King Emanuel (II)

DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "King Emanuel is a mighty Emanuel, I call my Jesus King Emanuel." Verses: "Steady a little while, I will tell you what my Lord done for me" "He plucked my feet out of the miry clay, He set them on the firm Rock of Age"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1874 (Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute)
KEYWORDS: Bible nonballad religious Jesus
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute, p. 147, "King Emanuel" (1 text, 1 tune; p. 197 in the 1874 edition)
Work-FolkSongOfTheAmericanNegro, p. 68, "King Emanuel" (1 text)
Roud #12075
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "King Emanuel (I)" (theme)
cf. "In the Morning" (King Emanuel theme)
NOTES [125 words]: In Dett/Fenner/Rathbun/Cleveland-ReligiousFolkSongsOfTheNegro-HamptonInstitute's verses, every alternate line is "I call my Jesus King Emanuel." - BS
The reference here is no doubt to Matthew 1:23, referring to the virgin who will bear a son and call him "Emmanuel." This is, however, a citation of Isaiah 7:14, "behold, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him 'Immanuel'" (which means "God Is With Us"). Thus the name is properly "Immanuel," not "Em(m)anuel," and "is a mighty Emanual" means "is a mighty God is with us," which makes nonsense -- and the whole quotation in Matthew is a Greek mistranslation anyway, using "virgin" for the Hebrew word meaning "young woman," because Matthew was trying to make a point. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: Dett147

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