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b-hebrew - Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin

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  • From: Eric Rasmusen <erasmuse AT indiana.edu>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin
  • Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 10:39:09 -0500


Peter Kirk wrote:

Proof texts like Isaiah 7:14 relate only to the
Greek translations, where Christians preferred
the LXX "virgin" (parthenos) but Jews preferred
"young woman" (neanis) as in other Greek
translations, but the only attested Hebrew (at
least according to BHS) is `alma.

This sounds reasonable.
Does anyone have an idea of why the
Septuagint translators chose Parthenos (virgin)
to translate Alma (young woman or virgin)?
Is that a better (or worse) translation than
Young Woman, theology aside?
Could it be that the Septuagint
translators thought the passage made more sense
as prophesying a miracle, and therefore chose
Virgin?

Eric Rasmusen




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