Almah, betulah, parthenos
In EnglishYoung woman, or virgin
Hebrew and Greek. Explained in a Kingdom Code essay.
Side by side
- Hebrewalmah
A young woman of marriageable age (Masoretic text).
- Hebrewbetulah
The specific Hebrew word for virgin.
- Greekparthenos
Virgin. The Septuagint’s rendering of almah.
How Kingdom Code explains it
They did the same in Isaiah 7:14. The Masoretic Hebrew word is almah, a young woman of marriageable age. Not betulah, the specific Hebrew word for virgin. The Septuagint translated almah as parthenos, virgin. Matthew 1:23 quotes the Greek. The virgin birth as christological proof rests on the Septuagintal reading, not the Masoretic Hebrew.
From “The Bible in Your Hand Is Not the Bible Jesus Read”, Substack, 23 Mar 2026
In the dictionary
- עַלְמָהalmahH5959
maiden
Full entry
1) virgin, young woman
1a) of marriageable age
1b) maid or newly married
- בְּתוּלָהbetulahH1330
virgin
Full entry
virgin
- παρθένοςparthenosG3933
virgin
Full entry
παρθένος, -ου, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for בְּתוּלָה, Exo.22:16 (15), Job.31:1, Isa.23:4, al.; also for נַעַר, נַעֲרָה, Gen.24:14, 16 24:55 34:3, and for עַלְמָה, Gen.24:43, Isa.7:14 ;]
a maiden, virgin: Mat.1:23 (LXX) Mat.25:1, 7 25:11 Luk.1:27, Act.21:9, 1Co.7:25 ff, 2Co.11:2; masc., of chaste persons (CIG, 8784 b) : Rev.14:4.†
(AS)
Verses
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel.
Isaiah 7:14, Septuagint
“Behold, the virgin will have in womb, and she will bear a son, and they will call His name Immanuel,” which is, being translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:23, Berean Literal Bible