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[[File:RebeccaAtTheWell Giovanni.jpg|thumb|[[Laban (Bible)|Laban]] and [[Rebecca]] at the well, by [[Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini]]. Rebecca is described as an ''almah'' ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 24:43)]]
[[File:RebeccaAtTheWell Giovanni.jpg|thumb|[[Laban (Bible)|Laban]] and [[Rebecca]] at the well, by [[Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini]]. Rebecca is described as an ''almah'' ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 24:43)]]


'''''Almah''''' ({{Script/Hebrew|עַלְמָה}} ''‘almāh'', plural: {{Script/Hebrew|עֲלָמוֹת}} ''‘ălāmōṯ'', from a root implying the vigour of puberty {{sfn|Childs|2001|p=66}}) is a [[Biblical Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for a young woman of childbearing age; despite its importance to the account of the [[virgin birth of Jesus]] in the [[gospel of Matthew]], scholars agree that it has nothing to do with virginity.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=161}} None of those scholars are cited here; the scholars cited here actually say the word means "virgin," but you should assume that some scholars we haven't cited actually agree with us. It occurs nine times in the Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|Byrne|2009|p=155}}
'''''Almah''''' ({{Script/Hebrew|עַלְמָה}} ''‘almāh'', plural: {{Script/Hebrew|עֲלָמוֹת}} ''‘ălāmōṯ'', from a root implying the vigour of puberty {{sfn|Childs|2001|p=66}}) is a [[Biblical Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for a young woman of childbearing age; despite its importance to the account of the [[virgin birth of Jesus]] in the [[gospel of Matthew]], scholars agree that it has nothing to do with virginity because a young woman's virginity was not an important attribute to Bronze Age peoples, who generally adhered to the sexual mores of modern progressives.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=161}}. None of those scholars are cited here; the scholars cited here actually say the word means "virgin," but you should assume that some scholars we haven't cited actually agree with us. It occurs nine times in the Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|Byrne|2009|p=155}}


According to this article, Isiah 7:14 should be translated as follows: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman of child-bearing age will conceive (through sexual intercourse) and give birth to a son." Likewise, Joel 1:8 should be translated as follows: "Mourn like a virgin who is also a widow in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth, with whom she never had sexual intercourse." Allegedly, these translations are not only the correct translations, they are the only correct translations and anything to the contrary is patently erroneous. For proof, you should look to scholarly articles that make the opposite translation.
According to this article, Isiah 7:14 should be translated as follows: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman of child-bearing age will conceive (through sexual intercourse) and give birth to a son." Likewise, Joel 1:8 should be translated as follows: "Mourn like a virgin who is also a widow in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth, with whom she never had sexual intercourse." Allegedly, these translations are not only the correct translations, they are the only correct translations and anything to the contrary is patently erroneous. For proof, you should look to scholarly articles that make the opposite translation.

Revision as of 17:17, 28 December 2020

Not to be confused with Almah (album); Almah (band); Almah (Egyptian dancer); or Alma, Israel.
Laban and Rebecca at the well, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini. Rebecca is described as an almah (Genesis 24:43)

Almah (עַלְמָה‎ ‘almāh, plural: עֲלָמוֹת‎ ‘ălāmōṯ, from a root implying the vigour of puberty [1]) is a Hebrew word for a young woman of childbearing age; despite its importance to the account of the virgin birth of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, scholars agree that it has nothing to do with virginity because a young woman's virginity was not an important attribute to Bronze Age peoples, who generally adhered to the sexual mores of modern progressives.[2]. None of those scholars are cited here; the scholars cited here actually say the word means "virgin," but you should assume that some scholars we haven't cited actually agree with us. It occurs nine times in the Hebrew Bible.[3]

According to this article, Isiah 7:14 should be translated as follows: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman of child-bearing age will conceive (through sexual intercourse) and give birth to a son." Likewise, Joel 1:8 should be translated as follows: "Mourn like a virgin who is also a widow in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth, with whom she never had sexual intercourse." Allegedly, these translations are not only the correct translations, they are the only correct translations and anything to the contrary is patently erroneous. For proof, you should look to scholarly articles that make the opposite translation.

