Isaiah 7:15

Study this passage in depth Isaiah 7:14 — the Virgin Birth →

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe Child of 7:14 is Immanuel, 'God with us.' Verse 15 says He will eat a child's food and come to know to refuse the evil and choose the good. That is the language of a real childhood. God did not put on the appearance of a grown man. He was born, fed and raised, and He 'increased in wisdom and stature' (Luke 2:52). The Spirit was in Him without measure (John 3:34), and yet the man learned as a man learns (Heb. 5:8). Immanuel and the child who grew are one Person: God manifest in a real human life (1 Tim. 3:16).

JewishPart of the sign to Ahaz: before the child can tell good from evil, the two kings Ahaz fears will be gone (7:16). Read of a child born in Ahaz's own day.

CatholicRead with 7:14 of Christ, who had a true human childhood. Irenaeus took the eating of butter and honey as a sign that He was truly man (Against Heresies 3.21.4).

ProtestantMost read it with 7:14. The child grows up in humble conditions, eating the food of a land laid waste (7:21-22).

OrthodoxThe true humanity of Immanuel: He grew as a child and remained God.

DispensationalA near sign for Ahaz, whose full meaning is in Christ's virgin birth and growth.

Academic'Curds and honey' is either the diet of a devastated land (7:21-22) or a sign of plenty. The clause dates the sign: before the child reaches moral discernment, Syria and Israel will fall (7:16), as they did in 732-722 BC.