Almah
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew term almah or plural: alamot (עלמות) is a Hebrew
feminine
noun
, for a girl who has reached puberty
but is still under the shielding protection of her family; she is a young, marriageable (i.e. unmarried) girl. In Bibles, almah is typically translated as virgin, maiden, young woman, damsel or girl. For theological reasons, the meaning and definition of this word (especially the definition of "virgin") can be controversial, particularly when applied to Isaiah 7:14
.
root
of almah is elem ("עלם") meaning "youth" or "young man of the age of puberty
". Feminizing these terms would result in "young woman" or "young woman of the age of puberty". Gesenius defines the word as a "girl of marriageable age". This sense of the word continues to the modern Hebrew where almah still means "damsel" (a young woman or girl) and "miss" (a young or unmarried woman).
Almah seems to be the only word in the Biblical Hebrew language which unequivocally signifies an unmarried woman and children born to an almah would be illegitimate. The English word that corresponds most closely to this concept is maiden
or maid.
As already indicated, the notion of marriageability is typically part of the definition of almah. In the ancient Near East
girls had value as potential wives and bearers of children which may explain a recurring sense of marriageability regarding alamot or girls who had entered puberty. This same sense of marriageability does not accrue to the masculine elem even though they also have entered puberty, but it does apply to "bachur" or "young warrior", when boys have matured to the point of being able to support a new household.
Some authorities believe that almah is derived from alma, a verb meaning "to hide, to conceal". Adam Clarke
speculated upon the association between alma and almah: "A virgin ... had not been uncovered, she had not known man.".
Almah is a modern Egyptian word for belly dancer or singer and some linguists see this as derived from the ancient semitic word almah for "girl".
In Roman alphabets almah is correctly spelled with an initial spiritus asper
mark (‘almah), indicating the word is spelled with an initial ayin
. The ayin is either silent or pronounced as an initial soft glottal stop (like a breathy "kh" sound). This pronunciation is also suggested by the Ugarit
ic cognate word glmt, meaning "damsel".
The key dispute with regard to the meaning of the term almah is whether it implies or indicates virginity. There is a different Hebrew word, bethulah ("בתולה"), which is most commonly used to mean virgin in modern Hebrew. At that time, it was rare (but possible) for a girl to be pubescent, "under the shielding protection of her family", and marriageable, without being a virgin, because premarital sex was discouraged and typically resulted in forced marriage (Deuteronomy 22:21,28-29, Exodus 22:16). However, the word "orphan" refers inside the Bible to the children of unmarried women; the orphans had "no male protector or any possibility of inheritance". It is thus certain that the Bible allowed for births from unmarried women, although it relegated such children to an inferior social status. Conversely, few pubescent girls remained virgins after marriage, because reproduction was considered a sacred duty of every Jew (Genesis 9:7; Talmud Yebamoth 6:6).
Of course such claims still leave open the possibility presented by Celsus
and Toledot Yeshu
, namely that girls such as Mary
were raped by somebody like Panthera while being engaged to somebody else (like Joseph
), rape taking presumably place on a field, case wherein they would not have received the death penalty for getting raped.
describes 'almah' as one of a list of sequential "terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life" (spellings per Gesenius translated to English):
In relative order and by its connotation of firmness and strength, the almah (or elem) in Edersheim's list suggests the period of rapid growth in adolescence (particularly early adolescence) but prior to independent responsibility or freedom.
recounts how he met Rebeccah. He prayed to the Lord that if an almah came to the well, and he requested a drink of water from her, that should she then provide him with that drink and also water his camels he would take that as a sign that she was to be the wife of Isaac. In this passage Rebeccah, a young, unmarried girl is that almah and most Bibles use "virgin" or "maid" as the translation.
and she takes thoughtful action to reunite the baby with his mother by offering to bring the baby to a Hebrew nurse maid (her mother). Most translations use the word "girl" to describe Moses' sister.
instrument, so named because of its pitch resembling that of girls' singing voices. It may also refer to a feminine manner of singing or playing, such as a girls choir. A third theory is that "alamoth" refers to an instrument made in the city of "Alameth". Translators have difficulty with this term and many simply transliterate the Hebrew into English as "alamoth". However, a few versions make speculative attempts such as "soprano voices", "high voices" or "small harps", while other versions simply ignore this reference and do not include it in the translation. (The Latin Vulgate, and consequently the Douay-Rheims Bible, uniquely translates the word as "mystery").
or tambourine
s. Most Bible versions translate this instance of alamot as "maidens" or "young women".
of 60 Queens (wives of the King), 80 Concubines (Secondary Wives) and numberless alamot; indicating that these alamot were neither wives nor concubines of the king.
