“Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz”—because the first sign had had no effect. No indication is given of the time and place of the “Immanuel” sign, although the recurrence of the formula “house of David”, referring to King Ahaz, probably shows that the two signs come from pretty much the same context, that is to say, before the king’s delegation to Assyria set out. The name means “God is with us”, and implies that there is no need to join forces either with Assyria or with the Syro-Ephraimite