Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 12:55:18 -0500 "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
writes:
> Søren:
> 
> (LMH (also (LM in 1 Samuel 17, 20) when referring to a person 
> indicates that the person is unknown. The root (LM has the meaning 
> of being unknown, in hiphil the causitive meaning, i.e. to hide.
> 
> When taken in the context of Genesis 4:1 (in American English that 
> same wording was still used when I was young), the “unknown one” is 
> by necessity a virgin, making (LMH the technical term for “virgin”. 
> Either that, or the term refers to a stranger.
> 
> (I think the term’s use in Proverbs 30:10 refers to “the unknown”, 
> not a person. The only arguments presented that I have seen that it 
> refers to a person are not linguistic, but tradition. Hence I find 
> them unconvincing.)
> 
> If the present copies of the LXX are accurate copies of the 
> original, then the LXX translated Isaiah 7:14 as “virgin”, i.e. 
> before the NT interpretation.
> 
> I am not going to argue the theological implications of this verse 
> (e.g. some say that the virgin to whom Isaiah referred, was one 
> standing near to Isaiah at the time he made the statement, with no 
> expectation that she remained a virgin until after the birth of the 
> child), but as a linguist, I see no good argument that (LMH was not 
> the technical term for “virgin”, more so than BTWLH.
> 
> Karl W. Randolph.
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Karl,

Actually, it does not mean "unknown" but rather "conceal" and in the
hiphil "conceal" or "hide."   It never meant "virgin" but a young woman
who was sexually mature.  Your etymologizing should at least be somewhat
more accurate even if the practice itself is, at best, questionable.  I
would suggest that you read James Barr _The Semantics of Biblical
Language_

In regard to Peter's question regarding whether PARQENOS meant "young
woman", I would refer you to Liddell-Scott-Jones s.v. PARQENOS where this
meaning is noted in numerous contexts and which can be accessed on the
Perseus web site if you do not personally have it available.

george
gfsomsel
___________