Anonymous – O Come O Come Emmanuel

The song that we know today as O Come O Come Emmanuel has its roots in Latin, from a likely six-century evening prayer book known as O Antiphons.  It also happens to be my favorite Christmas song!  O Antiphons consisted of seven separate texts, each beginning with the vocative particle “O” followed by an attribute of Jesus.  They were either sung or recited as part of an annual Christmas tradition, leading up to Christmas eve.  These texts include:

• O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
• O Adonai (O Lord)
• O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
• O Clavis David (O Key of David)
• O Oriens (O Dayspring)
• O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
• O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

As part of this tradition, an eighth text, O Virgo virginum (O Virgin of virgins), was sung both before and after Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) on Christmas eve.

The earliest version of O Come O Come Emmanuel exists in the seventh edition of Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, published in 1710 in Cologne, Germany.  It included a refrain: “Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel will be born for you, O Israel” and five of the seven texts from O Antiphons.

John Mason Neale translated this text from Latin to English in 1851, which began “Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel”.  Thomas Helmore paired it with the tune Veni Emmanuel, publishing it withinHymnal Noted.  Neale altered the words slightly to prepare this song for a wider audience, published as part of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861.  The latter achieved hegemony, though most modern versions include only portions of Neale’s text.  Two Verses were later added by Henry Sloane Coffin in 1916, completing O Antiphons to English.

For this review, I will examine Neale’s 1861 translation and Coffin’s additional Verses.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is darker than other Christmas carols, with Israel pleading and perhaps wailing for Messiah to rescue them from their lonely exile.  Though Israel was expecting a conquering king, they received instead a child that would save them from their sins.  This child is Emmanuel, or God with us.  This song list many of Christ’s attributes and acts:

Attributes

• Emmanuel
• Descendant of Jesse
• Light
• Ruler over Israel
• Lord/Master
• Wise

Acts

• Rescues Israel from Satan’s tyranny
• Rescues Israel from spiritual death
• Prepares a house for believers
• Brought the law to Moses

In response to these properties and movements of Christ, alongside promptings from angels this song’s refrain, we followers of Jesus rejoice and praise Him.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

This song is public domain.  Thanks to Scripture And … for providing Scripture for these Verses!

[Verse 1]

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

This references Isaiah 7:14’s prophecy, realized in Matthew 1:23.

And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Israel will be saved, with their sorrows turning to joy (Isaiah 35:10 and Matthew 1:21).

[Refrain]

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This calls us to join the angelic hosts, rejoicing and praising God for giving us Jesus (Luke 2:10-12).

[Verse 2]

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

The rod of Jesse is the offspring of King David’s father.  The Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him (Isaiah 11:1-2).  According to Matthew 1:6-16 and Luke 3:23-32, on both Joseph’s side and Mary’s side, Jesus is a descendant of Jesse.

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

Christ came, in part, to heal people who were oppressed by Satan (Acts 10:38).  He would also provide the way of escape from Satan’s temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.

He also came to give us victory over spiritual death (Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, and Hebrews 2:14-15).

[Verse 3]

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,

According to Verse 78 in Luke 1:76-79, The “sunrise on high” would visit us.

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

The people who walked in darkness will see a great light (Isaiah 9:2), which is Jesus (John 1:1-8, John 8:12, and Ephesians 5:14).

[Verse 4]

O come, Thou Key of David, come

Jesus possesses the Key of David (Revelation 3:7), indicating His rule and authority over Israel.

And open wide our heav’nly home;

Jesus is preparing such a home (John 14:2).

Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Christ is the only way to salvation (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12).

[Verse 5]

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,

Adonai means “Lord” or “Master”, indicating that Christ is Sovereign over all creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

The tribes are the twelve tribes of Israel, the descendants of Jacob (Deuteronomy 27:12–13).  God gave Moses the first ten commandmants, among other laws on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-23).

[Verse 6]

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

Jesus is the wisdom that comes from the Father (1 Corinthians 1:24).

And order all things, far and nigh;

He used this wisdom to order all things (Jeremiah 51:15).

To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

Emmanuel will show us the correct path (Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 7:13, and 1 Corinthians 10:13)

[Verse 7]

O come, Desire of nations, bind

A call for the desire of nations to come (Haggai 2:7).

All peoples in one heart and mind;

Every knee will bow and confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10-11).

Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.

As stated by the heavenly hosts that appeared after Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:13-14).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Christmas nostalgia aside, there’s much Christian terminology thrown in that lends to a Christian interpretation, including Emmanuel, Son of God, and Satan.  Israel awaits this “Emmanuel”, or the “Son of God” for rescue.  There’s some Christianese terms that will likely stump an average unbeliever, including:

• Rod of Jesse
• Dayspring
• Key of David
• Adonai

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that He brought about the Law, saved Israel from their sins, and saved them from Satan’s grasp.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Anonymous’ O Come O Come Emmanuel is a great song.  It calls us to see things from an Old Testament perspective, as Israel awaits their Messiah.  This Emmanuel, the Wise Master who will rule over them, will rescue them from the consequences of their lawbreaking, bringing glory to God.  Unbelievers should comprehend the general gist of this song, even if terms like “Rod of Jesse” and “Key of David” might not be understood.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: O Come O Come Emmanuel (listen to St. Augustine by-the-Sea’s version of the song.  The Verse order and words are slightly different, but it contains all seven Verses!)

Artist: Anonymous

Album: N/A

Genre: Christmas, Hymn

Release Year: 1861, 1916

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

12/28/2021 – The original commentary on Verse 2, line 1, incorrectly stated that Jesus is a descendant on both David and Mary’s side.  Thanks to Elaine for correcting me!