The many variations of wording and implied meaning makes this verse particularly difficult for those seeking a precise definition for almah.
, the wavering King of Judah
—or possibly the royal Court of David's descendants—is told of a sign to be given that the Lord is in charge and will protect the kingdom. The sign given is that almah will give birth to a son who will still be very young when Judah's current enemies will be destroyed. Because Matthew 1:23 treats Isaiah 7:14
as a prophecy of Jesus' birth, most Christians insist that almah means "virgin". Jewish readers, however, assert that the passage refers only to events contemporary with Isaiah
and Ahaz. (See the Isaiah 7:14 Controversy Below). Translations of the Bible can be found to support both views. Nevertheless, with some notable exceptions (such as the Revised Standard Version
), most versions of the Bible that include the New Testament translate "almah" in Isaiah 7:14 as "virgin," while those translating only the Hebrew scriptures use "young woman."
** = Not Directly Translated
, Jewish critics have argued that Christians were mistaken in their reading of almah in Isaiah 7:14. Because the author of Matthew 1:23, believed that Jesus
was born of a virgin
, he quoted Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son" as a proof-text for the divine origin of Jesus. Jewish scholars declare that Matthew is in error, that the word almah means young woman (just as the male equivalent elem means young man). It does not denote a virgin or sexual purity but age. Because a different Hebrew word, bethulah ("בתולה"), is most commonly used for virgin even in modern Hebrew, the prophet could not have meant virgin in Isaiah 7:14.
Many Christian apologists
respond that throughout the Old Testament
, in every other instance where a girl is described as almah, she is a girl who has never known a man carnally or had intercourse. Moreover, the word bethulah is sometimes used to describe women who are arguably not virgins (Joel 1.8 and Esther 2:8-17), and in at least two cases (Genesis 24: 16 and Judges 21: 12), an additional phrase in the text explains that the bethulah has "not known a man." Thus, they argue, almah refers to virgins more consistently than does bethulah. Most importantly, the Jewish scholars who translated and compiled the Hebrew scriptures (the Torah first and then later the Prophets and the Writings) into a Greek version of the Old Testament, translated almah in Isaiah 7:14 as parthenos, which almost always means "virgin".
Some scholars contend that debates over the precise meaning of bethulah and almah are misguided because no Hebrew word encapsulates the idea of certain virginity. Martin Luther
also argued that the debate was irrelevant, not because the words do not clearly mean virgin, but because almah and bethulah were functional synonyms.
Biblical Hebrew language
Biblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...
feminine
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
, for a girl who has reached puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
but is still under the shielding protection of her family; she is a young, marriageable (i.e. unmarried) girl. In Bibles, almah is typically translated as virgin, maiden, young woman, damsel or girl. For theological reasons, the meaning and definition of this word (especially the definition of "virgin") can be controversial, particularly when applied to Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14 is a verse of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah, addressing king Ahaz of Judah , promises the king a sign that his oracle is a true one...
.
Definitions and etymology
The masculineMasculine
Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music...
root
Root (linguistics)
The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
of almah is elem ("עלם") meaning "youth" or "young man of the age of puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
". Feminizing these terms would result in "young woman" or "young woman of the age of puberty". Gesenius defines the word as a "girl of marriageable age". This sense of the word continues to the modern Hebrew where almah still means "damsel" (a young woman or girl) and "miss" (a young or unmarried woman).
Almah seems to be the only word in the Biblical Hebrew language which unequivocally signifies an unmarried woman and children born to an almah would be illegitimate. The English word that corresponds most closely to this concept is maiden
Maiden
Maiden or Maidens may refer to:* A female virgin; see virginity* Maiden name, the family name carried by a woman before marriage; see married and maiden names* Maiden, the first of the three aspects of the Triple Goddess...
or maid.
As already indicated, the notion of marriageability is typically part of the definition of almah. In the ancient Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
girls had value as potential wives and bearers of children which may explain a recurring sense of marriageability regarding alamot or girls who had entered puberty. This same sense of marriageability does not accrue to the masculine elem even though they also have entered puberty, but it does apply to "bachur" or "young warrior", when boys have matured to the point of being able to support a new household.
