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Isaiah 7
Courtesy of www.Biblegateway.com
10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask
thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the
height above. 12 But
Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13 And
he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary
men, but will ye weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord Himself
shall give you a SIGN;
Behold,
a virgin
[ ALMAH, Hebrew,]
[BETHULTAH, Aramaic ]
shall conceive,
and bear a SON+,
and shall call HIS Name
IMMANUEL +.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to
refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For
before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land
that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Now, let's look at the Aramaic of Isaiah 7:14
courtesy of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL),
Cincinnati, Ohio;
Hebrew Union College:
courtesy of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL),
Cincinnati, Ohio;
Hebrew Union College:
| Abbreviations Help |  |
CAL CODE HELP |
Click on a headword to see a complete lexicon entry in another window
btwlh noun sg. emphatic
| btwlh, btwltˀ (bt̠ūlā, bt̠ūltā) |
Mand: ptulta |
1 virgin
2 (astron.) Virgo
__________________________________________________
We see above that CAL lists "bethula or bethulta" as VIRGIN, as found referenced in the dialects of Common Aramaic and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, and additionally as VIRGO ( the Latin "virgin" ) in the Qumran scrolls as well as the Syriac.
The witness of Scripture tells us that "this ALMAH" written by Isaiah in 7:14, the Hebrew virgin Mariam, was chaste... that is, she had not yet exercised the organs of pro-creation of the human race ... as she became with Child+.
We know this is true due to:
The witness of Scripture tells us that "this ALMAH" written by Isaiah in 7:14, the Hebrew virgin Mariam, was chaste... that is, she had not yet exercised the organs of pro-creation of the human race ... as she became with Child+.
We know this is true due to:
- the words of Gabriel
- Mariam's own questions
- by Joseph, her Gowra-guardian, her betrothed husband's reaction
- by ALAHA speaking to Joseph in a dream, with instructions and ALAHA'S defense of Mariam's chastity and fidelity
- by Joseph's obedience to the Voice of The LORD
Thus, the focus of our discussion today is NOT upon Mariam's chastity which has already been established in the HOLY TEXTS, but rather why did Isaiah's Anointing state that she was an ALMAH... and not a Bethulah or Bethultah ?
The significance of this "bethultah" being identified as an ALMAH is revealed by the root of the word ALMAH... a word inspired by ALAHA, recorded under Divine Inspiration by Isaiah.
ALMAH's root is from the Hebrew word "OLAM." That word has reference to the hidden Eternal place or era... that which is to come... that which is hidden from our view. Thus it most often is translated as "eternity."
Now then, does this understanding of ALMAH fit the context ?
YES! Looking at Isaiah 7:11, we see The LORD instructing the king of Judah, King Ahaz, to do something:
Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
King Ahaz refused to co-operate, but The LORD took care of that problem. HE hid the SIGN+ ...which was intended to be of comfort to King Ahaz ...from his view !
> > > The SIGN+ was hidden due to his un-belief. < < <
Here, in the setting we find for Isaiah 7:14, were grown men, yea, even a king of JUDAH, with whom no-one could do anything. King Ahaz was, unfortunately, un-interested in what The LORD had to say and totally un-yielded unto HIS ways .... loudly and visibly un-yielded !
The SIGN+, we see, was that The LORD would show these leaders exactly whom HE would choose: a little, hidden-away Galilean girl, chaste and pure in her maidenhood yet to be sure, but whose ONLY IDENTITY in life was that she was The LORD'S servant, HIS hand-maiden.
This little hand-maiden, non-important in the eyes of man and the leaders of Judah, was important in the eyes of The LORD.
HE could use her to bring forth HIS own humble SON+ ... and she would house HIM+ in her UN-OPENED WOMB and robe HIM+ with her humble flesh.
As a matter of fact, her ONLY identity is summed up as an obedient heart to do HIS Divine Will.
Even King Ahaz, the king of Judah, could not match that obedience.
Furthermore, this ALMAH of GOD's choosing, The Hebrew virgin Mariam, remained hidden throughout her days. She fled to her cousin Elizabeth's house to rejoice in her calling.
Her guardian-gowra, yes, her espoused husband Joseph whom she had not "known" yet as a husband, hid her in a cave used as a stable in over-crowded Bethlehem at the time of her delivery of the LAMB+ of GOD, the Immanuel+, the WORD+ Made Flesh Who+ dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
By hiding her, the Royal BIRTH+ was hidden from all the hierarchy of Jerusalem and revealed to the lowly, humble shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. Even the inn-keeper's eyes were hidden from the event !
