“Prophets, Prophecies, and Their Fulfilment“
I’ve been thinking for a long time that I want to understand the Prophets better — their role in the Jewish Hebrew Bible, their place in the Christian Old Testament, and even how they appear in New Testament stories about the life of Jesus. But when I look at how the Prophets are shown in art, it’s not so easy. They usually look like wise old men, deep in thought, sometimes holding a book or mostly a scroll — probably because back in the time they lived, around 600–900 BC, there were no books yet, only scrolls for writing. Without a name or a clear symbol, it’s almost impossible to tell one Prophet from another. Maybe that’s why artists who painted or engraved series of Prophets often made sure to write their names somewhere. Otherwise, they would just be a group of thoughtful old men.
How to get to know these Prophets, beyond just their faces and names?
Let’s start with Isaiah and Jeremiah, who (together with Ezekiel and Daniel) are considered the Major Prophets. The term “major” here refers not so much to their importance over others, but more to the length of their prophetic books, which are part of both the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Hebrew Bible.
from the series Icones Prophetarurm Veteris Testamenti or Portraits of Old Testament Prophets (c.1620), Engraving by Cornelis Galle (1576 – 1650), after design by Jan van der Straat (1523 – 1605), 17x13cm, British Museum, London.
The Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah (sometimes as Jesaiah or Jesaja) prophesied during a time of great political upheaval, in the 7th Century BC, and is known for his peace predicting visions. He is considered as the author of the Bible book named after him. Besides messages of hope and peace, the later chapters are often interpreted as Messianic, meaning that Isaiah announced the arrival of a world-peace keeper, to be interpreted as a new king in his own days, or interpreted by Christians as the arrival of Jesus.
Isaiah 7:14 and Its Different Interpretations.
Immanuel or Jesus?
The prophet Isaiah says in his Bible book in verse 7:14: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” How to interpret this from a Christian point of view? “Immanuel” means “God with us” in Hebrew. Isaiah’s prophecy seems to say that the child will be called that name. But when Jesus is born, he is named Jesus (from Hebrew Yeshua, meaning “The Lord saves”), not Immanuel. Why? The evangelist Matthew, who writes about Jesus’ life in his book in the New Testament, explicitly connects “Jesus” with “Immanuel”. In Matthew 1:22–23, where Matthew writes about the birth of Jesus, he says that Jesus’ birth fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of 600 years earlier, as Matthew clearly sees Jesus as embodying God is with us (which is the meaning of the name Immanuel) even though his personal name is Jesus. Name problem solved, according to Matthew
Virgin or Not-a-Virgin?
Now about Isaiah’s use of the word “virgin”. In the original Hebrew Bible, the verse says that an “almah” — a young woman — will conceive and bear a son. The Hebrew word “almah” simply means a young woman of marriageable age; it does not specifically mean virgin. If Isaiah had intended to stress virginity, he would have used a more virgin-specific word. Several centuries before Christ, Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. In their translation of Isaiah 7:14, they chose the Greek word “parthenos” which means virgin, not just young woman. This translation had a major impact: it shaped how early Christians, who often read the Bible in Greek, understood Isaiah’s prophecy. Later, in the Latin translation of the Greek Bible, the verse was rendered: “Ecce Virgo Concipiet” — “Look, the Virgin shall conceive.”
This Latin version “Ecce Virgo Concipiet” or simply “Ecce Virgo” reinforced the Christian reading that Isaiah had foretold a miraculous virgin birth. In the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:22–23), the birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary is thus presented as the direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. For Christians, Jesus is seen as “Immanuel” (“God is with us”), with a “virgin” mother, which was announced by Isaiah seven centuries earlier.
In Jewish interpretation, however, Isaiah 7:14 is understood differently. It is seen as a prophecy intended for Isaiah’s own time as Isaiah was speaking directly to King Ahaz of Judah about a political and military crisis happening at that time (around 735 BC). Two enemy kings were threatening Jerusalem, and Isaiah was reassuring King Ahaz that God would protect Judah. The child mentioned likely referred to a contemporary birth — perhaps the future King of Judah — and not to a miraculous virgin birth in the distant future, seven centuries later. In this view, the name “Immanuel” would symbolically express God’s support for Judah during the immediate crisis, not predict a future Messiah born centuries later.