Some authorities believe that almah is derived from alma, a verb meaning "to hide, to conceal". Adam Clarke
Adam Clarke
Adam Clarke was a British Methodist theologian and Biblical scholar, born in the townland of Moybeg Kirley near Tobermore in Ireland...
speculated upon the association between alma and almah: "A virgin ... had not been uncovered, she had not known man.".
Almah is a modern Egyptian word for belly dancer or singer and some linguists see this as derived from the ancient semitic word almah for "girl".
In Roman alphabets almah is correctly spelled with an initial spiritus asper
Spiritus asper
In the polytonic orthography of Ancient Greek, the rough breathing , is a diacritical mark used to indicate the presence of an sound before a vowel, diphthong, or rho. It remained in the polytonic orthography even after the Hellenistic period, when the sound disappeared from the Greek language...
mark (‘almah), indicating the word is spelled with an initial ayin
Ayin
' or ' is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic . It is the twenty-first letter in the new Persian alphabet...
. The ayin is either silent or pronounced as an initial soft glottal stop (like a breathy "kh" sound). This pronunciation is also suggested by the Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
ic cognate word glmt, meaning "damsel".
The key dispute with regard to the meaning of the term almah is whether it implies or indicates virginity. There is a different Hebrew word, bethulah ("בתולה"), which is most commonly used to mean virgin in modern Hebrew. At that time, it was rare (but possible) for a girl to be pubescent, "under the shielding protection of her family", and marriageable, without being a virgin, because premarital sex was discouraged and typically resulted in forced marriage (Deuteronomy 22:21,28-29, Exodus 22:16). However, the word "orphan" refers inside the Bible to the children of unmarried women; the orphans had "no male protector or any possibility of inheritance". It is thus certain that the Bible allowed for births from unmarried women, although it relegated such children to an inferior social status. Conversely, few pubescent girls remained virgins after marriage, because reproduction was considered a sacred duty of every Jew (Genesis 9:7; Talmud Yebamoth 6:6).
Of course such claims still leave open the possibility presented by Celsus
Celsus
Celsus was a 2nd century Greek philosopher and opponent of Early Christianity. He is known for his literary work, The True Word , written about by Origen. This work, c. 177 is the earliest known comprehensive attack on Christianity.According to Origen, Celsus was the author of an...
and Toledot Yeshu
Toledot Yeshu
Sefer Toledot Yeshu is a medieval version of the story of Jesus from a Jewish perspective. The book concerns Yeshu, son of Joseph and Mary, born in Bethlehem, but also makes this Yeshu a contemporary of Queen Salome Alexandra...
, namely that girls such as Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
were raped by somebody like Panthera while being engaged to somebody else (like Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
), rape taking presumably place on a field, case wherein they would not have received the death penalty for getting raped.
The age of an almah
Alfred EdersheimAlfred Edersheim
Alfred Edersheim was a Jewish convert to Christianity and a Biblical scholar known especially for his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah .- Early life and education :...
describes 'almah' as one of a list of sequential "terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life" (spellings per Gesenius translated to English):
- yeled or yaldah - newborn boy or girl.
- yonek or yanak - suckling baby.
- olel - suckling who also eats food. Translated as "young child" in Lamentations 4:4 (KJV).
- gamal - weaned child (under 3 years old).
- taph - young child, one who still clings to mother. Derived from the word for brisk, small, tripping steps of young children.
- elem or almah - firm and strong child
- na'ar (masc) or na'arah (fem.) - "independent or free child" (from a root meaning "to shake off"). Also "handmaid", "servant" or just "girl".
In relative order and by its connotation of firmness and strength, the almah (or elem) in Edersheim's list suggests the period of rapid growth in adolescence (particularly early adolescence) but prior to independent responsibility or freedom.
Bible usage
The meaning of almah is most often determined by referring to its uses in the Bible. Unfortunately, there are only nine passages that use this term (and only two more use the masculine form elem). This results in a very small number of examples from which we may extract a definition. This small number is further reduced because only a few of these verses contain clear and unambiguous meanings. These few instances do not necessarily clarify the meaning of almah in the remaining passages. The problem is further compounded when one considers that these various texts were recorded by different authors living centuries apart. Languages tend to evolve over time and ancient Hebrew was no different.Genesis (Bereshit / Bereshis) 24:43
A servant of AbrahamAbraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
recounts how he met Rebeccah. He prayed to the Lord that if an almah came to the well, and he requested a drink of water from her, that should she then provide him with that drink and also water his camels he would take that as a sign that she was to be the wife of Isaac. In this passage Rebeccah, a young, unmarried girl is that almah and most Bibles use "virgin" or "maid" as the translation.
