The Miraculous Birth
By The Late Rev. Sam Stern
Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin [almah] shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [Isaiah 7:14].
Regarding the ot [sign or miracle in Hebrew] that God told the house of David He would give them, Metsidas Zion* states that the almah is haracha b’shanim [young in years].
*Metsidas Zion and Metsidas David are commentaries on the Prophets and Writings by Rabbi ben David Altschuller in two parts.
Rashi, in his comment quoted below, also stresses the youth of the almah. He mentions what other commentators say about the almah who is to bear a child, implying a miraculous birth:
This is the sign: she is a naarah [young girl] and would not be prophesying at her age, but the Holy Spirit will rest on her…Some say the son is Hezekiah, but this is impossible because Hezekiah was born nine years before his father [Ahaz] became king. Some say she was…too young to have a baby. The ot [sign or miracle] is that the young girl shall bear a child.
In addition, Isaiah’s wife, who is named as the prophetess in Chapter 8, verse, 3, had already borne a son, Shearjashub [7:3], and would not qualify as the young girl, naarah, that Rashi calls the almah mentioned in Isaiah 7:14.
Rabbinic Tradition
Rabbinic tradition has gone to great lengths to disprove the tenet of a virgin birth. The rabbis teach, for example, that bethulah is the only word for virgin and that, on the contrary, almah can apply to any young woman.
Yet, Radak, in his comment on Isaiah 7:14, believes that the word almah could mean virgin:
Elem means young boy, the male, and almah means young girl [naarah]. Could be a virgin…
The question arises that if only the word bethulah means virgin, why would Radak believe that almah could mean virgin also?
The custom of the times dictated that young girls live at home with their families and that they be chaperoned. Elem and its feminine form, almah, mean someone hidden from sight, concealed, private.
Although the rabbis teach that bethulah is the only word for virgin, Rashi used another word to describe the almah in Isaiah 7:14 — naarah, which means child or young girl, by implication a virgin.
For example, the Bible, in Genesis 24:16, uses both words, naarah and bethulah to describe Rebekah.
And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her…
Targum Onkeles translates the words naarah and bethulah in Genesis 24:16 as ulemta and b’tultah [Aramaic for young girl and virgin].
Some translators use the word maiden for naarah in Genesis 24:16. One definition of the word maiden is a girl or young unmarried woman, a virgin. This definition can also apply to a male as a man who has always abstained from sexual relations.
In addition to the word maiden, the word maid, when not referring to a servant, is the shortened form of maiden. Further, the adjective form used in maiden voyage, for example, denotes the first or virgin voyage. Also noteworthy is an example of the use of the word maidhood: The innocence of her maidhood.
The word virgin denotes an absolutely pure maiden or maid, one whose age and character presume chastity.
Regarding any nuances between the meanings of these three words, bethulah describes a virgin physically, regardless of age. On the other hand, naarah emphasizes the youth of the female, which by implication makes her a virgin, especially when we take into consideration customs and the normal use of the word, not any exception. Almah on the other hand, stresses other qualities, such as innocence or loveliness, as well as youth and virginity.
Rebekah -- naarah, bethulah and almah
In Genesis 24:16 cited above, the Bible calls Rebekah both a naarah and a bethulah. However, in Genesis 24:43 the Bible describes the same Rebekah as an almah:
And I was standing near the water and an almah goes out to take water.
Since Genesis 24:16 refers to this same almah as bethulah it appears that both words, almah and bethulah, mean virgin. As noted in the study of words meaning sign or miracle in the article entitled A Jewish View of Miracles, more than one word in the Hebrew or Aramaic can have the same meaning. In this 24th chapter of Genesis, which deals with Abraham’s servant Eliezer searching for a suitable bride for Isaac, the Bible describes Rebekah as a bethulah, a naarah and an almah. These three words clearly denote virginity.
Six occurrences of the word almah
In addition to the customs of the time, language and history are two other factors to consider in our understanding of the miraculous birth and other prophecies. Regarding language, the word almah appears in the Bible four times in addition to Isaiah 7:14 and Genesis 24:43.
The first such occurrence, Exodus 2:8, relates to Miriam, the sister of Moses:
And Pharoah’s daughter said to her, Go. And the almah went and called the child’s mother.
Both Rashi and Targum Onkeles comment that Miriam was a young girl at the time.
Miriam ran fast like a young girl [Rashi]. Use of the Aramaic ulemta indicates a young girl [Onkeles].
Proverbs 30:19 also mentions the word almah:
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with an almah.
Metsidas David is not sure if this almah is a virgin, but he considers that possibility in his comment as follows:
If she were a beulah [a woman who has had a man] we cannot tell, but if she was a bethulah, we can tell.
Again, Onkeles translates almah as ulemta.
The following verse, verse 20, deals with an adulterous woman [ishah na’aph], but it cannot be combined with verse 19 because the introduction to this passage in verse 15 tells of three or four things. In the instance of verse 19 -- an eagle, a serpent, a ship and a man are the four things. The mention of three or four things follows a pattern in Proverbs Chapter 30. In each case what follows the fourth thing is unrelated to it. Therefore, the adulterous woman in verse 20 would not be the almah of verse 19. Neither can it refer to someone like Rebekah, who is called almah, bethulah and naarah.
We find the last two instances of the use of the plural alamoth in the Song of Solomon 1:3 and 6:8. Chapter 1, verse 3, reads as follows:
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the alamoth (plural) love thee.
In this instance, Rashi actually equates the alamoth with the bethuloth: alamoth- bethuloth [virgins]!
