I can remember my dismay when studying theology at Oxford to come across the modernist interpretation of the seventh chapter of Isaiah's prophecy. Church goers will remember the King James version of verse fourteen: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The professor said in his usual languid way, “Of course the word alma which is translated ‘virgin' can just as easily, and more probably be translated ‘young woman.' There is no real reason to put upon this text a supernatural meaning.” This learned essay disputes the point, but there is another problem of which the question of interpretation of one Old Testament term highlights. The reason it was suggested that alma means “young woman” not “virgin” was not out of any concern for precise and proper translation of ancient texts, but out of a preconceived notion that the supernatural is impossible, and St. Matthew's idea of a virgin birth was not only quaint and outdated, but mistaken.
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