Exodus (Shemot) 2:8
The older sister of an infant boy is an almah. She is old enough to be entrusted to watch the baby MosesMoses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and she takes thoughtful action to reunite the baby with his mother by offering to bring the baby to a Hebrew nurse maid (her mother). Most translations use the word "girl" to describe Moses' sister.
1 Chronicles (Divrey HaYamim Alef) 15:20 and Psalms (Tehilim) 46 (intro)
In both of these passages the psalm is to be played "on alamot" – a musical meaning that has become lost with time. It most probably refers to a certain type of 10 or 12 stringed luteLute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
instrument, so named because of its pitch resembling that of girls' singing voices. It may also refer to a feminine manner of singing or playing, such as a girls choir. A third theory is that "alamoth" refers to an instrument made in the city of "Alameth". Translators have difficulty with this term and many simply transliterate the Hebrew into English as "alamoth". However, a few versions make speculative attempts such as "soprano voices", "high voices" or "small harps", while other versions simply ignore this reference and do not include it in the translation. (The Latin Vulgate, and consequently the Douay-Rheims Bible, uniquely translates the word as "mystery").
Psalms (Tehilim) 68:25/26
In a victory parade, the participants are listed in order of appearance: 1) the singers; 2) the musicians; and 3) the "alamot" playing cymbalsZil
Zills, also zils or finger cymbals, are tiny metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called sājāt in Arabic. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells....
or tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
s. Most Bible versions translate this instance of alamot as "maidens" or "young women".
Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim) 1:3
A poetic chant of praise toward a man, declaring that all the alamot adore him. Thus, he is attractive to marriageable "maidens" or "young women" according to most translations.Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim) 6:8
The woman, who is the object of this love poem, is favorably compared to a haremHarem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
of 60 Queens (wives of the King), 80 Concubines (Secondary Wives) and numberless alamot; indicating that these alamot were neither wives nor concubines of the king.
Proverbs (Mishle) 30:19
In addition to the standard translations such as "maiden", "virgin" and "young woman" a difference between the Hebrew texts and the Septuagint leads some versions to dramatically revise this verse or translate it with different words. (To some extent, this is also an attempt to develop a dynamic translation of the passage that is clear to the modern reader.) The focus of the text is consternation over an adulterous wife. The author compares this adulterous wife's acts to things he claims are hard to understand: a bird flying in air, the movement of a snake over a rock, navigation of a ship through the sea and the how a (strong) man is with an almah. (The Septuagint reads "and the way of a man in his youth" instead.) The sense may be that a strong man forcing himself upon a weaker girl is like the bird, the snake, the ship and the adulterous woman. In each instance there is no lasting, visible evidence of the action. However, this is not the only view and there are a variety of translations of the final phrase in verse 19:-
-
- "why adolescents act the way they do" - "The Message"
- "how a man loves a woman" - "The New Living Translation"
- "(how) people fall in love" - "Contemporary English Bible"
- "the way of a man with a young woman / maiden" - Most Versions
-
The many variations of wording and implied meaning makes this verse particularly difficult for those seeking a precise definition for almah.
Isaiah (Yeshayah) 7:14
AhazAhaz
Ahaz was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. He is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew....
, the wavering King of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
—or possibly the royal Court of David's descendants—is told of a sign to be given that the Lord is in charge and will protect the kingdom. The sign given is that almah will give birth to a son who will still be very young when Judah's current enemies will be destroyed. Because Matthew 1:23 treats Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14 is a verse of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah, addressing king Ahaz of Judah , promises the king a sign that his oracle is a true one...
as a prophecy of Jesus' birth, most Christians insist that almah means "virgin". Jewish readers, however, assert that the passage refers only to events contemporary with Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
and Ahaz. (See the Isaiah 7:14 Controversy Below). Translations of the Bible can be found to support both views. Nevertheless, with some notable exceptions (such as the Revised Standard Version
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...
), most versions of the Bible that include the New Testament translate "almah" in Isaiah 7:14 as "virgin," while those translating only the Hebrew scriptures use "young woman."
