Catholic view of Isaiah 7:14 - "Virgin" or "Maiden"?

[PatThompson]

I’m hoping you can help me understand the Catholic view of Isaiah 7:14.

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II - Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City Saturday, 23 January 1999
*It is the night when the Son of God came into the world in Bethlehem, as foretold by the prophets and as we have heard in the first reading: “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel” (Is 7:14). These words, spoken many centuries ago, were fulfilled on the night when the Son conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary entered the world. *
A “New Anthropology” from the Spirit General Audience — May 23, 1990
*The analogies which have been proposed between this passage and other accounts from the ancient world and especially Old Testament writings never refer to the most important and decisive point, that is, the virginal conception. That constitutes an absolutely new element.
*
But when this came up in another Catholic forum a number of Catholics became quite offended that the “traditional Jewish translation” uses the word “maiden” rather than “virgin”.

Can anyone point me to information about when the Church’s view on this changed? Thank you in advance!

 

[mtr01]

PatThompson:

I’m hoping you can help me understand the Catholic view of Isaiah 7:14.

But when this came up in another Catholic forum a number of Catholics became quite offended that the “traditional Jewish translation” uses the word “maiden” rather than “virgin”.

Can anyone point me to information about when the Church’s view on this changed? Thank you in advance!

I don’t think the Church has ever changed it’s view about Isaiah 7:14. Recently, however, there has been a trend in Bible translation to focus more on the Hebrew Masoretic Text than on the Septuagint (LXX), as it has traditionally been. My point of view is that this is a Protestant influence. Either way, many new Bible translations have “young woman” instead of “virgin”. This is probably the case in the first link you gave. Specific reference is made to the daily reading…so it was from a translation based on the Hebrew (I’m not sure which translation they use in Mexico).

As for the 2nd link, if you read a little further, the text explains itself:

It is true that in the parallel passage from Matthew we read: “All of this took place to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’” (Mt. 1:22-23). The result, however, always surpasses the expectations. That is, the event includes new elements which were not expressed in the prophecy. Thus, in the case that we are referring to, the Isaian oracle about the virgin who will conceive (cf. Is 7:14) remained incomplete and therefore lent itself to various interpretations.

The Incarnation event fulfilled it with unforseeable perfection. A truly virginal conception was brought about through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Son who was born is truly “God with us.” We are no longer referring strictly to a covenant with God, but to God’s real presence in the people’s midst by virtue of the Incarnation of the eternal Son of God. This is an absolutely new element.

 

[philipmarus]

There is a good article on this in THIS ROCK magazine by Mark Shea a few years ago. Here is the link

catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9807fea4.asp

 

[puzzleannie]

difficult to imagine in this day, age and sex-saturated culture, but in the time, place and culture these words were written, maiden and virgin meant the same thing.

 

[porthos11]

Shea’s article is a good one. He also expounds on this in “Making Senses from Scripture” (Basilica Press).

In truth, the translation of “almah” is acurrately “young woman” or “maiden”. I happen to agree with the RSV translators on this one. The translators only wanted to put down what was actually written, and leave the interpretation to a minimum.

I’m not too concerned because the RSV also properly translates the LXX passage cited by St. Matthew. The Greek is “parthenos”, lit. “virgin” and that’s what you will find. I therefore see no malice or modernism in such translations. They are merely being accurate to the original languages.

For me it helps because it made me see the importance of understanding the immdiate fulfillment, and the ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

 

[BibleReader]

philipmarus:

There is a good article on this in THIS ROCK magazine by Mark Shea a few years ago. Here is the link

catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9807fea4.asp

I m-m-m-m-m-o-o-o-o-ostly agree with Mr. Shea’s analysis, here.

Hezekiah’s mother was the almah Isaiah had in mind. And Isaiah’s focus was absolutely NOT to teach a miraculous virgin birth.

BUT, Isaiah was predicting a royal birth by an impregnated royal consort, who most certainly would have been a young lady who was a virgin before the royal “connections.” I.e., the mindset then was NOT, “Sally down the street, who may or may not be a virgin, is getting married.” The mindset then was, “This girl about to have sex with the king had BETTER be a virgin.” I.e., it really was a consciously-comprehended part of the “king’s consort picture.”

Mary was a “king’s consort.”

AFFIRMATIVELY EXCLUDING virginity as part of the consciously-drawn picture being portrayed in Isaiah is almost certainly an error. In my opinion, though Mary’s virginity was not THE focus of the *sensus plenior *meaning of Isaiah 7:14, Mary’s virginity, as a “consort of the king,” is nonetheless an ELEMENT OF – A PART OF – that focus.

The “virgin” translation is, in my opinion, correct, and making use of Isaiah 7:14 as a reference to Mary’s virginity in one of the elements of its meaning is not incorrect.

 

[Verbum]

Hi Pat,

The Hebrew word can mean unmarried young girl or recently married young woman.

Like many prophecies, this one has a meaning for the time it was was written and for later. And the Hebrew word fits both situations.

The meaning for its time is the birth of Ezechias, son of Achaz. The meaning for the future is clearly messianic, and the intepretation it came to have is clear from the Septuagint translation into Greek, which uses “parthenos”, meaning “maiden” or “virgin”.

I note that the original edition of the French Bible de Jérusalem translates “jeune fille”, which, I think, corresponds to “maiden” in English and therefore implies virginity. They explain in their footnotes that they have chosen this translation specifically because of the Greek interpretation, which, in their view, represents waht eventually became the Jewish interpretation in the days before Christ.

The more recent editions of the Bible de Jérusalem have more or less the same footnote but choose to translate by “jeune femme” (young woman). Modern translators usually choose the meaning that was obvious to readers when the text was written rather than what it came to mean later upon reflection and the development of the Messianic themes.

Both points of view are defendable, and one should not get too worked up over this. Of course, everyone translates “virgin”, when it comes to Matthew 1, 23

Verbum

 

[mtr01]

Verbum:

Like many prophecies, this one has a meaning for the time it was was written and for later. And the Hebrew word fits both situations.

The meaning for its time is the birth of Ezechias, son of Achaz. The meaning for the future is clearly messianic, and the intepretation it came to have is clear from the Septuagint translation into Greek, which uses “parthenos”, meaning “maiden” or “virgin”.

I note that the original edition of the French Bible de Jérusalem translates “jeune fille”, which, I think, corresponds to “maiden” in English and therefore implies virginity. They explain in their footnotes that they have chosen this translation specifically because of the Greek interpretation, which, in their view, represents waht eventually became the Jewish interpretation in the days before Christ.

Verbum

I find this right on target. Which is also why the Holy Father could say that applying the prophecy to the virgin birth was “a new element” in the days of Christ.

For what its worth for those who are into the original languages, here is Isa 7:14 in Hebrew and Greek (LXX):

Hebrew:
לכן יתן אדני הוא לכם אות הנה העלמה הרה וילדת בן וקראת שׁמו עמנו אל׃

where אות (almah) means maidservant or young girl.

Greek:
διὰ τοῦτο δώσει κύριος αὐτὸς ὑμῖν σημεῖον· ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Εμμανουηλ·

where παρθένος (parthenos) means virgin.