Translation

Just watched the segment on "Morning Joe" regarding the divinity of doubt. This is also an interesting discussion in light of newer translations of the Bible this week changing the translation of Issiah's reference to the "virgin" being born. What this lawyer didn't mention (and maybe he did not know) is that the NT writers for the most part, did not have access to the Hebrew scriptures in Hebrew. The most prominent scriptures available (and most scholars from a wide swath of convictions demonstrate this) were the Greek Scriptures, otherwise noted as the Septuagint (LXX). In this version, the word employed is, "parthenos." I looked it up in Bauer & Gingrich (a standard Greek-English Lexicon), and the English equivalent is, "virgin" (p. 632) It is used in wider Greek literature as well with this meaning. Philo and Josephus use it in this way. It is also used for men. So, when the writers of the LXX addressed this text, they went with the sexual connoted use of the term. This version predates Christianity by about 400 yrs or so. So, if this lawyer had really done his homework (or perhaps he did it in the book and didn't have time to express it on the set), he would've addressed the use of the LXX in the writings of the NT.

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