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The Greek term (people) is indispensable in the synoptics. The term appears 14 times in Mt, 3 times in Mk and 36 times in Lk. In Mt, it appears already in the infancy narratives Mt 1-2. The term forms an integral part in understanding Jesus the messiah as presented by Mt. In many passages, the pronoun ´they´ is used in relation to , for example Mt 1,23. The passage 1,23 is a quotation of Is 7,14. A closer look at Is 7,14 and Mt 1,23 reveals an important grammatical difference in the two passages. Is 7,14 in the Septuagint contains the sentence " s ni mi mimi ni ", whereas Mt 1,23 has the sentence " s s ni ni mi mimi ni ". Mt quotes from the Septuagint and uses s s ni instead of s as in the Septuagint. This redaction change leads to an important question, which this book attempts to answer: who are the ´they´ ( s s ni) who will call Jesus mimi ni ? This book attempts to unpack the meaning of in Mt 1,18-25 in relation to the whole Gospel. The term has attracted a debate among exegetes who have interpreted it basically in two ways. The discussion in chapter 3 compares and analyses the two ways of interpreting .

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Mag. Edward Mwale: Catholic Priest of Kasama Archdiocese in Zambia. Obtained his Bachelor of Theology from Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome and Master of Theology (New Testament) from University of Vienna, Austria. He is working on his Doctoral Dissertation - New Testament Institute, University of Vienna. Research interests: Matthew´s Gospel.

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