woman who should within the year bear a son, might call his name Immanuel in token of the divine protection accorded to Judah (a variation of this interprets the mother to be the community of Sion) ; (b) a very attractive view was put forward by Gressmann (Ursprung, 1905) who interpreted the passage in the light of ancient eschatological ideas. There was a widespread belief among the people that a wonderful child should be born in the hour of the nation's need who would act as a divine redeemer; the expectation was vague and undefined but well-known, and the prophet makes this idea definite by announcing the advent of the Deliverer. The name, which occurs also in Is. viii. 8, is applied to Christ in Matthew i. 23.