He also said: "Only over my dead body will his name be called
Immanuel!"
Joseph, who could read, had looked up the prophecy of Isaiah that Gabriel had quoted at him:
...his name shall be called Immanuel, and before he learns the difference between good and evil, Immanuel will glut himself on butter and honey ... In that day, the Lord will hiss for the fly ... and in every place where there are a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be left only briers and thorns. (Isaiah 7:14-25)
"Well,
there's a dandy prediction for you," said Joseph, somewhat bitterly, when he read that.
Joseph was superstitious about names: he knew that "Mary," in Hebrew, can mean only
Rebel or
Sea of bitterness, and he thought to himself:
How true! He knew also that "Joseph," in Hebrew, means
Yahveh does the adding, and he thought: "Worse and worse!"
"I would not name a Jewish mule
Immanuel," said Joseph. "Your son's name shall be called either
Joseph or
Jesus. Take your pick."
Mary preferred
Jesus, which in those days was a popular Jewish boy's name, and it was not considered especially Hispanic.
"Jesus it is, then," said Joseph. "And if your angel-friend, Gabriel, doesn't like it, he can go [ – ]." Joseph here made the irreverent suggestion that Gabriel could do something that is not anatomically possible, not even for an archangel. Mary said that such talk was inappropriate, even in a stable.
Joseph apologised.
I actually had a hard time getting used to calling the Son of God "Jesus," but I would not have liked "Immanuel," either. Back in my prehistoric days as a heavenly choirboy, Dad always called the second person of the Trinity, "Ben," which is a Hebrew word meaning
Son. But when Ben came down to Earth, Joseph and Mary had good instincts in naming him "Jesus." For one thing, you cannot make a nickname out of it. Even Yahveh later conceded that "Jesus" was a better call than either "Ben" or "Immanuel." A Messiah whom everyone called "Benny Christ" or "Manny of Nazareth" would not have caught on. But "Jesus" was perfect.
– L.
