And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the LORD to me,
Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 8:3 Go To Isaiah 8
John Chrysostom
AD 407
How was it, then, one may say, that his name was not called Emmanuel but Jesus Christ? Because he did not say “you shall call” but “they shall call,” that is, the multitude and the issue of events. For here he uses an event (i.e., God being “with us”) as a name; and this is customary in Scripture, to substitute the events that take place for names. Therefore, to say, “they shall call” him “Emmanuel” means nothing else than that they shall see God among humanity. For he has always been among them, but never so manifestly.