The dragon with its 7 heads and 10 crowned-horns of Revelation 12 was not even aware of the specifics of this Royal BIRTH+.
We know this is true because the dragon missed devouring the Man-CHILD+ that was born of the ALMAH, the Hebrew Bethultah , the HIDDEN VIRGIN of Israel... even though he stood before her as she was about to give birth!
BUT.... SIGNS are not meant to be hidden from EVERYONE... just from the hardened of heart.
So... to whom was the Arm of The LORD revealed in this event of the BETHULTAH / ALMAH's virgin conception and subsequent virgin birth of Our LORD YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ ?
To quite a few, as listed in Scripture:
The significance of this "bethultah" being identified as an ALMAH is revealed by the root of the word ALMAH... a word inspired by ALAHA, recorded under Divine Inspiration by Isaiah.
ALMAH's root is from the Hebrew word "OLAM." That word has reference to the hidden Eternal place or era... that which is to come... that which is hidden from our view. Thus it most often is translated as "eternity."
Now then, does this understanding of ALMAH fit the context ?
YES! Looking at Isaiah 7:11, we see The LORD instructing the king of Judah, King Ahaz, to do something:
Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
King Ahaz refused to co-operate, but The LORD took care of that problem. HE hid the SIGN+ ...which was intended to be of comfort to King Ahaz ...from his view !
> > > The SIGN+ was hidden due to his un-belief. < < <
Here, in the setting we find for Isaiah 7:14, were grown men, yea, even a king of JUDAH, with whom no-one could do anything. King Ahaz was, unfortunately, un-interested in what The LORD had to say and totally un-yielded unto HIS ways .... loudly and visibly un-yielded !
The SIGN+, we see, was that The LORD would show these leaders exactly whom HE would choose: a little, hidden-away Galilean girl, chaste and pure in her maidenhood yet to be sure, but whose ONLY IDENTITY in life was that she was The LORD'S servant, HIS hand-maiden.
This little hand-maiden, non-important in the eyes of man and the leaders of Judah, was important in the eyes of The LORD.
HE could call to her... and she answered !
HE could speak to her... and she obeyed !
HE could use her to bring forth HIS own humble SON+ ... and she would house HIM+ in her UN-OPENED WOMB and robe HIM+ with her humble flesh.
Was she "immaculate?"
NO.
But she was obedient
and that obedience stemmed from
a heart of humbleness.
As a matter of fact, her ONLY identity is summed up as an obedient heart to do HIS Divine Will.
Even King Ahaz, the king of Judah, could not match that obedience.
Furthermore, this ALMAH of GOD's choosing, The Hebrew virgin Mariam, remained hidden throughout her days. She fled to her cousin Elizabeth's house to rejoice in her calling.
Her guardian-gowra, yes, her espoused husband Joseph whom she had not "known" yet as a husband, hid her in a cave used as a stable in over-crowded Bethlehem at the time of her delivery of the LAMB+ of GOD, the Immanuel+, the WORD+ Made Flesh Who+ dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
By hiding her, the Royal BIRTH+ was hidden from all the hierarchy of Jerusalem and revealed to the lowly, humble shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. Even the inn-keeper's eyes were hidden from the event !
The dragon with its 7 heads and 10 crowned-horns of Revelation 12 was not even aware of the specifics of this Royal BIRTH+.
We know this is true because the dragon missed devouring the Man-CHILD+ that was born of the ALMAH, the Hebrew Bethultah , the HIDDEN VIRGIN of Israel... even though he stood before her as she was about to give birth!
BUT.... SIGNS are not meant to be hidden from EVERYONE... just from the hardened of heart.
So... to whom was the Arm of The LORD revealed in this event of the BETHULTAH / ALMAH's virgin conception and subsequent virgin birth of Our LORD YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ ?
To quite a few, as listed in Scripture:
- Firstly, to the Prophet Isaiah !
- then, to the lowly Galilean maiden, Mariam
- her Gowra-espoused husband, Joseph
- her cousin Elizabeth
- to Elizabeth's child, John the Baptist, leaping in the womb !
- to the Magi enroute to give worship, following the Star
- to the Angels announcing HIS+ Birth, filling the sky with their worship and praise and song
- to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night who received the Angelic host
- to all those the shepherds told as they hastened into Bethlehem that night
- to the Righteous and Devout man, Simeon, who was awaiting the Consolation+ of Israel
- To the Prophetess Anna
- To those who knew that Joseph, Mariam, and the Divine BABE+ had fled into Egypt to escape Herod's killing of the Innocents
( To be continued: How the Early Church Fathers viewed this Momentous Hidden Event ).
