"I confess sincerely," Isaac suddenly began to say, "that I doubt it. Neither the rabbis nor the Talmud satisfy me properly, it's true... However, what can I say? I need enlightenment from God.

"If you sincerely want to know the truth, brother Isaac, the Lord will enlighten you. Ask for it humbly in simplicity of heart, and it will be given to you. For in the Gospel the Messiah-Christ says: "No one comes to Me except the Father draws him." (The Gospel of John, Chapter 6, verse 44).

"My doubts are in the 3rd verse of the 8th chapter of the prophet Isaiah," said Isaac. And taking the Hebrew text of the Holy Scriptures, he began to translate the following: "And I came to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son"...

"This," cried Isaac, "this Son, this Lad... Then I said to him: "Let's finish reading the entire 3rd verse and then draw conclusions." So, continuing the reading, Isaac began to translate: "And the Lord said to me, Call his name Maher-shelal-hash-baz."

- What is the name of the Boy of Isaiah? I asked Isaac again.

"Maher-shelal-hash-baz," he answered.

"Who gave him, who gave him his name?" I asked him again.

"His father, Isaiah," said Isaac.

"Read, read, please, verse 14 of the 7th chapter," I asked him.

Isaac read the following in Hebrew: "... Hinne ha alma hara, vayoleget ben ve karat shemo Immanuel," and translated: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means: "God is with us").

"Do not forget also," I emphasized to him, "that it is said before this verse: 'Therefore the Lord himself desires to give you a sign.' And now judge for yourself. The son of Isaiah is called Maher-shelal-hash-baz, and the son of the Virgin is called Emmanuel. The first is born of a prophetess, the wife of Isaiah, i.e. a married woman, while the second, i.e. Emmanuel, is born of a virgin. You see that mothers are completely different, and also children have completely different names! There is no resemblance between a married prophetess and a Virgin... And here is what else is worthy of special note. Since Ahaz, because of unbelief, refuses to ask God for a sign in depth or in height, the Lord Himself, by His Grace alone, desires to give a sign - the only one, strange and supernatural! - namely, the condescension of God to man and the elevation of man to God. And truly, as the Gospel of John relates: "And the Word was made flesh" (ch. 1:14). This is more concisely expressed by Emmanuel, which precisely means: "God is with us." (Im-anu-el. Im = s, anu = us, El = God). "That is, God became man," or, in one word, the God-man, as our Orthodox Church of Christ understands it. This is a Divine sign: the union of God with man, while the natural birth of the son of Isaiah is by no means a sign.

What does Alma mean?

"Oh, at last I am beginning to understand!" cried Isaac, "but I am still troubled by some doubts. Let's clarify the text of the prophet once again. What does verse 14 in chapter 7 proclaim? And when he opened it, he read: "Lachen giten Adonagi hu lahem od Hinne a alma hara, vagiodet ben ve karat shemo Immanuel," and translated: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin (Alma) shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel."