Did Isaiah Predict Messiah's Virgin Birth?
The short answer
Yes!
Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel![1]
(Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14).
Since quite some controversy has swirled around this prophecy which is quoted on the first page of the New Testament, it deserves more attention. Let’s explore this fascinating text further.
For faithless King Ahaz, to whom this prophecy was first given (Isaiah 7:10-13), it doubtless was a riddle. The threat of judgment that follows immediately after this prophecy probably kept ringing in his ears.
For the faithful however, who stuck to the Torah and the prophetic testimony and who inquired of their G-d (Isaiah 8:16-19), the prophecy contained sweet comfort. In the end G-d will be with us! (Immanu-El). To them the riddle is further explained in Isaiah 9:1-6 where we read about the great light of the Divine King who will be born:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
…
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called:
Wonderful Counselor[2], Mighty G-d, Everlasting Father[3], Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:2,6 [9:1,5 in the Hebrew text])
It looks like Matthew has also understood Isaiah 7:14 in the light of Isaiah 9, as he quotes that passage a few pages later in his Gospel (Matthew 4:15-16).
Does alma mean virgin?
But let’s dive a bit deeper into the controversy. What’s at issue most of the time is the meaning of the Hebrew word alma (עלמה), translated above as “virgin.” Some argue Isaiah would have used the Hebrew word betula (בתולה) if he wanted to convey that meaning.
First let’s look at the range of meaning of the Hebrew word. An alma is “a young woman of marriageable age.” It seems to imply a young woman before marriage. In ancient Israel, long before the modern sexual revolution, this would normally imply virginity. Alma is used for instance in Genesis 24:43 for Rebecca whose virginity is also emphasized in Genesis 24:16. Interestingly, Genesis 24 seems to use alma and betula as synonyms.[4]
Rashi
The famous Jewish interpreter Rashi was also aware of this similarity in meaning. In his commentary on Song of Songs, he comments in 1:3 on the plural of alma (עלמות, alamot) and simply renders it “virgins” (בתולות, betulot).[5]
In his commentary on Isaiah 7 Rashi may even have entertained the idea that the virginity of Immanuel’s mother might be the promised sign.[6] He says somewhat enigmatically, “There are some who interpret as follows: that this is the sign that she was a young woman (alma) and that she was not able (fit) to give birth.”[7]
Septuagint
But let’s consider additional evidence, as well. The oldest known Jewish translation of Isaiah is found in the Septuagint. This Greek translation of Isaiah dates probably from the 2nd century BCE. In Isaiah 7:14 the Greek word parthenos is used, which further narrows down the meaning to “virgin.”[8]
But solid biblical interpretation doesn’t focus solely on the possible lexical meanings of a single word. Words are also colored by the context in which they are used. So, let’s further consider the direct context of this prophecy.
The Sky is the limit
The prophecy is introduced with the words: “Therefore the L-rd himself will give you a sign.”
The divine title “L-rd” emphasizes G-d’s power, sovereignty and dominion. That the L-rd Himself promises a sign prepares us to anticipate something truly amazing.
Additionally, we read in the preceding verses that literally the sky is the limit for the sign which Ahaz can request. “Ask a sign of the L-RD your G-d; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven” (Isaiah 7:11).
If following such a magnanimous offer we have only 1) a normal pregnancy and delivery, and 2) a young woman giving a nice name to her newborn child, we would have quite an anti-climax. With all due respect and awe for G-d’s gift of every new life, normal pregnancies and births occur too often to regard them as amazing miraculous signs for which the sky is the limit. We rather should expect Isaiah 7 to be talking about a truly miraculous pregnancy and very special child.
Hindsight is 20/20
We admit, however, that Isaiah 7:14 taken by itself is a bit of a riddle – or better, a mysterious flower still in the bud. It unfolds further in Chapter 9 and 11.
Not only that but also knowing how history has played out also aids our understanding, as we see how prophecy and fulfillment fit together. The dawn of Immanuel (in the birth of Jesus the Messiah) also sheds light in retrospect. Mysterious truths that always were present in the text are now more illuminated for us.[9]
The Assyria–Messiah pattern
When reading Isaiah 7:14 on its own one might get the impression that the birth of Immanuel is pretty imminent. But something in the broader context should make us careful not to jump to conclusions. We should take into consideration what we might call Isaiah’s “Assyria-Messiah pattern.”
