Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Isa. 7:14 -- "virgin" or "young woman"? | Is 7:14 | kalos | 104484 | ||
Isa. 7:14 -- "virgin" or "young woman"? "Ultimately, it is our faith in our sovereign God that causes us to believe that faith is strengthened, not threatened, by faithfulness to the original." ____________________ 'Isaiah 7:14. This verse has also seen a great deal of discussion in the history of interpretation. The text of the verse from the NET Bible is as follows: 'Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. 'The most visible issue surrounding this verse is the translation of the Hebrew word . . . The NET Bible uses the phrase “young woman,” while many translations use the word “virgin.” The arguments center upon two main points: the actual meaning of the term as it is used in Hebrew, and the use of this verse in the New Testament. 'There is a great deal of debate about the actual meaning of the Hebrew word. However, in the New Testament when this verse is cited in Matthew 1:23 the Greek word parqevno" (parqenos) is used, and this word can mean nothing but “virgin.” Therefore, many people see Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy about the virgin birth with Matthew 1:23 serving as a “divine commentary” on the Isaiah passage which establishes its meaning. The interplay of these issues makes a resolution quite complex. 'It is the opinion of the translators and editors [of the NET Bible] that the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 7:14 means “young woman” and actually carries no connotations of sexual experience, so the grammatical context of the verse in the Old Testament is in our opinion fairly straightforward. 'Neither does the historical context of Isaiah 7:14 point to any connection with the birth of the Messiah: in its original historical context, this verse was pointing to a sign for King Ahaz that the alliance between Syria and Israel which was threatening the land of Judah would come to nothing. 'The theological context of Isaiah 7:14 is also limited: it is a presentation of God’s divine power to show himself strong on behalf of his people. The role or birth of the Messiah does not come into view here. So the historical and theological contexts of the verse support the grammatical: the Hebrew word means “young woman” and should be translated as such. Within the book of Isaiah itself, however, the author begins to develop the theological context of this verse, and this provides a connection to the use of the passage in Matthew. 'In Isaiah 8:9-10 the prophet delivers an announcement of future victory over Israel’s enemies; the special child Immanuel, alluded to in the last line of v. 10, is a guarantee that the covenant promises of God will result in future greatness. The child mentioned in Isaiah 7:14 is a pledge of God’s presence during the time of Ahaz, but he also is a promise of God’s presence in the future when he gives his people victory over all their enemies. 'This theological development progresses even further when another child is promised in Isaiah 9:6-7 who will be a perfect ruler over Israel, manifesting God’s presence perfectly and ultimately among his people. The New Testament author draws from this development and uses the original passage in Isaiah to make the connection between the child originally promised and the child who would be the ultimate fulfillment of that initial promise. The use of Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:23 draws upon the theological development present in the book of Isaiah, but it does not change the meaning of Isaiah 7:14 in its original context. 'The editors expect to receive criticism, particularly on this passage, from those who are against all modern translations. Our central motivation, however, is faithfulness to the original Hebrew text and context in this instance. While a rendering of “virgin” in Isa 7:14 might lead to wider acceptance, we believe that this kind of acceptance of traditional renderings would not be pleasing to God. The Bible’s clear statements affirming the virgin birth of Christ are not in question here by either the NET Bible or its translators—it is merely a question of which is the most faithful English rendering of the meaning of the original text of Isa 7:14 in Hebrew. 'The editors of the NET Bible believe that a translation which is ultimately the most faithful to the original text will ultimately prove more useful in both evangelism and ministry by an unswerving focus on accuracy to the original Biblical texts. Ultimately, it is our faith in our sovereign God that causes us to believe that faith is strengthened, not threatened, by faithfulness to the original.' (http://netbible.com/netbible/index.htm) |
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2 | Isa. 7:14 -- "virgin" or "young woman"? | Is 7:14 | kalos | 104485 | ||
