The prophecy of Isaiah 7 must be one of the most famous in the Old Testament. “The maiden is with child, and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel.” St Matthew tells us, in his narration of the annunciation to St Joseph, that “all of this took place to fulfil” this prophecy – the first of many times when Matthew makes it explicit that the life and works of Jesus are the fulfilment of the prophecies of old. Indeed, he relates how Jesus himself says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17).