Regarding Isaiah 7:14
Question
Shalom! I have a question regarding this verse of the prophet Isaiah. Is the English Translation for this verse talking about a virgin or a Young woman or Maiden? I've looked at the great Isaiah scroll to ensure more accuracy but wanted a second input from someone with deep and extensive theological knowledge. Thank you, Yom Tov!
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
I assume you are referring to Isaiah 7:14. When Christians try to “prove” that the Messiah must be born to a virgin, which they claim is Mary who gave birth to Jesus, they love to quote Isaiah 7:14. They claim that the verse says that, “behold a virgin is pregnant and shall give birth to a son.” However, the Hebrew word in this verse is “alma” which does not mean “virgin” it means “young woman.” The Hebrew word for virgin is “betulah” as can be seen in Genesis 19:8 and Deuteronomy 22:20.
Not only is the Christian translation wrong, but it is a totally dishonest way to try and “prove” that Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, if one were to examine a Christian Bible one will find that the word “alma” is indeed translated as “young woman” in all other citations of the word EXCEPT in Isaiah 7:14 where they falsify the translation to push their agenda. How dishonest!
Furthermore, not only does that passage have little or nothing to do with any Messianic prophecy, but that passage and the events it describes took place more than 500 years before Christianity arrived! And what’s more, the prophecy in question is fulfilled in the next chapter of Isaiah with the natural birth of Isaiah’s son, as it says, “I approached the prophetess, and she became pregnant and conceived a boy… and before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 8:3-4).
Virgin birth stories were common in ancient idolatry and mythology but are totally foreign to Judaism. The “miraculous” virgin birth of Jesus was borrowed from ancient pagan myths and is not from the Torah.