“…Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.” (Isaiah 7:10–17)

The sign is that the virgin (עַלְמָ֗ה) shall conceive and bear a son, and she will name him “God with us.” And before the child “knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good,” the two threatening kings will be destroyed. Thus God’s promise will be fulfilled. However, there remains a downside to this sign as well: “The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

Many modern English translations render ʿalmâ as “virgin” (ESV, NASB, HCSB, NIV, etc.), while others use “young woman” or something similar. In Hebrew there is a word that would better denote virginity (בְּתוּלָה), as well as a word that would more clearly refer to a young woman (אִשָּׁה), so why this word in this context? John Oswalt, in his NICOT volume on Isaiah, is helpful on this point. He reminds us that it is “not possible to be dogmatic as to why Isaiah used the ambiguous ʿalmâ here instead of the unambiguous beṯûlâ.” He notes that the typical meaning prescribed to ʿalmâ is “a young woman of marriageable age,” (quite similar to the English “maiden”) “with the clear implication that the conception is a natural one” (Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, 211). As he is quick to point out, however, many conservative scholars demonstrate that the word is not used to reference a married woman in the Old Testament; thus it must refer to a “sexually mature, but unmarried, woman.” In the Hebrew culture, this would certainly also imply virginity.

Oswalt goes on to discuss the Septuagint translation of the word and a possible dual-focus. Such an understanding has the significant virtue of explaining the origin of the LXX parthénos, “virgin,”…Unless ʿalmâ had overtones of virginity about it, the LXX translation is inexplicable. . . .Possibly, then, it is the dual focus of the oracle that explains the use of ʿalmâ here. Could Isaiah have used עַלְמָה to allow for both an imminent fulfilment of the word by a “maiden” as well as a future and final fulfilment by a virgin?

“He shall shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows to choose evil and know the good” (Isaiah 7:15) Cannot apply to the child of Ahaz nor Isaiah, only Jesus!

Also the passage begins with “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” And when king Ahaz refuses to ask, replies “therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign”.  A woman giving birth is hardly an earth-shattering sign! (although the prophecy that came about about the dismantling of the Nothern Kingdom might be seen as a sign and the resulting relief of Israel as they had aligned with Aram against them).

When speaking of “prophetic fore-telling,” Blomberg, Klein, and Hubbard state that “an OT prophecy may have two fulfilments, one near the prophet’s lifetime, and one long past it” (Blomberg, Klein, & Hubbard, An Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 378). He cites 2 Samuel 7:12-16 as an example, with its immediate fulfilment in 1 Kings 1–2 in the coronation of Solomon.

However, Blomberg also points to Hebrews 1:5, which applies the prophecy of 2 Samuel to Jesus, not merely as David’s son, but as God’s. “Sound theology,” he posits, “undergirds the idea of such multiple fulfilments—belief that God rules all human history and can bring about both ‘sons.’” Another prophecy commonly seen as having a dual fulfilment occurs in Luke 21:5–9, where many scholars say Jesus predicts both the destruction of the temple in AD 70 and the end of the age, immediately prior to the parousia. Indeed, the Bible seems to be full of these sorts of prophecies.

…there are several possibilities of who this child may be…the most likely possibility is Isaiah’s own son, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. For in Isaiah 8:3–4, the prophetess conceives and bears a son, and “before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”. The name “Immanuel” is repeated in 8:8, but this could be God being addressed directly, as in 8:10 following. The son of Isaiah is seemingly not addressed directly here. In 8:18 Isaiah describes his two sons, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz and Shear-Jashub (cf. 7:3), as “signs and symbols in Israel,” which description ties back in with the sign God promised in 7:11, 14. Of course this is Isaiah’s own words here, and his interpretation of the sign in the immediate. But in 9:1–7 the more distant future is in view, as exiles are once again restored to Galilee. Here, in 9:6, another description of the birth of a wonderful child appears, one who can be called “Almighty God,” “Eternal Father,” and “Prince of Peace,” who will rule from David’s throne and establish universal justice forever—prophecies that scarcely could have been fulfilled in a mere earthly king… (Carson & Beale, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old, 5) …Like in Isaiah, the birth of Jesus was a sign of the destruction of an oppressing kingdom. “before the boy knows…” does not negate the prophecy, since indeed the kings were defeated “before” the time of Jesus anyway

“Immanuel” is never in use as a name among the Jews, this even though there are multiple “theophoric” names in use, incorporating the term “El” for God, this was not one of those, neither at the time nor at the time of Jesus.

Similar use of a title is in Jeremiah 23:5,6 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.”

Such a mystery can only be solved in Jesus. Prophecy is said to be fulfilled when the mysteries of old are answered, and not necessarily in the manner in which that fulfilment was expected or interpreted.

Further verses point to the true occurrence of “Immanuel” as an event:

“The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
   you shall fear disaster no more.
¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
   do not let your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ The Lord, your God, is in your midst…” Zephaniah 3:15-17

Isaiah 40:3-10, (fulfilled in Matthew 3:3)  A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; zthe uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Zecheriah 2:11″Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
    who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
    from ancient days.
³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has brought forth;
(Micah 5:2-3)