Metsidas Zion calls the alamoth young girls, naarot.
In the Song of Solomon 6:8, the Bible reads as follows:
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and alamoth without number.
Metsidas Zion gives the logical comment that the alamoth are young girls, naarot. The alamoth do not fall into the category of either the queens or the concubines, since they are virgins.
God’s Prophet Isaiah
The Jewish people honor Isaiah, Yeshiah ha’novi, as their greatest prophet and place him on a pedestal equal with Moses. History in the Bible relates that God gave Isaiah a vision before He sent him to give His message to Israel, as He gave visions to other prophets. Also like other prophets, Isaiah performed symbolic acts to dramatize his preachings. For example, in Chapter 8 verse 18, Isaiah reveals that his children are signs:
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel…
Isaiah 7:3 and 8:1 deal with the meaning of Isaiah’s two sons’ names as they relate to the political situation. First is the name of Isaiah’s son Shearjashub [Shear Yashuv]:
The LORD said unto Isaiah: Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son…[Isaiah 7:3].
The Chaldean word Shear means remnant and shub means to turn back, or back again. Therefore the name Shearjashub is taken to mean "a remnant shall return."
Isaiah’s other son is named Mahershalalhashbaz [Isaiah 8:3]. This verse shows that Isaiah and his wife conceived this son in obedience to God’s command:
And I went unto the prophetess and she conceived and bare a son. Then said the LORD unto me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
The name Mahershalalhashbaz contains two words, Maher, which means suddenly, and Baz, which means plunder. Shal-al-hash means the following: Chalol -- robbing; Chosh bass – plundered.
Jewish interpreters and commentators explain Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah Chapters 7 and 8 as they do other Biblical prophecies — only within the context of the contemporary historical and political situation. They tend to use an allegorical, rather than a literal, method of interpretation. Therefore, they "put in" what is in accord with the scope of history [egesis], for example, rather than "take out" what is within the prophecy without the limitations of history or politics [exegesis].
According to history at the time to which Isaiah referred, Syria and Israel were preparing to move against Judah in Jerusalem:
And it came to pass… that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah… the king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it [Isaiah 7:1].
The LORD tells Isaiah that he and his son Shearjashub should meet Ahaz to tell him not to be afraid—the plans of these two countries would not come to pass if the Jewish people would believe in Him [Isaiah 7:3, 4]. Then God addresses not only the present king, Ahaz, but the whole house of David with the prophecy of a miraculous birth:
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin [almah] shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].
The remainder of Isaiah Chapter 7 deals with destruction by Assyria, but the name of Isaiah’s son, Shearjashub, predicts that a remnant shall return.
In Isaiah Chapter 8, God uses Isaiah’s son, Mahershalalhashbaz, as a timetable, saying that when the child is very young, Assyria will take away the riches of Syria and Israel:
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria [Isaiah 8:4].
God again speaks to Isaiah, advising him that He will cause Assyria to overcome them. However, if they would believe that God is with them, all this destruction would not occur:
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us [Isaiah 8:10].
But Judah does not believe and is temporarily plundered:
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, and they shall be driven to darkness [Isaiah 8:22].
The Importance of Context
Another major criterion affecting Biblical interpretation is context. Isaiah Chapter 8 ends on a note of destruction with verse 22 quoted above.
Yet the following verses, Chapter 9, verses 1 through 6, give hope that the darkness is not forever — that a great light will shine. In fact, some Jewish sources state that Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 11:1 are related as messianic prophecies. Isaiah 9:6 reads as follows:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Further, Isaiah 11:1 tells of someone still to be born, who will, among other things, "rule with righteousness".
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
In addition, a common thread relating to sons occurs in these three sections quoted above. Isaiah 7:14 points to a son to be born in the future. Isaiah’s two sons are given as signs. Isaiah 9:6 also prophesies that "unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." And Isaiah 11:1 tells of a root out of Jesse.
We conclude that the three prophecies quoted in the preceding paragraphs relate to the Messiah, who will be born of a virgin, who will be equal with the Father [avi ad, Isaiah 9:6], and who will be in the line of David through Jesse.
Who is Immanuel?
It is clear that Isaiah Chapters 7, 9 and 11 contain a common theme of sons. The son to be born of a virgin as recorded in Isaiah 7:14 is to be named Immanuel. This name, which means "God (is) with us" appears only once again, in Isaiah 8:8.
Rabbi Joseph Caro, in his comment on Isaiah 7:14, believes that Immanuel is the son of Isaiah the prophet and his wife, the prophetess.
Radak, on the other hand, reaches no definite conclusion; he states that the almah mentioned here could be a bethulah or not. He is also not sure if Immanuel is the son of Isaiah or the son of Ahaz.
Metsidat David clearly believes the wife of Ahaz is the almah and the mother of Immanuel.
It is clear that these Jewish sages did not take into consideration messianic prophecy that God was to fulfill at a later time. They only read into the words what applied to the times. If they had broadened their view, they would have realized that the son promised, Immanuel, 1) would come at a much later time, 2) would actually be God with us as prophesied in Isaiah 9:6 — The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace and 3) would be the Messiah, the root of the line of David, who would bring lasting peace on earth [Isaiah Chapter 11:6]. When we consider all these facts, the only conclusion we can reach is that the almah in Isaiah 7:14 refers to a virgin who would bring forth a child at a future time by a miracle of God, a child who would be God Himself with us.
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© 2003 Dorothy Stern - Mayim Hayim Ministries