In Isaiah chapters 7-12, Isaiah first of all predicts G-d’s judgment on Judah. Assyria is G-d’s tool for this judgment (see e.g., 7:17). But then Isaiah predicts the demise of Assyria. In his prophecy he immediately depicts the Messianic hope as coming almost directly after the Assyrian judgment (Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11).[10] Also here in Isaiah 7 Messiah’s coming seems to be imminent. No doubt the prophecy was designed this way to give hope to the faithful in Isaiah’s time.
It takes further reading into the Book of Isaiah to realize we still have to travel a “valley of time” before we reach Immanuel’s promised “cosmic peace.” Isaiah’s portrayal of the future is like a landscape with a foothill and a mountain. First we are shown the dark threatening hill of Assyria, which will be struck down. Beyond that is depicted glorious Mount Zion under the rule of Immanu-El – G-d with us. He will establish G-d’s presence there forever. Because of Immanu-El this section of Isaiah ends with the words:
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy one of Israel.(Isaiah 12:6)
[1] This is Isaiah 7:14 as quoted in Matthew 1:23; Matthew offers us a translation from the Hebrew into Greek independent from the Septuagint. His translation (“they will call” rather than “she will call”) corresponds in a very interesting way with the oldest known Hebrew text of Isaiah 7:14, found in the famous Isaiah Scroll from Qumran (1QIsaA). The Isaiah scroll has וקרא instead of וקראת. וקרא is best translated in this context with an impersonal “one will call” or “they will call.” (Compare for instance Isaiah 9:5.) Especially with the verb קרא it is common to have an impersonal third person singular. Matthew’s translation “they will call” into Greek follows quite natural.
[2] In the context of Isaiah this name also indicates divinity: compare Isaiah 25:1, 28:29.
[3] Or “Father of eternity.”
[4] In verse 16, Rebekah is described in this way: “The young woman (na’ara) was very attractive in appearance, a maiden (betula) whom no man had known.” When the same events described in verses 11-21 are recounted in verse s42-48 the word alma is used to describe Rebekah.
[5] Rashi’s interpretation, that the alamot are virgins, also makes sense in the light of Song of Songs 6:8, where also the word alamot is used – especially when compared with Esther 2. The alamot seem to correspond to the “virgin girls” (נערות בתולות) of Esther 2:2 whose status changes to that of concubine (the פילגשים of Esther 2:14 and Song of Songs 6:8) after they have been with the king.
[6] Before Rashi gives this as a possible interpretation he favors another; he thinks the mother of Immanuel was the wife of Isaiah. But this isn’t supported in the text. Isaiah’s sons explicitly have different names: Shear-jashub in 7:3 and Maher-shalal-hash-baz in 8:3. There is no mention of a third son of Isaiah.
[7] ויש פותרין שזה האות שעלמה היתה ואינה ראויה (translation above by author).
[8] The Greek translation of the Book of Isaiah which became part of the Septuagint probably was translated in the second century BCE. While often used by Christians centuries later, it is not a Christian translation. Although it has been argued that parthenos has a broader meaning than “virgin” in the Greek of the Septuagint, it definitely is narrowing the meaning more towards virgin in the technical sense. The Peshitta (Syriac) translation of the Tanakh into Aramaic – which could very well have been a Jewish translation as well – translated alma with a word that also clearly means “chaste girl” or “virgin.”
[9] The birth accounts of Messiah are found in the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke.
[10] We can see Immanuel already present in a special way during the Assyrian crisis. In Isaiah 10:34, Assyria is described metaphorically as “the mighty forest of the Lebanon.” But Assyria will fall by “the Majestic One” whom we see described in Isaiah 11.
But we also can see him in Isaiah 37:36 as the “Angel of the L-RD” who strikes down thousands of Assyrian soldiers in one night. There is very good reason to identify this special “Angel of the L-RD,” who is always G-d Himself who comes down among us, with Immanu-El. (Compare also Isaiah 8:8 and 8:10).
There is a sense in which Messiah’s birth is not his first appearance. He previously appeared on many occasions as the Angel of the L-RD. (See also Micah 5:2 [5:1 in Hebrew].) He was the one who redeemed the patriarch Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16) and who came down to rescue Israel from Egypt (Exodus 3:2,8). He redeemed his people also in Isaiah’s time. Who is a better candidate to be Immanu-El than Him?