Virgin
Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin (H5959) shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
It is key that we understand ‘virgin’ to be true and God created a marvelous thing to send His Son as a perfect infant to become Jesus, that savior of the world. He had to be perfect to pay the price of offering himself for the sins of the mankind. If he wasn’t sinless then he’d just die for his own sins.
The words that are in question deal with the verse ‘the virgin’ as it means a ‘maid, young woman – of age to have children’.
H5959. עַלְמָה ʿalmâh, al-maw´; fem. of 5958; a lass (as veiled or private):—damsel, maid, virgin.
the virgin The Hebrew term here, almah, indicates a young woman of marriageable age. In the ancient world, a young unmarried woman who had reached puberty could reasonably be assumed to be a virgin because of the close social and familial restrictions on her activities
Immanuel Means “God with us.” The three symbolic names of these children point to the three phases of God’s future work: imminent judgment, coming restoration, and future redemption (compare Isa 7:3; 8:1).[1] (Faith Life Study Bible)
Going to Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
23 “Behold, the virgin G3933) shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
G3933 παρθένος [parthenos /par·then·os/] n f. Of unknown origin; TDNT 5:826; TDNTA 786; GK 4221; 14 occurrences; AV translates as “virgin” 14 times. 1 a virgin. 1a a marriageable maiden. 1b a woman who has never had sexual intercourse with a man. 1c one’s marriageable daughter. 2 a man who has abstained from all uncleanness and whoredom attendant on idolatry, and so has kept his chastity. 2a one who has never had intercourse with women.[2]
LN9.39 παρθένοςa, ου f: a female person beyond puberty but not yet married and a virgin (though in some contexts virginity is not a focal component of meaning)—‘virgin, young woman.’ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει ‘a virgin will conceive’ Mt 1:23.[3]
The Word “almah)H5959– 6 of the 9 times it is translated “virgin, virgins” – Meaning “Marriageable girl” Note the donut illustration of the word below:
The 6 Locations: Gen 24:43, Ps. 68:25, Pr. 30:19, Song 1:3, Song 6:8, Isa. 7:14
P.S. This was discussed by our pastor in his Sunday’s message and this provides additional study in why the word means ‘young woman’ of an age to bare children that God used to provide a marvelous miracle on for our benefit.
[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Is 7:14). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 108). New York: United Bible Societies.
Girl – Searched “Girl” used in the Hebrew Text….
2 Kings 5:2 (NLT)
2 At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.
- נַעֲרָה naʿărâh, nah-ar-aw´; fem. of 5288; a girl (from infancy to adolescence):—damsel, maid (-en), young (woman).[1]
Amos 2:7 (NLT)
7 They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name.
Amos 2:7 (ESV)
7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
Exodus 2:8 (ESV)
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
H5959. עַלְמָה ʿalmâh, al-maw´; fem. of 5958; a lass (as veiled or private):—damsel, maid, virgin.
Genesis 34:4 (ESV)
4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
- יַלְדָּה yaldâh, yal-daw´; fem. of 3206; a lass:—damsel, girl.
Marriageable girl; girl
Also in Joel 3:3
Joel 3:3 (ESV)
3 and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.
Joel 3:3 (NLT)
3 They cast lots to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
Zechariah 8:5 (NLT)
5 And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.
Note Wheel:
The Blue part represents 11 of the 18…
The Red represents 3 of the 18
[1] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 2, p. 79). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.