JERUSALEM, Israel — During Advent, many Christians sing the beloved hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
CBN News combined the music of this hymn, played by renowned violinist Maurice Sklar, with an explanation of the background and meaning of the song from Claire Phann, dean of Academic Affairs at University of the Holy Land.
Phann said that most people don’t realize that this hymn was composed to be an Advent song, not a Christmas carol.
“The hymn was originally taken from a series of sayings that we call antiphons,” she explained. “An antiphon is a saying or an acclimation that is made before the reading of a psalm or a canticle. And each one is based on the titles of the Messiah found in the Old Testament.”
‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel ‘ – Emmanuel, of course, is the title given to the Messiah in Isaiah, chapter 7, where Isaiah prophesies that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and will call His name Emmanuel. The Gospel of Matthew applies this very scripture to Jesus at His birth,” Phann explained.
**Listen to renowned violinist Maurice Sklar play the hymn here:
Rod of Jesse
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