Etymology and social context

Almah derives from a root meaning "to be full of vigour, to have reached puberty".[1] In the ancient Near East girls received value as potential wives and bearers of children: "A wife, who came into her husband's household as an outsider, contributed her labor and her fertility ... [h]er task was to build up the bet 'ab by bearing children, particularly sons" (Leeb, 2002).[4] Scholars thus agree that almah refers to a woman of childbearing age without implying virginity.[2] From the same root, the corresponding masculine word elem עֶלֶם 'young man' also appears in the Bible,[5] as does alum (used in plural עֲלוּמִים) used in the sense '(vigor of) adolescence',[6] in addition to the post-Biblical words almut (עַלְמוּת) and alimut (עֲלִימוּת)[7] both used for youthfulness and its strength (distinct from post-Biblical Alimut אַלִּימוּת 'violence' with initial Aleph, although Klein's Dictionary states this latter root is likely a semantic derivation of the former, from 'strength of youth' to 'violence'[8]).

The Bible uses an unrelated word, betulah (‏בְּתוּלָה‎), to refer to a virgin,[9] as well as the idea of virginity, betulim (‏בְּתוּלִים‎).[10]

Bible usage

The word almah occurs nine times in the Hebrew Bible:[3]

  • A servant of Abraham tells his master how he met Rebecca. He prayed to the Lord that if an almah came to the well and he requested a drink of water from her, that should she then provide him with that drink and also water his camels; he would take that as a sign that she was to be the wife of Isaac. Rebecca, a young, unmarried girl, is that almah.
  • Miriam, an almah, is entrusted to watch the baby Moses; she takes thoughtful action to reunite the baby with his mother by offering to bring the baby to a Hebrew nurse maid (her mother).
  • In 1 Chronicles 15:20 and Psalm 46 heading a psalm is to be played "on alamot". The musical meaning of this phrase has become lost with time: it may mean a feminine manner of singing or playing, such as a girls' choir, or an instrument made in the city of "Alameth".
  • In a victory parade in Psalm 68:25, the participants are listed in order of appearance: 1) the singers; 2) the musicians; and 3) the "alamot" playing cymbals or tambourines.
  • The Song of Songs 1:3 contains a poetic chant of praise to a man, declaring that all the alamot adore him. In verse 6:8 a girl is favorably compared to 60 Queens (wives of the King), 80 Concubines, and numberless alamot.
  • In Proverbs 30:19, concerning an adulterous wife, the Hebrew text and the Greek Septuagint differ: both begin by comparing the woman's acts to things the author claims are hard to predict: a bird flying in air, the movement of a snake over a rock, the path of a ship through the sea; but while the Hebrew concludes with the way of a man with an almah, the Greek reads "and the way of a man in his youth".
  • The verses surrounding Isaiah 7:14 tell how Ahaz, the king of Judah, is told of a sign to be given in demonstration that the prophet's promise of God's protection from his enemies is a true one. The sign is that an almah is pregnant and will give birth to a son who will still be very young when these enemies will be destroyed.[11]

Translation

The Septuagint translates most occurrences of almah into a generic word neanis νεᾶνις meaning 'young woman',[12][13] or to neotes νεότης meaning 'youth',[14] both words being derived from neos 'new' and unrelated to virginity.[15] Two occurrences, in the Genesis verse concerning Rebecca[16] and in Isaiah 7:14, are translated into parthenos (παρθένος),[17] the basic word associated with virginity in Greek (it is a title of Athena 'The Virgin Goddess').

References

  1. ^ a b Childs 2001, p. 66.
  2. ^ a b Sweeney 1996, p. 161.
  3. ^ a b Byrne 2009, p. 155.
  4. ^ Leeb 2002, p. unspecified.
  5. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 5958. עָ֫לֶם (elem) -- a young man". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  6. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 5934. עֲלוּם (alumim) -- youth, youthful vigor". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  7. ^ Even-Shoshan Dictionary, entries עַלְמוּת and עֲלִימוּת
  8. ^ "Klein Dictionary, אלם ᴵᴵᴵ 1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  9. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 1330. בְּתוּלָה (bethulah) -- a virgin". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  10. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 1331. בְּתוּלִים (bethulim) -- virginity". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  11. ^ Preuss 2008, p. 461.
  12. ^ "Strong's Greek: 3494. νεανίας (neanias) -- a young man". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  13. ^ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/sng/1/3/s_672003
  14. ^ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/pro/30/19/s_658019
  15. ^ "Greek Word Study Tool". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  16. ^ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/gen/24/1/t_conc_24043
  17. ^ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/isa/7/1/t_conc_686014

Bibliography

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