Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 7:14 suggests that the young woman is already pregnant and about to give birth, but the Greek Septuagint changes it so the conception and birth become future events. The ambiguity between “young woman” and “virgin” is also difficult to resolve.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 7:14
Hebrew Bible
13 So Isaiah replied, “Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 14 For this reason the Lord himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is pregnant and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. 15 He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Isaiah 7:14
Septuagint
13 And he said, Hear now, house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you contend against the Lord? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; look, the virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey he will eat; before he knows or prefers evil, he shall choose the good.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Besides the translator's insertion of καί in Isaiah 7:16 and ἀλλά in verse 17, we also noted earlier that the Greek sentence in verse 14 is constructed differently from its Hebrew counterpart. The Masoretic text successively contains a term (הָעַלְמָה) which can be read either as a verb or an adjective, a finite verb (הָרָה), and a participle (יֹלֶדֶת). If הָעַלְמָה is taken as a verb, then it should be translated as “is pregnant.” This meaning will make more sense by taking into account the present aspect provided by the participle (יֹלֶדֶת). If one considers הָעַלְמָה as an adjective, then it would still bear a present connotation as it is governed by the meaning of the participle (יֹלֶדֶת). In either case, the sentence structure seems to describe the situation of the woman in question: at the moment the statement is made, she is already pregnant and in fact on the point of giving birth. However, in the LXX, three coordinate verbs are used, all of them in the future tense (ἐλεύσεται ... καλέσεις ... καλέσει), thus constructing the sentence to refer to the near future. Even if “the presence of הִנֵּה at the opening of the verse would call for a futuristic interpretation of [the copula],” as de Sousa has argued, it is worth noting, as Brown has correctly pointed out, that “while ... the Hebrew is vague about whether the conception had already taken place or would take place in the future, the Greek is not vague and the conception is definitely future” ..."
Abi T. Ngunga, Messianism in the Old Greek of Isaiah: An Intertextual Analysis, FRLANT 245 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), 80–81.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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The author wrongly says "ha'almah" is a verb. It is absolutely not a verb, it is a noun. It means "the young woman". "Hineh ha-alma harah means "here is the pregnant young woman". The Greek LXX is badly incorrect, as is proven by the Qumran Isaiah scroll (just as is used in the later Masoretic ...
The author wrongly says "ha'almah" is a verb. It is absolutely not a verb, it is a noun. It means "the young woman". "Hineh ha-alma harah means "here is the pregnant young woman". The Greek LXX is badly incorrect, as is proven by the Qumran Isaiah scroll (just as is used in the later Masoretic text). Furthermore, the context only makes sense the way I just put it. The prophetic prediction has nothing to do with pregnancy. Rather it is about the time from when he made the statement and when the two enemy kings will no longer be a threat to Ahaz. The time interval is the prediction.Further to my prior comment, the LXX uses "parthenos" where the Qumran and Masoretic texts for Isaiah 7:14 have "almah". The Hebrew for "virgin" is always "betulah", never "almah". Where "almah" is given, "virgin" is not a correct rendering. Parthenos is not correct, the mistake is in the LXX.
Further to my prior comment, the LXX uses "parthenos" where the Qumran and Masoretic texts for Isaiah 7:14 have "almah". The Hebrew for "virgin" is always "betulah", never "almah". Where "almah" is given, "virgin" is not a correct rendering. Parthenos is not correct, the mistake is in the LXX.Yet further, "hineh ha'almah" means "here is the young woman". It does not mean "behold the young woman" in the sense intended. Hineh means "here". Otherwise, when God calls Abraham, Abraham, Abe would have answered "behold me", which is nonsense. The answer was "here I am".
Yet further, "hineh ha'almah" means "here is the young woman". It does not mean "behold the young woman" in the sense intended. Hineh means "here". Otherwise, when God calls Abraham, Abraham, Abe would have answered "behold me", which is nonsense. The answer was "here I am".