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FAQ # 235
QUESTION 235 : Did the word “Virgin” mean
the same thing two thousand years ago?
One
book I was reading from says that Hebrew uses different words for virgin
and young woman. A young woman might be a virgin but she doesn’t have
to be. A few Jewish commentators suggests the reference in Isaiah, and
consequently the New Testament record of Mary’s virginity, meant that
she was only a young woman. In other words, whether or not Mary was a
virgin, she did not have to be to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy; which they
claim only spoke of a young woman. Some even claim this was not a prophecy
of Mary, but spoke of Isaiah’s wife.
The
verse in Isaiah reads, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you
a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel" (Isa 7:14). Which is
reference to Matthew 1:23-15, "Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us…and he called his name Jesus [Yahoshua
in the original]."
Let’s
now go to the reference used by most authorities, The New Strong Concordance:
Old
Testament:
Strong numbers for the
Hebrew of the word virgin: 1330 and 5959. Only two occurrences of 5959
(e.g. Gen 24:43), all others is 1330 (e.g. Isa 7:14).
5959 is the word “Almah,”
femine of “Elem,” which means something kept out of sight. “Almah” by
itself means damsel, maid, [and can be a] virgin.
1330 is the word “bethuwlaw,”
meaning to separate; a [literal] virgin; sometimes a bride.
New
Testament:
Strong numbers for the Greek of the word virgin: 3933
3933 is the word "parthenos," meaning of unknown; or a maiden;
by implication an unmarried daughter:- virgin
The biblical context usually
gives the meaning of the word, hence they are a few words used interchangeable
with virgin and mean virgin. For instance, "I took this woman, I
came to her, I found her not a maid" (Dan 22:14). Did he mean
he found that in biblical times she went and got a sex change and now
a man? Or, she cannot do house work? No, he had sex with her and then
alleges that her hymen (inner vagina) was already broken - not a virgin.
We know Mary was a literal virgin, but some of the above seems to want
to foster doubt, by simple saying she was only unmarried. Even if it means
an unmarried daughter, it usually means that she is a virgin. For no man
would marry a woman who is not a virgin in Israel then. In fact, here
is the law on it:
“If any man take a wife,
and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against
her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and
when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father
of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the
damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: And the damsel’s
father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to
wife, and he hateth her; And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against
her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are
the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the
cloth before the elders of the city. And the elders of that city shall
take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him in an hundred
shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because
he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she
shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. But if this thing
be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then
they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and
the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because
she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house:
so shalt thou put evil away from among you” (Due 22:13-21).
And
even if you somehow slept with a virgin, you had to marry her:
“If a man find a damsel
that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie
with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give
unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his
wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days”
(Due 22:28-29).
And
if you did it forcefully or presumptuously, both are one of you will be
put to death:
“If a damsel that is
a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city,
and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that
city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because
she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled
his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you. But
if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her,
and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto
the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy
of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth
him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed
damsel cried, and there was none to save her” (Due 22:23-27).
This
sort of thing and dread went on until Jesus' days, so women would be circumspect
in fear and honor. This was especially the case for a overly God-fearing
woman as Mary, close cousin to the Priest and Elizabeth, mother of John.
Therefore,
a “maid,” “young woman” or “Virgin” unequivocally meant a virgin, as in
one who never had sex before; especially within its context. Like Mary,
mother of Jesus. That’s why Joseph sought to put her away quietly
when he found out she was pregnant (Matt. 1:19); because according to
the Law in Due 22:23-27 above, they would stone her for not being a virgin
bride. But the angel of God stopped him and not only confirms that she
was a virgin, but the child in her was not by sexual intercourse but was
wrought supernaturally by God (Matt 1:19-20). Mary herself said to the
Angel Gabriel that she was a virgin, “Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man” (Luke 1:34)?
And, Isaiah’s prophecy was about Mary because only
Christ was God with us (Immanuel). God probably caused him to have a son
with his wife as a typification.
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