Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

Betula refers to a woman who has not been previously married.

Shoshanna




> Dear George,
> You say "actually" as if you have data for this.
> What's your data?
> Liz
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: George Athas [mailto:gathas AT globalfreeway.com.au]
> > Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2001 3:50 PM
> > To: Biblical Hebrew
> > Subject: BETHULAH - virgin
> >
> >
> > | [...]
> > | BeTHULAH is almost only used for virgin and no other word, this word
> > | occurs many times in the Bible and in Isaiah (see 62:5). (As to Dan's
> > | examples: Joel 1:8 is a difficult verse and the idiom could refer to a
> > | woman who had not had sex for a long time. Esther 2:17 refers
> > to those who
> > | were virgins (in the first round of the Miss Persia contest) see Esther
> > | 2:3. How does Job 31:1 prove that BeTHULAH cannot mean virgin?)
> > | [...]
> >
> >
> > Actually, the word BeTHULAH does not denote "virgin" in the
> > technical sense as someone who
> > has not had sex. Rather, the word indicates a woman who is
> > marriageable, regardless of her
> > previous sexual activity. It is akin to our modern expression
> > "single woman" -- that is, a
> > woman who is not currently married. Many women who had been
> > married but whose husbands had
> > died without leaving children were considered "virgins" -- that
> > is, they were eligible for
> > marriage (again).
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > GEORGE ATHAS
> > (Sydney, Australia)
> > :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> > Tel Dan Inscription Website
> > http://members.nbci.com/gathas/teldan.htm
> > :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> >
> >
> >
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