Matthew 1:23
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel," which is, being interpreted, "God with us."
Interpretation
Jesus teaches a god with us that is worked out in concrete decisions in Matthew 1:23—look for "behold" and "virgin". Choose god with us in prayers we actually pray—brighten hope by remembering.
Context
Matthew speaks here as gospel narrative writing, developing god with us. Read in Matthew 1, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “behold” alongside “virgin”.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in more than 5,800 manuscripts, exceeding other ancient writings in manuscript count. 2nd-3rd century papyri like P46, P66, P75 provide text roughly 100-150 years after composition. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the best reflects the earliest recoverable text reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46