Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jim west <jwest AT Highland.Net>]

At 10:39 AM 10/27/99 -0500, you wrote:

> This sounds reasonable. 
>     Does anyone have an idea of why the
>Septuagint translators chose Parthenos (virgin)
>to translate Alma (young woman or virgin)?  

It has always been my suspicion that parthenos is a scribal correction by
Christian scribes who wished the Isaiah text to reflect what Matthew had.
In other words, Mt chose parthenos and the Christian scribes who gave us the
LXX utilized what they knew from Matthew.

The readings of thedotion and symmachus are more likely original so far as i
can tell and adhere better to the meaning of almah.  if the hebrew text had
wished to say virgin it would have used bethulah.

what we have in the standard lxx then is a christianized text.  if one
wishes to get behind that christianized text one would do well to look at
aquila (Onkelos!) or symmachus.

>   Is that a better (or worse) translation than
>Young Woman, theology aside? 

young woman is accurate for almah.

>      Could it  be that the Septuagint
>translators thought the passage made more sense
>as prophesying a miracle, and therefore chose
>Virgin? 

but the passage doesnt prophesy a miracle- it maintains that the threat from
Israel and Syria will be wiped out before the kid knows his right hand from
his left--- read the context of the passage- there is NOTHING prophetic of
Christ there!


Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
jwest AT highland.net
http://web.infoave.net/~jwest