Summary: in the Jewish view: Isaiah 7:14 refers to a young woman in Isaiah’s own time, not to a virgin birth. In the Christian view: Isaiah 7:14 foretells the virgin birth of Jesus, as echoed in the Latin phrase “Ecce Virgo Concipiet”.
Isaiah and Fra Angelico’s Valdarno Annunciation.
Let’s look at the connection between Isaiah’s Prophecy and the Annunciation in Fra Angelico’s Valdarno Annunciation (c. 1430). It’s not just a typical depiction of the biblical moment when the Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will conceive Jesus. It is a visual commentary on the connection between the Old and New Testaments, specifically the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
In the center of the composition, a unique tondo (a circular frame) prominently features Isaiah holding a scroll inscribed with the Latin phrase “Ecce Virgo Concipiet” (“Look, the Virgin shall conceive”), directly referencing Isaiah 7:14. This prophecy foretold that a virgin would bear a son, a passage which Christians believe is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. By placing Isaiah’s scroll in the Annunciation scene, Fra Angelico visually unites the Old Testament prophecy with the New Testament event, making it clear that Mary’s conception of Christ is the fulfillment of what was promised centuries earlier. The scroll not only links the two Testaments but also serves as a bridge between the prophetic and the fulfillment, allowing viewers to see the continuity of divine purpose across time. The phrase “Ecce”, meaning “look” or “see,” calls the viewer’s attention to the importance of Mary’s role. Isaiah with his scroll tells us viewers directly and literally: “Look, here is Mary’s conception of Christ!”
By integrating Isaiah into the scene, Fra Angelico emphasizes the idea that Christ’s birth was not a sudden, isolated event but the culmination of 700 year promise. In essence, Fra Angelico’s Valdarno Annunciation is a masterful visual exploration of prophecy and fulfillment, inviting the viewer to reflect on the continuity of God’s word from the Old to the New Testament, with Isaiah as the messenger.
Jewish versus Christian perspective.
From the Jewish perspective, it can seem like Christians are hijacking (or reinterpreting beyond the original context) Isaiah’s prophecy from some 700 years earlier. From the Christian perspective, the idea is more like the Old Testament has deeper layers, hidden meanings that are only revealed through Christ. The evangelist Matthew (and later Christian thinkers) read the whole Old Testament as pointing ahead to Jesus, even if the people in Isaiah’s time didn’t realize it yet. So for Christians, it’s not hijacking, it’s fulfilling.
In short: Jews say Christians misread Isaiah; Christians say Isaiah was prophesying deeper truths without even fully knowing it.
Isaiah 2:4 and the Vision of Peace and a World without War
In Isaiah 2:4, the prophet describes a future time when nations will no longer make war, but will instead turn their tools of violence into tools of cultivation and life:
“They will hammer their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.”
In Isaiah’s vision, weapons are literally reshaped into farming tools: swords become ploughshares (blades for turning the soil, as agricultural instruments), and spears become pruning hooks (used to tend vines and trees). It became a symbol of transforming destruction into creation, war into peace, and death into life. This prophecy captures Isaiah’s forward-looking hope for a world ruled by divine justice and wisdom, where international conflicts are settled peacefully, and where humanity’s energy is devoted not to violence but to sustaining life and nurturing the earth.
Isaiah and Brueghel’s Peace Vision Painting.
A visual interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy appears in Brueghel’s Isaiah’s Prophecy (c. 1609), housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. This oil-on-copper painting captures Isaiah’s vision of peace, specifically the transformation of weapons into tools of cultivation. The central theme “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares” (Isaiah 2:4), is vividly depicted with a putto burning a helmet and figures on the left who are literally shown reshaping swords into ploughshares and other agricultural tools, symbolizing the cessation of war and the beginning of a harmonious, peaceful era.
The painting likely refers to a ceasefire signed in 1609 between the Spanish Catholic suppressor and the Dutch Protestant Revolt faction in the Low Countries (the Twelve Years’ Truce during the Eighty Years’ War). The three women in the scene on the right, representing Fortune, Faith, and Abundance, symbolize the blessings and positive outcomes that peace can bring.
Isaiah can be seen holding a tablet with his prophecy:
Iudicabit gentes, et arguet populos multos;
et conflabunt gladios suos in vomeres, et lanceas suas in falces.
or
He shall judge among the nations, and instruct many peoples;
and they shall forge their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
And in Isaiah 11:6-8, he describes a perfect world where all creatures of nature live in a perfect harmony. Besides a future living-in-harmony vision, this description also shows the daily dangers of nature in Isaiah’s time:
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
Isaiah and the United Nations.
