Virgin Birth

The LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! 

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” 

Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel. (Isaiah 7:10-14)

It’s curious that the reading for today provided by the USCCB is the preceding.  However, when referencing Books of the Bible and then Isaiah from the same USCCB website, we find the following:

Again, the LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky! 

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” 

Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.

Here is the footnote associated with this passage:

Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Samuel 7:12–16). The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Genesis 16:11; Judges 13:3). The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah’ designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity. The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Matthew 1:23. Emmanuel: the name means “with us is God.” Since for the Christian the incarnation is the ultimate expression of God’s willingness to “be with us,” it is understandable that this text was interpreted to refer to the birth of Christ.

Such is biblical interpretation and scholarship.  Was Mary a virgin or simply a young woman of marriageable age?  The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew ‘almah’ as ‘parthenos’ provided the path to the understanding of Jesus’ virgin birth. 

Deacon David Pierce