Matthew 1:20-23

1:20 When he had contemplated this, an ¹  angel of the Lord ²  appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ³  Jesus, ⁴  because he will save his people from their sins.” 1:22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him ⁵  Emmanuel,” ⁶  which means ⁷  “God with us.” ⁸ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[1:20]  ² tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[1:21]  ³ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:21]  ⁴ sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

[1:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “they will call his name.”

[1:23]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 7:14.

[1:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “is translated.”

[1:23]  ⁸ sn An allusion to Isa 8:8, 10 (LXX).