virgin - Jews for Judaism

The Miraculous Birth

As a parent and grandparent, I see the birth of a child as miraculous. In fact, the doctors gave one of my children a zero percent chance of surviving a pre-mature cesarean delivery. After intense prayer, he survived, and the staff of the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit referred to him as the “miracle baby.” Today he has children of his own. Our sages say there are three partners in the creation of a child, the mother, the father and God - who gives the soul (Niddah 31a). This week’s

Torah portion Tazria Isaiah 7:14

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 2 min read

Israel’s God is Real. How Do I Know?

The dialogue goes something like this: Atheist: How do you know that God created the world? Theist: God told us in the Bible. (Genesis 1:1, 2:4; Isaiah 45:12). Atheist: How do you know that those Bible references are true? Theist: Not only do I believe in the accuracy of the Genesis creation account but scientific findings increasingly support that account. The skeptic asks: “Of the innumerable deities worshiped by humans over the ages, why should we believe that yours is the one that

genesis hebrew word almah

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 3 min read

Chapter 25 - A WOMAN ENCOMPASSES A MAN

Continued from Chapter 24 (Jeremiah 31:22) “A woman encompasses a man” Christians offer a tendentious interpretation of the verse: “For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encompasses a man” (Jeremiah 31:22). The noun neqevah (“woman”) does not mean virgin per se and the verse says nothing of conception, pregnancy, or birth. Neqevah is used in the Bible in reference to any woman, virgin or not (Leviticus 27:4-7; Numbers 5:3, 31:15; Deuteronomy 4:16). Any discussion that s

birth of jesus israel

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 2 min read

Almah, virgin and parthenos

If 'almah means "young woman" in Hebrew why did the Jewish scholar who translated the Book of Isaiah into Greek use a Greek word for "virgin," parthenos? Answer: The Septuagint is not necessarily a literal translation. Therefore, the use of parthenos by the Septuagint translator of the Book of Isaiah may have best represented his interpretive understanding of the physical state of the young woman of Isaiah 7:14 at the time of the annunciation of the sign. Thus, its use does not naturally lead

almah book of isaiah

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 1 min read

Sign of the Virgin

Christian Bibles render Isaiah 7:14 as, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel." Isn't a virgin being with child an outstanding "sign"? On the contrary! It is no "sign" at all. Mary's alleged virginity was not something that could be openly displayed as a proof that something out of the ordinary happened. People would only scoff at such a claim no matter how virtuous the girl was thought to be. A "

boble immanuel

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 1 min read

Chapter 18f - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18e Betulah It is a fact of biblical usage that betulah is the Hebrew word for “virgin,” consistently used in passages which leave no room for speculation or uncertainty as to its meaning (e.g., Leviticus 21:14; Deuteronomy 22:15-19, 23, 28). The word betulah is derived from the root btl, “to sever,” “to separate.” It stands for the “woman separated (from man),” that is, a virgin, a woman who has had no sexual experience. The word betulah is found some fifty times in t

almah gospels of matthew

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 5 min read

Chapter 18h - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18g Why does the Septuagint use parthenos? The Hebrew phrase ha-‘almah harah ve-yoledet ben literally rendered is “the ‘almah pregnant and shall bear a son.” Wanting to indicate that the ‘almah, “young woman,” was still a betulah, “virgin,” at the time of the annunciation of the prophecy, the translator into Greek must have decided to render the term ‘almah as parthenos. The complete verse rendered from the Masoretic text reads: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give y

almah parthenos

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 2 min read

Chapter 18i - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18h The untenable Christian claim The virgin conception story cannot gain any substantiation through reference to the Jewish Scriptures or by appealing to their Greek translation. Isaiah 7:14 appears to be Matthew’s biblical justification for claiming a virgin conception, but it was not the source of the belief (even the author of Luke presents the virgin conception without reference to this verse). The belief originated in the pagan notion that divine conception occur

almah isaiah 7:14

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 3 min read