2 Nephi 17:14-16

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 17:14-16

14 Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign—Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Quotes for Discussion

Immanuel means “God is with us”

This sign was given to the Old Testament King Ahaz, encouraging him to take his strength from the Lord rather than military might of Damascus, Samaria, or other militant camps. Ahaz was slow to hear that counsel, but the Lord gave it anyway, declaring one of the signs to be a virgin’s conception and birth of a son whose name would be called Immanuel.

There are plural or parallel elements to this prophecy, as with so much of Isaiah’s writing. The most immediate meaning was probably focused on Isaiah’s wife, a pure and good woman who brought forth a son about this time, the child becoming a type and shadow of the greater, later fulfillment of the prophecy that would be realized in the birth of Jesus Christ. The symbolism in the dual prophecy acquires additional importance when we realize that Isaiah’s wife may have been of royal blood, and therefore her son would have been royalty of the line of David. Here again is a type, a prefiguration of the greater Immanuel, Jesus Christ, the ultimate son of David, the royal King who would be born of a literal virgin. Indeed, his title Immanuel would be carried forward to the latter days, being applied to the Savior in section 128, verse 22 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 79

Within the prophetic context, any act of divine deliverance foreshadows God’s ultimate deliverance—salvation. Therefore, there should be no problem in seeing how God used the birth of a baby in Isaiah’s time to foretell deliverance for that generation, while focusing attention on the birth of another baby, through whom all the world will be delivered (Isa. 9:6). And Isaiah himself was chosen by the Lord to be the father, just as the faithful witness recorded (Isa. 8:1-3, 18). How honored Isaiah must have felt when his own son was called to typify the birth of God’s own Son….Indeed, the Lord’s message of deliverance is contained in their names: “Isaiah,” Hebrew yesa’yahu, means “Jehovah saves.” “Maher-shalal-has-baz” (Isa. 8:1) represents an earthly deliverance that points to salvation, and “Shear-jashub” (Isa. 7:3) means “a remnant will return.”

Keith A. Meservy, Studies in Scripture. Vol. 4, Ed. Kent P. Jackson, [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1993], 97

Isaiah then gives a further prophecy that may be considered a continuation of the second one. “For behold the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings” (v. 16). While this has been the problem verse to many critics in relating the Immanuel prophecy to the life of Christ, the problem is resolved in the context of the historical situation. Isaiah had given a prophecy to all of Judah concerning the house of David. He now comes back to the situation at hand, the problem of Syria and Ephraim. Most critics have assumed that the child spoken of in verse 16 is the same child spoken of in verses 14 and 15. Could not the child in verse 16 be another child? Why was Isaiah told to take Shearjashub with him? Could the child not be Isaiah’s son who was with him? A child is accountable “when eight years old” in the eyes of the Lord (D&C 68:25). In his first eight years he is to learn to distinguish between good and evil. Therefore, Isaiah could have been prophesying that the kings of Syria and Ephraim were both going to be forsaken of their kings in less than eight years. This would be before Shearjashub was eight years old which would make it less than eight years. This prophecy was also fulfilled: Pekah was killed by the conspiracy of Hoshea about three years after Ahaz was appointed king (see 2 Kings 16:9). Thus within three years both of the kings Ahaz feared were removed, and the third prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. The age of Shearjashub is not given but considering that Isaiah’s children were given him “for sign and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 8:18). It is feasible that his son’s age fits this theory.

[Hemidakota]

You know, it is Nephi who witnessed Mary in a vision or dream and described her with one sentance. Yet, this information is not had in any other scripture.