The Hebrew word for virgin in Isaiah 7:14 is almah, a word combining the meanings of (1) young girl of marriageable age and (2) virgin. The Hebrew language had another word for virgin: bethulah. This word occurs 50 times in the Old Testament. Some people argue that this is the only word for virgin in Hebrew, but actually in Joel 1:8 it refers to a woman who was previously married, but who is now a widow. The translators of the Greek Bible (Septuagint), clearly saw the word almah as virgin and translated it with the unambiguous parthenos ("virgin").
All seven passages where almah occurs in the Old Testament:
Genesis 24:43 `behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"
Exodus 2:8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother.
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Psalm 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
Proverbs 30:19 The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.
Song of Solomon 1:3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you.
Song of Solomon 1:8 There are sixty queens And eighty concubines, And virgins without number. (Song of Solomon 6:8, NKJV).
Not ONE of these references refers to a woman who is NOT a virgin.
Quote from: Buksbazen, Victor. The Prophet Isaiah. Collingswood: The Spearhead Press, 1971.
"It is interesting to note that in modern Hebrew the word "virgin" is rendered either as "almah" or "bethulah." Thus the English-Hebrew Dictionary, (Efros, Kaufman, and Silk, Tel-Aviv) translates the word 'virgin' into Hebrew with "almah," or "bethulah."
Copyright ©2000 Peter Wise.
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