Chayei Sarah (Part 4) - Genesis 23:1-25:18

One of the things that I find fascinating about Genesis 24 is that it introduces two new words that we've not seen before: בתולה and עלמה (b'tulah and almah).

B'tulah means "virgin". It always does. There is only a feminine form, for obvious reasons.

Almah means "one who was unseen but then was seen", and there are masculine as well as feminine forms; elem is the masculine form and almah is the feminine form.  

It is difficult for me to mention these two without bringing up Christian apologetics concerning almah because that is the word in Isaiah 7:14 that they translate as "virgin" in order to fit their specific ideology. 

However, it doesn't mean that.

(Note: I will be representing the letter ע with "A", ל with "L", ם or מ with "M", ה with "H", and נ with "N").

As I have said, there is a Hebrew word עלם (ALM - elem) which is a masculine term meaning "one who was hidden (not seen) and is now seen". See 1Samuel 17:56 and 20:22 for examples.

The feminine form is עלמה (ALMH almah), meaning "one who was hidden (not seen) and is now seen". Several examples of that will be listed below. It is the same 3-letter root, but a "ה" (heh) is appended to it to make it feminine. 

An elem (ALM) may or may not have had intercourse in his life, but that's irrelevant because intercourse does not define him as an elem. But if he was behind a tree, hidden from view, and then he steps to one side and you new see him, that defines him as an elem.

In another book (Exodus 2:8), we will read of Miriam who was watching her baby brother (Moses) from behind the bulrushes and stepped forward to be seen and address Pharaoh's daughter. The status of her hymen did not define her as an almah (ALMH), but, rather, her going from being unseen to being seen by the daughter of Pharaoh. 

Let me repeat: both almah (ALMH) and elem (ALM) are share the same root, "ALM", and is connected with the Hebrew word ne'elem, (NALM) meaning "hidden one.".And the Hebrew word Betulah will always refer to a virgin (there is, obviously, no male counterpart). 

So why didn't the translators use "female who appeared" rather than "maiden", as it is used in some places?

Most likely, there was no Greek word equivalent, and so they simply used a Greek word for "maiden", even though an almah can be of any age, and any marriage status.

It is when the Vulgate used "virgo" in only the Isaiah 7:14 occurrence of almah that Christian apologetics went into full force.

A few more forms of ALM:

להתעלם - (l'hitalem - to ignore. Reflective form of "to not perceive")
להעלם - (l'heialem - to disappear. Passive form of "not perceived")

Almah is a noun form with the same root idea: "had not been perceived" or more simply, "she who has come into view".


So let's look at a list of where almah/elem is used.

Proverbs 30:18-20

There are three things that are concealed from me, and four I do not know: The way of the eagle in the heavens, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the heart of the sea, and the way of a man with an Almah.

This verse is focusing on the idea of concealment. We have an eagle that is too high to see, a serpent that is blending in with a rock and remains unseen, a ship that moves beyond the horizon and is unseen by those standing by the shore, and a woman who was not seen who shows herself to the man, and the two of them hide from prying eyes. All four of them deal with concealment. The first three have no ulterior motive, while the fourth is for a specific indulgence, and the next verse indicates:

Thus is the way of an adulterous woman. She eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have committed no sin”.

(Note: many commentators, both Jewish (Metzudat David, Eben Ezra, etc.) and Christian (Barnes, Matthew Henry, etc.) agree that there is an intimacy going on between the man an the almah in verse 30:19. And so, for them, verse 30:20 is seen as an extension of verse 30:19, as in "the way of a man with an almah, [for] such is the way of an adulterous woman..." this is based on the numbering in verse 30:18.

Even if you hold that the almah in 30:19 is unconnected to verse 30:20, and hold that the almah is not committing adultery (and is an unmarried woman simply involved in a lover's tryst), we still do not know if she is a virgin. We only read of her passion being physically expressed, and so the status of her hymen is irrelevant).

Psalm 68:26

The singers go before and the minstrels follow after. In the midst there are Ahlmah (pl.) playing timbrels.

A parade is coming down the street, and the ladies playing their timbrels are coming into view. The status of their hymens are irrelevant.

Song of Songs 1:3

Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils, your name is ‘oil poured forth.’ Thus the Ahlmah (pl.) loved you.

The verse speaks of a young woman coming out of hiding into the bedroom of her lover. 

The super commentator, Rashi, indicates that if this is a selfish love (prostitute), then she is not a virgin, but if this is a pure love, then she is a betulah. Almah, in this case only represents her coming into view before her lover.

Song of Songs 6:8

There are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and Ahlmah (pl.) without number.

Each of these three categories represents the lovers of the king. In short, they are all non-virgins. The first category are the queens, who are married and enjoy their exalted position with the king. The next are the concubines, who will also provide offspring for the king, although without the exalted status. The final status are those (without number) who come being unseen (outside) and go into the king's chamber, have sex, and leave, never to be seen again.

Genesis 24:16

This is the story of Rachael being spied upon by Eliezer, seeking of one who is virtuous enough for his master. From the point of view of God, seeing her through the eyes of Eliezer we read:

Now the na'arah (girl) was very fair of appearance. A betulah (virgin).

Eliezer did not know the status of her hymen, but God did. 

Genesis 24:43

And when Eliezer describing to Rachael's father how he was waiting for a sign and the daughter came into view he says:

…Let it be the almah who comes out [appears] to draw and to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jug.”

Exodus 2:8

When Miriam comes out of hiding from the bulrushes to speak to the daughter of Pharaoh:

The daughter of Pharaoh said, “Go [fetch a wet nurse]” so the almah went and summoned the boy’s mother.

Whether or not she had a hymen was irrelevant to the story, only that she came out of hiding and approached the princess.

Joel 1:8

I am using this verse for virgin, just because it is sometimes used as an exception, when it is not:. Here, context is everything:

Lament like a betulah (virgin), girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

This is speaking of one who should weep like a virgin, who was betrothed, and he died before their wedding night.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore He, my lord, will give you a sign. Behold, the almah [she-who-came-into-view] is pregnant, and she shall give birth to a son and call him "God is with us".

This brings us back to the beginning of this explanation. 

The King is shaky in his faith and he sees that the battle ahead against the enemy will be a long one. The prophet goes to him to say "See that young lady coming into view? Before she has given birth to a child, you will have won this war and you will call [her child] "Immanu-El" for you will know that God was with you."

It is akin to saying, "By the rise of the first moon, You will be king!" where the prophecy is about being king, not about the rising of the moon, which is just establishing a time period.

Summary

To say that almah means "virgin" is a lie.

As to the Greek word used, there really isn't any for "female who was not seen and now is", and so "betrothed" was used. And, perhaps, a betrothed woman could be a virgin, which would explain the Latin use of the term.

But there are no virgin births in the Hebrew text. 

Here is a meme that summarizes this nicely: