Isaiah 7:14 “’n Jong vrou sal swanger word en sy sal ‘n seun in die wêreld bring … “ (Nuwe Afrikaanse Vertaling) “Kyk, die maagd sal swanger word en ‘n seun baar …” (Ou Afrikaanse Vertaling) “Maid shall be with child and bear a son …” (Knox Version) “The young woman pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel…” (New American Bible – revised edition) “Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son …” (RSV, first Catholic edition) “Look, the young woman is with child, and shall bear so son …” (NRSV, Catholic edition) “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son …” (Douay-Rheims Version – oldest existing English translation of the Bible still in use, even older than the King James Bible – translated from the Vulgate in comparison with other ancient manuscripts) “The virgin will be with child and bear a son …” (New International Version) “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son …” (New American Bible – 1970 translation of the Old Testament) “… the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son …” (Jerusalem Bible) “… eene maagd sal zwanger worden en zij sal eenen zoon baren,… (Nederlandse Staten Generaal Vertaling) “…la jeune fille deviendra enceinte, elle enfantera un fils, …” (Louis Segond) Take your pick. The difference in some of these translations stem from the difference between the existing Hebrew manuscripts which uses the word ‘almah’ which denotes a young woman of marriageable age although not specifically a virgin (but be real, a young woman of marriageable age in those days would almost without exception have been a virgin) and the Septuagint which uses the word ‘parthenos’ which normally is a virgin. Matthew 1:23 quotes from the Septuagint which was the Bible of the early Christians. Bear in mind that the Masoretic Hebrew manuscript which is the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence is not the original Hebrew and is younger than the Septuagint (Ancient pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament). Where the two disagree it is quite possible that the Septuagint is more correct. The Orthodox Church also believes that the translation was also also inspired by God as part of ongoing revelation and therefore regards the Septuagint as authentic. Some Protestant Christians were scandalized when some more modern translations switched to ‘young woman’ instead of ‘virgin’. Catholics fortunately don’t have to frantically search the Bible for a verse to support a specific doctrine – although we hold the Bible in high esteem and it is very much a part of our tradition – where some doctrines has always been part of the tradition of the Church. We have always held, and continue to hold that Mary was and stayed a virgin, in spite of liberal theology and modernism creeping in, and every Sunday we still say in the creed (for those of us who say it) “… and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man …” . And we are suppose to bow (and on the Feast of the Annunciation and on Christmas Day to genuflect) when we say these words because we are really bowing before the God who became man.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 11:38:49 +0000
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