Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Yigal:

And there are plenty of people who claim that the text, analysing it 
linguistically, indicates while a particular woman was meant, that there was 
no indication that it had to be a woman who was alive at the time Isaiah said 
it.

In this I'm reminded of the prophesy concerning Josiah in 1 Kings 13:2. From 
the immediate text, one would conclude that this Josiah was already born, but 
it wasn't until centuries later that that prophesy was fulfilled.

Therefore, if Isaiah was prophesying in the same manner as the prophesy 
above, there is no reason to insist that the woman be alive at that time. And 
that she was called "the virgin" means that it is a sign, because virgins 
don't get pregnant and give birth.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
> 
>...
> 
> As several respondents have already written, there is no indication in the
> text of Isaiah that ISAIAH meant any young woman, other than one who was
> present, alive, young and preganant at the time, be she Isaiah's wife,
> Ahaz's wife or a local prostitute. The sign was that by the time the child
> was grown, the Assyrians would be gone.
> It was Matthew (or his source-traditions) who chose to understand the young
> woman as referring to Mary. Whether the pre-Christian LXX did or did not use
> "parthenos" to translate "almah" is moot. since we have no pre-Christian
> manuscripts of the LXX.
> 
> Yigal
-- 
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