Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<michaelabernat9001 AT sbcglobal.net>]

I found the recent discussion on virginity somewhat surprising. It sounds as 
if some of our members do not believe that it was normative for a young woman 
in Ancient Israel to be a virgin or that the law punished a woman who was not 
a virgin when she married. 
Please, clarify if I am misreading.

Concerning Deuteronomy 22:14ff. the Mishnah states in Sanhedrin 1:1 "But the 
Sages say: He that hath brought an evil name [must be judged] by three and 
twenty, for there may arise therefrom a capital case." The footnote in my 
copy comments that this is because the woman may be stoned if the court 
decides against her. 

Josephus comments on the same verse , "but if the damsel be convicted, as 
having been corrupted, and is one of the common people, let her be stoned, 
because she did not preserve her virginity till she were lawfully married; 
but if she were the daughter of a priest, let her be burnt alive."

Concerning the definition of almah, I understand that we have a parallel to 
Isaiah 7:14 in a Ugaritic clay tablet. Someone else will have to verify this 
statement. I don't have a copy available to me but Gordon commented on the 
passage, ". .  the Ugaritic statement that the bride will bear a son is 
fortunately given in parallelistic form; in 77:7 she is called by the exact 
etymological counterpart of Hebrew 'almah 'young woman'; in 77:5 she is 
called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew betulah 'virgin.'" (C. 
H. Gordon, "'Almah in Isaiah 7:14, " Journal of Bible and Religion, XXI, 2 
(April, 1953), p. 106.). This suggests that the words were at times used 
synonymously.

Personally, I would have inferred that if almah does indeed come from a root 
meaning "hidden," that an almah was young enough to be under her father's 
protection. I would not expect English to have an exact equivalent. I would 
anticipate from that context that it might be rendered, "a young woman," "a 
girl living in her father's harem," or by implication, "a young virgin." 
Understanding how English words develop, I would expect that each of these 
meanings might be intended in different contexts.
Sincerely,
Michael Abernathy