Almah

Not to be confused with Almah (album); Almah (band); Almah (Egyptian dancer); or Alma, Israel.

Laban and Rebecca at the well, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini. Rebecca is described as an almah (Genesis 24:43)

Almah (עַלְמָה‎ ‘almā, plural: עֲלָמוֹת‎ ‘ălāmōṯ), from a root implying the vigour of puberty, is a Hebrew word meaning a young woman ripe for marriage. The correct meaning and interpretation of the word ‘almah has been a source of controversy between Christians and Jews since the second century. Despite its importance to the account of the virgin birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Marvin Alan Sweeney states that scholars agree that it refers to a woman of childbearing age but that it has nothing to do with whether she is a virgin or not. H.G.M. Williamson states that that precise etymology remains unclear, and that there is widespread agreement that almah may refer to a virgin but not necessarily so. Early Christian scholars, as Origen and Basil of Caesarea, conceded that "maiden" could be the correct translation of ‘almah, but contended that it was costumary for the scripture to use "maiden" for a virgin. Brevard S. Childs states that, apart from one controversial reference (Proverbs 30:19), all the occasions of almah do actually appear to denote virgins, but while it is very unlikely that a married women would be referred to as an almah yet translating it as virgin focuses too much on virginity versus sexual maturity. It occurs nine times in the Hebrew Bible and in every usage the word is either used for a woman who is indicated to be a virgin or as indeterminate.

Etymology and social context

Almah derives from a root meaning "to be full of vigour, to have reached puberty". In the ancient Near East girls received value as potential wives and bearers of children: "A wife, who came into her husband's household as an outsider, contributed her labor and her fertility ... [h]er task was to build up the bet 'ab bearing children, particularly sons" (Leeb, 2002). Scholars thus agree that almah refers to a woman of childbearing age without implying virginity. From the same root, the corresponding masculine word elem עֶלֶם 'young man' also appears in the Bible, as does alum (used in plural עֲלוּמִים) used in the sense '(vigor of) adolescence', in addition to the post-Biblical words almut (עַלְמוּת) and alimut (עֲלִימוּת) both used for youthfulness and its strength (distinct from post-Biblical Alimut אַלִּימוּת 'violence' with initial Aleph, although Klein's Dictionary states this latter root is likely a semantic derivation of the former, from 'strength of youth' to 'violence'). In the original Hebrew language an unrelated word, betulah (בְּתוּלָה), best refers to a virgin, as well as the idea of virginity, betulim (בְּתוּלִים). However, while betulah occurs 51 times in the Hebrew scriptures, some scholars only see some occurrences as clearly meaning a virgin, and with Joel 1:8 being the most unlikely case.

Biblical usage

The word ‘almah occurs nine times in its various forms in the Hebrew Bible, while the masculine form ‘elem only twice. It is therefore quite rare, if compared to na‘ar (youth), which occurs over 225 times, or betulah (virgin), which occurs 51 times.

There are three occurrences of the form ha‘almah. It is used twice for young women who are known to be virgin, while the third occurence is in Isaiah 7:14.

• In Genesis 24 a servant of Abraham, seeking a wife for his son, Issac, retells how he met Rebecca. He says that he prayed to the Lord that if an almah came to the well and he requested a drink of water from her, that should she then provide him with that drink and also water his camels; he would take that as a sign that she was to be the wife of Isaac. The word almah is only used during the retelling; another word, hanaara, is used during the events themselves. Dr. Phillip Goble states that the use of almah and betulah in Genesis 24:43 and Genesis 24:16 of the same person (Rebekah) is because both terms carry the common semantic freight of femaleness and virginity.
• In Exodus 2, Miriam, an almah, the sister of the infant Moses, is entrusted to watch the baby; she takes thoughtful action to reunite the baby with his mother by offering to bring the baby to a Hebrew nurse maid (her mother).
• The verses surrounding Isaiah 7:14 tell how Ahaz, the king of Judah, is told of a sign to be given in demonstration that the prophet's promise of God's protection from his enemies is a true one. The sign is that an almah is pregnant and will give birth to a son who will still be very young when these enemies will be destroyed.

There are four occurrences of the form ‘alamoth, some of which are rather obscure in their meaning.

• In 1 Chronicles 15:20 and the heading to Psalm 46, the psalm is to be played "on alamot". The musical meaning of this phrase has become lost with time: it may mean a feminine manner of singing or playing, such as a girls' choir, or an instrument made in the city of "Alameth". Old translators were puzzled about the exact meaning of these expressions and interpreted them variously, e.g. Symmachus read ‘olamoth (regarding eternal things) in Ps. 46, the Vulgate read ‘alumoth (arcane) in 1 Chron. 15:20 etc.
• In a victory parade in Psalm 68:25, the participants are listed in order of appearance: 1) the singers; 2) the musicians; and 3) the "alamot" playing cymbals or tambourines.
• The Song of Songs 1:3 contains a poetic chant of praise to a man, declaring that all the alamot adore him.

There is one occurrence of the form wa‘alamoth.

• In the Song of Songs chapter 6, verse 8, the glory of the female object of his love is favorably compared to 60 queens (wives of the king), 80 concubines, as well as innumerable alamot, and in the next verse she is stated to be undefiled.

There is one occurrence of the form ba‘alamoth. This is also the only case where the referred woman in the Hebrew Bible is also possibly not a virgin. Other versions of the Bible read ba‘alummah (in youth).

• In Proverbs 30:19, concerning an adulterous wife, the Hebrew text differs significantly from the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate and the Syriac Peshitta. All versions begin by comparing the woman's acts to things that leave no traces: a bird flying in air, the movement of a snake over a rock, the path of a ship through the sea; but while the Hebrew version concludes with the "ways of a man with an almah", the other versions read "and the ways of a man in his youth".

Greek translation

The Septuagint translates four occurrences of almah into a generic word neanis (νεᾶνις) meaning 'young woman' while, two occurrences, one in Genesis 24:43 and one in Isaiah 7:14, are translated as parthenos (παρθένος), the basic word associated with virginity in Greek (it is a title of Athena 'The Virgin Goddess') but still occasionally used by the Greeks for an unmarried woman who is not a virgin. Steve Moyise states that most scholars agree that Isaiah's phrase (a young woman shall conceive and bear a son) did not intend to convey any miraculous conception, yet, considering other uses of almah, Moyise allows that context can sometimes suggest that virgin is an appropriate translation. In this verse, as in the Genesis occurrence concerning Rebecca, the Septuagint translators used the Greek word parthenos generically to indicate an unmarried young woman, whose probable virginity (as unmarried young women were ideally seen at the time) was incidental.

Bibliography

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