Question:
In Isa.7:14, it says “…a virgin shall conceive… I don’t have any problem with the word “virgin” (in hebrew, it is “almah”, and it means “a young woman of unsullied reputation” (See Gen.24:43; vs.16; Matt.1:23; and Luke 1:34) King James Version, though, is “weak” in the definite article. It says “A virgin”. In the Hebrew, it is “Ha-Almah”. The “Ha-” in front of a Hebrew word means “a particular one”. It is like saying, “THE book from the library” as opposed to saying, “A book from the library”. God did not close His eyes and point His finger and say, “EENY, MEENY, MINEY, MOE… and say, “Oh! a virgin out of many!” He already had “THE virgin” in mind before the world began. King James is weak in the definite article.All translations of the Bible (including your King James Version) has flaws in it. There is no perfect translation. When something doesn’t “sound” right, I check it with the Hebrew and Greek to see if it is so.
Answer:
Good point! Certainly God foreknew that Mary would be ‘THE VIRGIN’ that would be the mother of the flesh that God would take upon Himself. It is also true that there is no perfect translation. I believe most of the newer translations bring us more problems than solutions. Some of them definitely have a bias against the virgin birth, the Diety of Christ, salvation by faith, and etc. My research leads me to believe that you are correct concerning the use of the Hebrew word “ha”. It is good that you point this out. While some would consider this a minor point, the word “the” or word “a”, there is a difference. We recognize the fact that no one thing is perfect except God, even the KJV. The point to using the KJV is that it has the least errors of all the translations. Even these errors are known to us by many ways including your research. There are many reference materials available to show us the correctness or minor incorrectness in the KJV. When we study the KJV minutely with a microscope and come up with only a small difference between the word “the” and “a” our Bible is in good shape. There is also the mind of the translators… how many virgins conceived? Only one… even “a” is specific enough. Other versions do no have such a minor point. Others have many, many, many verses missing. Even countless verses missing. Some versions are totally off in left field, not having any resemblance to the truth. Thank God that He has provided such a accurate book in our hands in these last days. A virgin should better be read “the virgin.” The use of the Hebrew definite article ha in connection with the woman in the passage indicates that a definite woman is in view to the mind of the prophet (see Lindbolm, A Survey of the Immanuel Section of Isaiah, p. 19). Hengstenberg (Christology, II, p. 44) emphasizes that the relationship of hineh to the article in ha’almah is best explained by the present tense of the context, so that the girl is present to the inward perception of the prophet. That she is definitely a specific girl is obvious. When he refers to her specifically as “the” virgin, it is highly unlikely that he meant to refer to any woman who might bear a child in the next few months. A virgin is better read “the virgin.” The Hebrew definite article ha indicates that a specific woman is in view. Thanks for the imput.