O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Several centuries ago, possibly the 12th Century AD, an unknown author was perusing a collection of antiphons—liturgical texts which were chanted or sung responsively and which preceded or followed the reading of a psalm in a worship service. In reviewing these existing works, the author was inspired to pull pieces from the various texts in order to create a new work that emphasized the coming of the Lord God incarnate—the birth of Jesus, the Christ. The text later became paired with a 15th Century melody which was used as a processional by French Franciscan nuns. The first line of the new composition was “Veni, veni Emanuel,”—Latin, first translated into English in the 19th Century as “Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel,” but more popularly known as “O come, o come, Emmanuel.”

The lyrics of the piece echo a number of prophetic themes. The title comes from the Bible passage Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel is Hebrew for “God with us.” In the second verse, the “Rod of Jesse” refers to Isaiah 11:11: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse”; Jesse was the father of David, second king of Israel. In another verse, “Day-Spring” comes from Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:78: “The dayspring from on high has visited us.” And in another verse, “Thou Key of David” is in Isaiah 22:22: “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,” which in turn refers to Isaiah 9:6 “The government shall be upon His shoulder.”

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