Why do Protestants disown the Tanakh (Old Testament) claiming, the only part that they have anything to do with it is the so-called prophecy of Jesus mentioned in Isaiah 7:14? That is because even they find most of the contents absurd, indecent, sexual, graphic, so on. Talking snake & donkey told as historical events, their god’s mandate to kill babies, his act of drowning innocent animals, his curse to dash infants to the ground, rip open pregnant wombs are too absurd & violent to the modern minds. And so the best thing to do is disown it. But as masters at cherry picking, they pick the so-called prophesy because it justifies Christianity’s dominion theology. It is the Christian political ideology of establishing a Christian world nation in the name of saving the world from damnation through the grace of Jesus.
What’s the verse? Is it really a prophesy & about Jesus of the NT? In the Tanakh (OT) the verse says:
Hinneh ha-almah harah ve-yeldeth ben ve-karath shem-o immanuel.
Honestly translated it reads:
Behold, the young woman has conceived & bears a son & calls his name Immanuel.
Christians cherry-pick this verse from the Tanakh which they otherwise don’t want anything to do with, as the prophecy for Jesus’ virgin birth. But did Isaiah really mean a virgin will bear a son? Or it this a slip in translation or is it #PiousFraud? Almah means a young woman, of marriageable age. She may be married or not, may be a virgin or may have had sexual experience. Almah DOESN’T specifically mean a VIRGIN.
Another Hebrew word, Betulah has been consistently used to refer to women who were definitely virgins. Betulah is used where the writer doesn’t want to leave any room for uncertainty as to the virignity status of the woman. Eg: Lev. 21:14; Deut. 22:15-19, 23, 28.
- Almah: used when the emphasis is on the age group of the woman.
- Betulah: used to emphasize the virginity status.
Four imp points to note here:
- Isaiah is considered an imp prophet by Jews & Cs.
- The virgin birth prophecy is the crux of Christianity.
- Mary HAS to be a virgin mother. It can’t be an indefinite adjective.
- Christianity stands or falls on the basis of Mary’s virginity status.
- On this background, if the Hebrew writers wud’ve used bethulah & not almah, since they:
- a. wrote down Isaiah’s prophesy
- b. know its significance
- c. are aware of the word betulah
- d. are aware of the ambiguity of the word almah
Especially when the word betulah definitely meant virgin with no ambiguity as to the woman’s virginity status & has been used even to refer to ordinary Hebrew women whose virginity status did not determine Christianity’s credibility & ofc did not effect “mankind’s salvation.” Then why did Isa. use almah? Because he wasn’t referring to a virgin & it was most definitely NOT a reference to Jesus’ alleged birth some 800 yrs after the prophecy. Isa. was referring to a young woman giving birth in the most natural way.
What was the prophecy about? Isaiah’s prophecy was a reassurance to King Ahaz when Ahaz was troubled about the Syrian siege of Jerusalem. It was a prophet’s job to use his divine calling to console Jewish people & the king with psychic readings/soothsaying, called prophesies by some religious cultures. Isaiah’s soothsaying is one such reassurance where he is consoling King Ahaz that despite the ongoing siege, Ahaz’s royal line would survive through a boy who will be given birth to by a young woman & will be named Immanuel. No reference to betulah giving birth.
Jesus wasn’t named Immanuel at birth. The anonymous writer of Matthew 1:25 says he was named Yeshua. He craftily quotes Isa. 7:14 in passive tense claiming the prophecy is fulfilled. Yeshua (God saves) & Immanuel (God with us) aren’t similar even in their Hebrew meanings.
How did almah come to be virgin? Read my next #Thread #PiousFraud.