Before we move on to Jeremiah, our next Prophet, let’s close Isaiah’s story with a glimpse of how his vision still lives on in our world today.
Outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York stands a bronze sculpture titled Let Us Beat Swords into Ploughshares. Created by Soviet artist Evgeniy Vuchetich (from Ukraine) and presented by the Soviet Union to the UN in 1959, the statue depicts a muscular man forging a sword into a ploughshare with a hammer. This imagery directly references the vision of peace articulated by the Prophet Isaiah, who proclaimed: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4). The sculpture embodies Isaiah’s prophetic hope for a future where instruments of war are transformed into tools for nurturing life, symbolizing a universal aspiration for peace and the end of conflict.
IIsaiah lived in the 8th century BC, during a time of political turmoil and moral decline in the Kingdom of Judah. He called for justice and righteousness, while also offering some of the most hopeful and enduring promises in the biblical tradition. His visions express the hope for a world where violence, fear, and injustice are overcome by harmony, justice, and peace. It is a universal prophecy, and it speaks to every age.
The Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah is another of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible, known for his impassioned warnings and deep sorrow over the fate of his people. His prophecies include warnings of coming judgment, but also give hope for restoration.
The Weeping Prophet.
Jeremiah lived in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC and prophesied during a time of great political and spiritual crisis in the Kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah warned that Jerusalem would fall because of the people’s unfaithfulness to God, condemning idolatry, social injustice, and the corruption of both leaders and priests. His warnings came true when the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyed Jerusalem and looted its Temple in 586 BC, leading to the exile of many Jews to Babylon.
Because of the emotional depth of his laments — especially those expressed in the Bible Book of Lamentations, traditionally attributed to him — Jeremiah is often called the “weeping prophet.” His name gave rise to the word jeremiad, meaning a long, mournful complaint. His name survives in the given name Jeremy.
In art, Jeremiah is typically portrayed as an elderly, bearded man, often seated or hunched in a posture of grief or deep contemplation. He may appear weeping or lost in thought, his head resting on his hand in a gesture of sadness and lamentation. On Rembrandt’s painting hereunder, Jeremiah is mourning the destruction of Jerusalem. The old prophet sits on the rocky slope of a mountain, his head resting on his left hand. On a stone beside him lie a golden bowl, a jug, and books, relics from the destroyed temple. In the lower left, the burning buildings of Jerusalem can be seen.
One of the most famous depictions is Michelangelo’s Jeremiah on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, his head resting on his hand in a posture of mournful reflection.
Michaelangelo as Jeremiah, a self-portrait?
Interestingly, Michelangelo’s depiction of Jeremiah in the Sistine Chapel may have a personal twist. Some art historians suggest that the anguished expression of the prophet could actually be a self-portrait of Michelangelo himself. At the time, Michelangelo was deep into his monumental work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a project that was taking far longer than expected. Pope Julius II’s persistent demands for progress left Michelangelo feeling trapped and frustrated, and it’s said that the artist infused some of his own lamentation and weariness into Jeremiah’s portrayal. Perhaps, in this depiction, the weeping prophet is not only mourning the fate of his people but also expressing Michelangelo’s own sorrow over the endless toil of the commission.
Closing Remarks, Jeremiah and Isaiah in modern days.
Both Jeremiah and Isaiah speak to people in times of crisis, but their emotional tone and prophetic focus differ. Jeremiah is deeply rooted in lament and mourning. He bears witness to downfall and trauma, giving voice to sorrow, both that of others and his own, as if he personally carries the pain. His spirit is introspective and somber, focused on exposing the depth of the wound. Isaiah, by contrast, speaks with an eye toward hope and restoration. His prophecies are filled with visions of peace and a transformed world. He is forward-looking, pointing the way to healing and offering a horizon of promise and joy.
In simple terms: Jeremiah names the wound and weeps over it; Isaiah envisions the cure and sings of its coming.
Together, they can help heal the human heart. When we are weighed down by loss, we can think of Jeremiah and Isaiah: Jeremiah gives us the space to mourn, to acknowledge sorrow without shame. Isaiah reaches out from the future, offering hope, renewal, and the promise of joy once again.
