"Behold the young lady (parthenos = almah) is pregnant..."
by Shmuel Playfair
[edited for easier reading]
In Matthew 1:22-23 we read, "Now all this has occurred in order that the word spoken by God through the prophet might be fulfilled saying, 'Behold the young lady (ha-almah) is pregnant and will bear a son and they will call his name Immanuel which being interpreted means 'God is with us'." When the Greek word "parthenos" was first used (third through first centuries B.C.E.) to translate the original Hebrew word, "almah", it meant "a young lady (who may or may not be a virgin)". For example, after Dinah had sexual intercourse she was still referred to as "the parthenon" (τὴν παρθένον) in the Greek translation of the Hebrew text. [cf. Genesis 34:2-4] Later, "parthenos" apparently took on the connotation of "a young lady who is a virgin". So, at first, "parthenos" in Greek meant the same as "young lady" or "marriageable maiden" does in English and "almah" does in Hebrew. Later when the meaning of "parthenos" changed to connote a "virgin", Jewish translators (in the first and second century C.E.) began to use the less misleading Greek word "neanis" (meaning "young lady") for the original Hebrew word "almah".
It should be noted that Matthew's reference (1:23) to the pregnant "young woman" (almah) found originally in Isaiah 7:14 was not the primary, plain, or literal (i.e. the Peshat) explanation of the text. Rather, it was a midrashic type of interpretation known as a hint or as an allusion (Remez). This type of midrashic interpretation (AKA "pesher") takes a word or a phrase without regard to its original context, applies it to another unrelated situation and draws out new, previously unknown inference from it. In this case, Matthew explains that this young lady, Mary, who is pregnant and bearing a son is a further fulfillment of that ancient prophecy regarding the pregnant (non-virgin) "almah" at the time of Isaiah.
by Shmuel Playfair
[edited for easier reading]
In Matthew 1:22-23 we read, "Now all this has occurred in order that the word spoken by God through the prophet might be fulfilled saying, 'Behold the young lady (ha-almah) is pregnant and will bear a son and they will call his name Immanuel which being interpreted means 'God is with us'." When the Greek word "parthenos" was first used (third through first centuries B.C.E.) to translate the original Hebrew word, "almah", it meant "a young lady (who may or may not be a virgin)". For example, after Dinah had sexual intercourse she was still referred to as "the parthenon" (τὴν παρθένον) in the Greek translation of the Hebrew text. [cf. Genesis 34:2-4] Later, "parthenos" apparently took on the connotation of "a young lady who is a virgin". So, at first, "parthenos" in Greek meant the same as "young lady" or "marriageable maiden" does in English and "almah" does in Hebrew. Later when the meaning of "parthenos" changed to connote a "virgin", Jewish translators (in the first and second century C.E.) began to use the less misleading Greek word "neanis" (meaning "young lady") for the original Hebrew word "almah".
It should be noted that Matthew's reference (1:23) to the pregnant "young woman" (almah) found originally in Isaiah 7:14 was not the primary, plain, or literal (i.e. the Peshat) explanation of the text. Rather, it was a midrashic type of interpretation known as a hint or as an allusion (Remez). This type of midrashic interpretation (AKA "pesher") takes a word or a phrase without regard to its original context, applies it to another unrelated situation and draws out new, previously unknown inference from it. In this case, Matthew explains that this young lady, Mary, who is pregnant and bearing a son is a further fulfillment of that ancient prophecy regarding the pregnant (non-virgin) "almah" at the time of Isaiah.
