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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] definite article in Isaiah 7:14

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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: kenneth greifer <kenneth AT messianicmistakes.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] definite article in Isaiah 7:14
  • Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2007 22:06:01 -0400

Kenneth,

The situation in Isaiah 7:14 is crystal clear.

1. Since the Hebrew HA- is but a variant of the personal pronoun HU, HI, 'he, she', HA-ALMAH is surely in reference to a person on which the prophet and his listeners were in agreement as to her factual identity. Insofar as the prophet did not have you and me in mind at that time, he did not elaborate on the status of his ALMAH.

2. The fact that the prophet uses the bare form HARAH and not HA- HARAH is a clear indication that the ALMAH was not yet known by the people of Jerusalem to be pregnant. If she had any difficulties conceiving, or the nation was just awaiting the good tidings is lost on us by the habitual brevity of the biblical text.

3. Now to the etymology of the word ALMAH. It is from the root (LM, 'pile up, grow up, mature'. The presence of the letter L in the root indicates that it refers to an elevated material state. As a verb it means 'to cover up, to pile up upon, to wrap over', and hence by analogy 'to hide, to conceal'. The derived words (ELEM, and (ALMAH mean, to my understanding, correspondingly, a grown boy and a nubile girl. Likewise, (ALUMIM is 'the days of youth', as in Job 33:25. It is possible that HA-)ALMAH was in deferential use in the sense of Her Royal Highness.
(OLAM is the totality of the compiled creation.
The root )LM is a variant of the root (LM. Derived from this root are the words )ALUMAH, 'a pile or bundle of cut wheat, a sheaf' [in present day spoken Hebrew )ALUMAH is also 'beam, shaft', as in )ALUM- AT OR. 'a beam of light'], )ULAM, 'a large hall' and )ILEM, 'mute, tight, shut, coiled up, seized, overwhelmed, convulsed, inert, faint, unconscious'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jun 9, 2007, at 9:41 PM, kenneth greifer wrote:

Peter,

You are right that I should have noticed the importance of "a" or "the" in Isaiah 7:14 since I am interested in the idea that there are mistakes in the messianic proof quotes. I don't see this as an important "mistake" and I did not include it in my wacky internet site where I list all of my strange ideas about what I think the messianic proof quotes really say.

As an amateur crackpot trying to turn pro, I have put many of my weird ideas into one place for people to look at them if they want to.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Greifer
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