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b-hebrew - Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin

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  • From: Moshe Shulman <mshulman AT ix.netcom.com>
  • To: "Joe A. Friberg" <JoeFriberg AT email.msn.com>, b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin
  • Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 12:42:06 -0400


At 10:29 AM 10/28/99 -0500, you wrote:
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Eric Rasmusen <erasmuse AT indiana.edu>
>> 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?
>Alternatively, had the sense of Alma changed between the writing of Isaiah
>and its translation in the LXX? That is, could the more contemporary usage
>of Alma correspond more closely to 'vigin' even though the older sense was
>simply 'young woman'?

Actually Joe it is the opposite. The word parthenos underwent a change in
meaning.
moshe shulman mshulman AT NOSPAMix.netcom.com 718-436-7705
CHASSIDUS.NET - Yoshav Rosh http://www.chassidus.net
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