How the NET Bible strives for accuracy 'What are some of the distinctive characteristics of the NET Bible translation philosophy? 'One distinctive characteristic is how the NET Bible strives for accuracy. The NET Bible seeks to be accurate by translating passages consistently and properly within their grammatical, historical, and theological context. The interplay and proper understanding of these three contexts has produced some distinctive translations within the NET Bible. By explaining these here we hope to help the Bible reader understand more fully the translation task undertaken to produce the NET Bible, but even more importantly to understand more fully the Bible itself. 'As a translator approaches a passage there are a number of contexts which must be considered. They can be summed up under three broad terms: grammatical, historical, and theological. (...) 'As implied above, these three concepts form a limited hierarchy. Grammatical context is the most important because it deals with the nuts and bolts of the language which convey meaning which ultimately can be translated. For example, in English one cannot communicate to a reader that the sky is blue by writing “The tree is green.” The words and phrases which make up this sentence can only communicate a limited meaning, and this is defined by the grammar, the syntax of the phrases, the meanings of the individual words, and other similar considerations. Understanding the grammatical context is the most important task of the translator, for the meaning is found in these words and phrases. The translators and editors of the NET Bible translate a passage with precedence given to the grammatical context. The historical and theological context provide a reasonable system of checks and balances; they help the translator decide what is the most probable meaning of the original text and how that meaning should be translated. They do not drive the translation; instead they guide it so that the most probable meaning is conveyed. 'A very important concept for understanding the translation philosophy of the NET Bible and how these three contexts work together is progressive revelation. Simply put, progressive revelation recognizes that God reveals himself—his nature as well as his word, plans, and purposes—over time. He did not reveal everything about himself and what he was doing in the world all at once; instead he graciously revealed more and more as time went on. Later revelation serves to complement and supplement what has come before. The relation of this reality to translation work creates a great deal of tension, especially as it relates to the theological context, because certain earlier passages are clarified by later ones. Does the translator translate the older passage with a view to the clarification that the later passage brings, or does the translator concentrate solely on the native context of the older passage? The translators and editors for the NET Bible have generally chosen to do the latter for a variety of reasons. A translation which takes into account the progress of revelation will be true to the three contexts discussed above. It is also very beneficial to the Bible reader to have the progress of revelation accurately represented in the translation of particular texts. This helps the reader see how God has worked through the centuries, and it helps the reader to stand more accurately in the place of the original recipients of the text. Both of these are very instructive and inspirational, and they help the reader to connect with the text in a more fulfilling way. 'A discussion of particular passages in the NET Bible—how they have been translated and why—will illuminate these concepts. Explaining these examples will show how the translators and editors have put the aspects of the translation theory discussed above into practice. The translators and editors believe these issues are important for readers of the Bible to grasp, so all these passages have extensive notes regarding these issues.' (http://netbible.com/netbible/index.htm) |
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3 | Isa. 7:14 -- "virgin" or "young woman"? | Is 7:14 | Emmaus | 104493 | ||
The key to understanding the translation of Isaiah 7:14 as "alma / young woman" or "parthenos / virgin" is the Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew old Testament into Greek by Jewish scholars in Alexandria about the year 250 B.C. These pre-Christian Jewish scholars(no after the fact Christian bias)chose to translate the Hebrew "alma" into the Greek "parthenos" which has the strict definition of "virgin" while the Hebrew could be considered more ambiguous. Their choice of the word "parthenos" in translation is a strong indication of how the Jews well before the birth of Jesus understood the meaning of "alma". Eighty percent of the Old Testament citations in the New Testament are quotes from the Septuagint, including some of Jesus' quotes. Luke 1:15 has an implict reference to the Septuagint version of 1 Samuel 1:11 which includes the Nazarite vows promised of Samuel by his mother when she promised to dedicate him to the Lord. Samuel was another great prophet and precursor the first king of the Jews, as john was to The King of the Jews. These details are not found in the Hebrew version of 1 Samuel 1:11. |
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4 | Isa. 7:14 -- "virgin" or "young woman"? | Is 7:14 | Hank | 104494 | ||
Emmaus - Thanks for an excellent post. Very insightful. It's good to see you back, Oriole! --Hank | ||||||