Did the belief that Jesus was born of a virgin originate from a translation error?

Question

Doesn't Isaiah predict that the savior (who would overthrow Rome) would be born of an almah? And while Paul believed that translates to virgin, it in fact does not?

Answer 1

The NT doesn't translate almah into parthenos but interprets it as a prochecy. Isaiah was probably speaking of his wife as almah and the later fulfilment (most prophecies have two) was in Christ through a literal virgin. So, no.

Answer 2

The original Hebrew read 'virgin,' as in the modern sense of the word. That was still the Hebrew reading when the Septuagint was translated, and it is the reading preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls. By the time the Masoretic text was copied (c. 9th century AD) the word had been changed to 'almah,' or 'young woman.' Until the variant readings in the Dead Sea Scrolls were published, most scholars assumed that the Septuagint was a paraphrase of the Hebrew. That is why some people still think that the original text read 'young woman.' But that position is no longer tenable.

But Paul never mentioned anything about the virgin birth - and that is the strongest argument against it (Paul actually states that Jesus was 'born of the seed (Gr. sperma) of David'). The only New Testament document to mention the virgin birth is the Gospel of Matthew, which simply states that 'a virgin will conceive...' In context, the Bible does not necessarily require a miraculous virgin birth. The modern doctrine of the virgin birth is a Christian tradition, and is found explicitly in ancient extra-biblical documents of the first few centuries.

Answer 3

Nope. Whether or not almah really means virgin as we understand it is beside the point. The point is, the Jews who translated the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Bible which translated almah (young girl) as virgin) understood almah to mean virgin. This was the Greek text used and approved by the Jewish population in the time of Christ, so they expected at the time that the messiah would be born of an actual virgin. Jesus' was a man of his time, and he did not disappoint.

Answer 4

Isaiah didn't just prophesy that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, he specifically prophecied that that fact would be the sign by which the Messiah could be recognized. If you translate the word simply as "young woman" rather than as "virgin" the passage makes no sense at all. The sign by which we can recognize the Messiah is that a child will be born to a young woman??? What kind of sign is that? It happens hundreds of times a day. A child being born to a virgin, now that is an event that is noteworthy. That could serve as a sign that this baby is someone unique.
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Answer 5

Buddha-- Born of a virgin 600 BC
Dionysus-- Born of a virgin in a stable, turned water into wine
Quirrnus-- Born of a virgin
Attis-- Born of a virgin 200 BC
Indra-- Born of a virgin 700 BC
Adonis-- Born of the virgin Ishtar
Krishna--Born of a virgin 1200 BC
Zoroaster-- Born of a virgin 1500 BC
Mithra-- Born of a virgin in a stable on 25th December 600 BC. His resurrection was celebrated at Easter.

It seems more like something other then an error in the translation to me. It appears that all saviors had to be born of a virgin.

Answer 6

to be fair, many "young women" in biblical times were also virgins. but girls married young then, so "almah" could be referring to a young woman who is married as well. however, if this really was a messianic prophecy, wouldn't isaiah want to leave no ambiguity at all? after all, a virgin conceiving a child is a pretty miraculous thing. so if he wanted to tell people that the woman was a virgin, he would have used the hebrew word for virgin, "betulah." that would leave no ambiguity. isaiah used the word betulah many times in his book, so we know he knew the word and could have used it in the verse you are talking about if what he actually meant was virgin and not just any young woman.

Answer 7

The prophecy is that (almah) shall conceive.... and THAT would be a sign unto man.

What kind of a sign would it be if a young woman conceived a child. The point of the prophecy is that it will be an UNUSUAL event.

The use of almah is a perfectly acceptable translation for "virgin."

Answer 8

In the Hebrew, "almah" means "young woman." The Hellenistic Jews who translated Isaiah chose a Greek word, "parthenos," which while close in meaning, also denotes a virgin.

Answer 9

Yes. The Hebrew word almah (עלמה if my spelling is correct) means "young woman" and not "virgin." That is a mistranslation from Hebrew to Greek and then from Greek to English.

Answer 10

Through literary translation almah does not necessarily or certainly mean "virgin" but, in cultural context, it would be abnormal for an almah to be anything other than a virgin.