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O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel - God with Us
One of the most cherished hymns of Advent, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," is a hymn of hope and longing. Originally written in Latin in the late 8th or 9th century, it was a series of verses or prayers chanted by monks, inspired by the "O Antiphons" beginning the week before Christmas.
Each antiphon begins with a title for the Messiah from the Old Testament prophesying and foreshadowing the coming of Jesus:
- O Sapentia (Wisdom)
- O Adonai (Hebrew word for God)
- O Radix Jesse (stem or root of Jesse)
- O Clavis David (key of David)
- O Oriens (dayspring)
- O Rex genitium (King of the Gentiles)
- O Emmanuel
When put together, the first letter of each second word spells SARCORE. When read backwards, the letters form a two-word acrostic, "Ero cras," which means "I will be present tomorrow."
The prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." The hymn expresses humanity's longing for a Saviour to "ransom captive Israel (Isaiah 35:10) and bring light into a dark world.
John Mason Neale (1818-1866), a translator of early Greek and Latin hymns, discovered the Latin hymn and included it in a collection of medieval hymns in 1851. The composer of the haunting melody we are familiar with is anonymous but it is believed to have been used for processional chants for burials.
For those who believe, this hymn celebrates that Jesus has not only come in history, but that he is coming again.
Sources:
- "History of Hymns: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," Discipleship Ministries (https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-o-come-o-come-emmanuel).
- "The (Hidden) Theology and History of O Come O Come Emmanuel," Daniel Im (https://www.danielim.com/2017/12/19/the-hidden-theology-and-history-of-o-come-o-come-emmanuel/).
- "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – A Brief History," Saint Ignatious Catholic Community (https://st-ignatius.net/o-come-o-come-emmanuel-a-brief-history/).
- "What are the lyrics to ' O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,' and what is the Christmas carol really about?" Classic FM (https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/occasions/christmas/lyrics-o-come-o-come-emmanuel-origins/).
