virgin conception - Jews for Judaism

Chapter 18d - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18c How did the respective authors of Matthew and Luke substantiate their claim? They claim that Jesus’ mother was a virgin, and God, not Joseph was his father, so that he was really God’s son from his very conception. Based, in part, on the Septuagint’s rendering of Isaiah 7:14 (or some related recession) Matthew’s text reads: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23). It should be noted that th

hebrew isaiah

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 4 min read

Chapter 18e - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18d ‘Almah The Christian understanding of the scriptural uses of ‘almah is usually governed by the attempt to prove that the word means virgin in Isaiah 7:14. Christians attempt to translate this verse in the Hebrew text to conform to the way Matthew used the Greek Isaiah 7:14 as a reference to a virgin conception. Of the relevant scriptural verses where ‘almah is used, Genesis 24:43, Exodus 2:8, Isaiah 7:14, Psalms 68:26, Proverbs 30:19, Song of Songs 1:3, 6:8, only th

almah na'arah

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 4 min read

Chapter 18g - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18f The ’ot What was the purpose of the ’ot, the corroborating sign, the divine attestation, of the message the prophet delivered? The timing of the event proclaimed in Isaiah 7:14 can be fixed to some degree from the general context, from which it is indicated when the entire sequence of events would culminate (verse 16). The prophet is addressing himself to a contemporary situation and his message is delivered to a king who faces dangerous enemies. The word ’ot, “sign

ot betulah

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 4 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

Chapter 18b - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18a Several suggestions have been proposed to identify the mother and child. Frequently, she has been identified with a present wife of Ahaz or a young woman about to be married to him and pointed out in person by the prophet. The child has been identified with one of his children, notably Hezekiah.2 Another proposal is that ha-‘almah, “the young woman,” is Isaiah’s own wife, specifically the prophetess of Isaiah 8:3, or one of several wives. A third proposal is that the

hezekiah trinitarian conception

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 3 min read

Chapter 18j - THE VIRGIN MISCONCEPTION MYTH

Continued from Chapter 18i Who could say with certainty that she was a virgin following her child’s conception or at his birth?11 A virgin being with child would not be an outstanding sign? The sign is a message imparted by the name of the male child, that is, Immanuel — “God with us,” born to the young woman, and the events that subsequently followed his birth. In the New Testament, everyone assumed Joseph was the father of Jesus (Luke 3:23) and Jesus is never called Immanuel. The birth of

birth david

Zalman Kravitz

Jun 4, 2025 — 5 min read