the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Language Studies
Greek Thoughts
parthenos - παρθενος (Strong's #3933)
A person in a virgin state
The Greek word παρθενος (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew, the inspired biographer to the Jews, wrote of the birth of Jesus, and quoted from Isaiah's prophecy regarding the birth of a son by a 'parthenos,' a "virgin," and applies the term to Mary, mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-23). Luke, another inspired biographer of Jesus, recorded how God sent the angel Gabriel to the virgin Mary and informed her that God had chosen her to conceive in her womb His Son Jesus, who shall reign upon the Davidic throne over His kingdom forever (Luke 1:26-33). Meyer affirms that the Greek word 'parthenos' used by both of these authors corresponds to the Hebrew word 'almah.'1 Parkhurst says, "The Hebrew name for a virgin, 'almah' (to which 'parthenos' several times answers in the LXX), refers to the secluded, concealed state in which she lived."2 He also defines the term as, "a person in a virgin state and plainly includes both sexes, but generally denotes the female, a virgin, a maiden, a maid."3 Young adds, "A virgin, one put aside."4 Thus, both words refer to "a young maiden put aside or kept apart who has never had sexual intercourse with a man; or a man who has kept his chastity and has never had intercourse with a woman;" hence, "a virgin, one never having known man or woman." The words do not simply mean as many of the modern scholars of today profess, "a young woman of marriageable age." Moreover, it can be seen that the Hebrew word 'almah' signifies only a "young unmarried woman and a true virgin." A careful analysis of all the Old Testament passages where the Hebrew word 'almah' appears reveals that the term is never applied to a married woman, never designates a non-virgin, and never alludes to an impure woman: Genesis 24:43 (maiden — the maiden Rebekah by the well); Exodus 2:8 (maiden — the maiden Miriam by the river, the baby Moses young sister, a girl of tender years); Psalms 68:25 (damsels — the damsels in David's chorus of praise); Proverbs 30:19 (maiden — the maiden and her wooer in courtship); Song of Solomon 1:3; 6:8 (virgins — the Shulamite virgins that surround the Beloved); and Isaiah 7:14 (virgin — the virgin Mary, who became the mother of Jesus).
Hundreds of years before the virgin birth of Jesus, prophecy had established the supernatural and miraculous manner of the Savior's birth. That prophecy came from the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz, king of Judah, and is quoted in Matthew's gospel, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us" (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14). Let's first take note of the political scene surrounding the kingdom of Judah which formed the basis for Isaiah's prophecy. Ahaz, the king of Judah was besieged at Jerusalem by a coalition between Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria to depose the reigning family of David. Once news of this confederacy was told to Ahaz and the house of David, they became fearful and fainthearted so the Lord commissioned Isaiah the prophet to meet with king Ahaz and reassure him that the conspiracy would fail. Isaiah prophesied to the king that because of Ephraim's actions, they would cease in 65 years from the time of this prophecy (Isaiah 7:5-8). It was in the exact mathematics of this prophecy that in 65 years, Ephraim, the kingdom of Israel, ceased; but Judah continued. God stated to Ahaz through his prophet that He would be faithful to His covenant with David and the house of Judah but He told Isaiah to have the king to ask Him for a sign, which the Lord would provide in token of the truth of the promise. But, Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!" He therefore, spurned God's suggestion for an immediate sign and instead turned to the king of Assyria for help. In consequence of this action, Ahaz earned the severe denunciation of Isaiah who communicated the information to him by prophecy that God was still going to provide a sign to Judah, a sign for the future, not contemporary but prophetic, of how God would fulfill the Davidic promise in its ultimate meaning. That this is the correct exegesis of the text is clear from the fact that there was no need for Isaiah to give Ahaz a sign for a present deliverance. He had already done so in assuring the king that the siege would fail and he had already prophesied that the northern kingdom of Israel would cease in 65 years but that the southern kingdom of Judah would continue. The sign conveyed by the prophet Isaiah was of the "virgin" born son (Hebrew 'almah,' and Greek Septuagint 'parthenos;' Isaiah 7:14), which reached its culmination of the Child and the Son that he later prophesied concerning (Isaiah 9:6,7), and the words of its fulfillment are recorded through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-33) and refer to Jesus.
Being deity, Jesus is related to God, the Father. Having a human mother, He has close kinship with mankind. Like the Father, He is eternal, from heaven. Like man, He experienced the trials, and bore the burdens of all mankind, on earth. Thus, He alone, through His own personal experiences, has been privileged to know, the highest joys of heaven, and the bitterest sorrows of earth. Because He is unique, His birth had to be one of a kind. It should not be surprising that God would choose to bring His only-begotten Son into the world by having Him be born of a 'parthenos,' "virgin." Jesus was to be called, Immanuel, which being translated is God with us, which, of course, alludes to the coming down of deity into human form (Philippians 2:5-11). The Word "was made flesh and dwelt" (literally, pitched His tent) "among men." (John 1:14). Of no other, aside from Jesus, our Savior is such affirmed. These prophecies were all focused on Christ and the redemption of mankind entrusted to the house of David through Judah, and the sign of Isaiah 7:14 extending to the Child and Son of Isaiah 9:6,7 was connected with the virgin birth of Jesus, who now reigns from heaven on the Davidic throne forevermore.
FOOTNOTES:
F1: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, TH.D., Critical And Exegetical Hand-book To The Gospel Of Matthew, vol. 1 (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, reprinted 1983), pg., 51.
F2: John Parkhurst, M.A., A Greek And English Lexicon To The New Testament (London: T. Davison, Whitefriars, 1812), pg., 509.
F3: John Parkhurst, M.A., A Greek And English Lexicon To The New Testament (London: T. Davison, Whitefriars, 1812), pg., 509.
F4: Robert Young, LL.D., F.E.S.L., Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, reprinted 1970), pg., 1026.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.