Comparison of Bible translations
This table compares the translation of each instance of 'almah or 'alamot in the Bible. (references per KJV)| Bible Version | Year | Gen 24:43 | Ex 2:8 | Ps 68:25 | Prov 30:19 | SS 1:3 | SS 6:8 | Isa 7:14 | 1 Cr 15:20 | Ps 46 |
| JPS Jewish Publication Society of America Version The Jewish Publication Society of America Version of the Tanakh was the first Bible translation published by the Jewish Publication Society of America and the first translation of the Tanakh into English by a committee of Jews... | 1917 | maiden | maiden | damsels | young woman | maidens | maidens | young woman | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| JPCT | | maiden | girl | maidens | young woman | maidens | maidens | young woman | Alamoth | alamoth |
||||||||||
| KJV | 1611 | virgin | maid | damsels | maid | virgins | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | - |
||||||||||
| ESV | 2001 | virgin | girl | virgins | virgin | they | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| NKJV | 1982 | virgin | maiden | maidens | virgin | virgins | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| KJ21 | 1994 | virgin | maid | damsels | maid | virgins | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | - |
||||||||||
| ASV | 1901 | maiden | maiden | damsels | maiden | virgins | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| NASB | 1995 | maiden | girl | maidens | maid | maidens | maidens | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| Dohay Rheims | 1609 | virgin | maid | damsels | youth** | maidens | young maidens | virgin | mysteries | - |
||||||||||
| Darby | 1890 | damsel | damsel | maidens | maid | virgins | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| YLT | 1898 | virgin | virgin | virgins | youth** | virgins | virgins | virgin | virgins | Virgins |
||||||||||
| New Life | 1969 | girl | girl | young women | woman | young women | young women | young woman & (virgin) | high sounds | - |
||||||||||
| NIV | 1978 | maiden | girl | maidens | maiden | maidens | virgins | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| Amplified | 1987 | maiden | girl | maidens | maid | maidens | virgins | young woman & virgin | Alamoth | trebel voices |
||||||||||
| The Message | 1993 | young woman | girl | maidens | ** | everyone** | ** | girl | melody | - |
||||||||||
| CEV | 1995 | young woman | girl | young women | ** | young women | others | virgin | smaller harps | - |
||||||||||
| New Living | 1996 | young woman | girl | young women | woman | young women | virgins | virgin | (alamoth) | soprano voices |
||||||||||
| NIRV | 1996 | virgin | girl | young women | young woman | young women | virgins | virgin | high notes | alamoth |
||||||||||
| Holman | | virgin | girl | young women | young woman | young women | young women | virgin | Alamoth | Alamoth |
||||||||||
| NEB | |young woman | girl | girls | girl | maidens | young women | young woman | lutes | ** |
||||||||||
| NET | |young woman |young girl |young women |woman |young women |young women |young woman |Alamoth |Alamoth |
** = Not Directly Translated
Isaiah 7:14 controversy
From the earliest days of ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Jewish critics have argued that Christians were mistaken in their reading of almah in Isaiah 7:14. Because the author of Matthew 1:23, believed that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was born of a virgin
Virgin Birth
The virgin birth of Jesus is a tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while remaining a virgin. The term "virgin birth" is commonly used, rather than "virgin conception", due to the tradition that Joseph "knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn...
, he quoted Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son" as a proof-text for the divine origin of Jesus. Jewish scholars declare that Matthew is in error, that the word almah means young woman (just as the male equivalent elem means young man). It does not denote a virgin or sexual purity but age. Because a different Hebrew word, bethulah ("בתולה"), is most commonly used for virgin even in modern Hebrew, the prophet could not have meant virgin in Isaiah 7:14.
Many Christian apologists
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
respond that throughout the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, in every other instance where a girl is described as almah, she is a girl who has never known a man carnally or had intercourse. Moreover, the word bethulah is sometimes used to describe women who are arguably not virgins (Joel 1.8 and Esther 2:8-17), and in at least two cases (Genesis 24: 16 and Judges 21: 12), an additional phrase in the text explains that the bethulah has "not known a man." Thus, they argue, almah refers to virgins more consistently than does bethulah. Most importantly, the Jewish scholars who translated and compiled the Hebrew scriptures (the Torah first and then later the Prophets and the Writings) into a Greek version of the Old Testament, translated almah in Isaiah 7:14 as parthenos, which almost always means "virgin".
Some scholars contend that debates over the precise meaning of bethulah and almah are misguided because no Hebrew word encapsulates the idea of certain virginity. Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
also argued that the debate was irrelevant, not because the words do not clearly mean virgin, but because almah and bethulah were functional synonyms.