I have to disagree. All the research I’ve done clearly indicates that the word used in Is. 7:14, almah, also means virgin/vitginity and not only in this verse, but in others where it is used.
And you're wrong. Look, I can do this all night. Your very own "research" proves my point. But first let me give you mine. This is from the English translation of the Jewish Tanakh, not the English translation of the Septuagint.
http://bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=1&chapter=24&verse=43&portion=5
Gen 24:43
"I am now standing by the town well. When
a girl comes out to draw water, I will say to her, 'Let me drink some water from your jug".
What we DO know is that if it had been talking about an actual "virgin", some one that has never been with a man, then it would have used the word (betulah) just like it did in that very "same" chapter but only a few verses ago.
24:16
The girl was extremely good-looking, [and]
she was a virgin untouched by any man. The girl went down, filled her jug, and then came up again.
24:16 is explicitly showing this is a virgin (betulah) girl. Almah (young girl, young woman, girl, maiden), which appears a few verses later, isn't.
In each of the following verses the Hebrew word
almah explicitly means "virgin”.
Genesis 24:43;
Exodus 2:8;
3 Isaiah 7:14;
Song of Songs 1:3;
Song of Songs 6:8;
Psalms 68:25;
Proverbs 30:19.
Now here's where you're completely wrong. Did you even click the links you provided? They ALL agree with me. Not only that they are from a Catholic website which is just ironic.
Genesis 24:43
.... if I say to a
young woman.......
Exodus 2:8
....So the
young woman went........
Isaiah 7:14
....
the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.
NOTE: In their rendering they portray, as do may Jewish OT translations, that the woman is already pregnant and getting ready to have the child.
Song of Songs 1:3 and
Song of Songs 6:8 - You posted.
(Those links are dead) but considering their pattern above I'm sure it will agree with me. Instead I'll paste the one I got from a Jewish site.
Shir Hashirim - Chapter 1 - Tanakh Online - Torah - Bible
Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils, your name is 'oil poured forth.' Therefore,
the maidens loved you.
Shir Hashirim - Chapter 6 - Tanakh Online - Torah - Bible
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and innumerable
maidens.
Psalms 68:25 (It's actually 26 at their site)
The singers go first, the harpists follow;
in their midst girls sound the timbrels.
Proverbs 30:19
the way of a man with
a woman
So as you can see, by your own links to an online catholic bible, "almah" is not "clearly indicated" to be used as virgin.
"There is no instance where it can be proved that 'almâ designates a young woman who is not a virgin. The fact of virginity is obvious in Gen 24:43 where 'almâ is used of one who was being sought as a bride for Isaac." (R. Laird Harris, et al. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, p. 672.)
And yet YOU refute your own source by the links you've provided above....
But Mary the mother of Jesus was an almah (virgin)
Actually she would have been a (betulah) not an (almah) in that case. The writer of Matthew is copying Isaiah incorrectly to try and tie in prophecy that had nothing to do with Yeshua but Luke is the only one that actually uses the correct word to denote (virgin - a person who has not had sexual intercourse).
I have an online version in Hebrew and the word used at Matthew 1:23 is (ha almah)
http://www.bayithamashiyach.com/Matthew_1.pdf
That same site shows that Luke 1:27 used the correct word (el-b'thulah and hab'thulah).
http://www.bayithamashiyach.com/Luke_1.pdf
The 66 books-.........
[FONT="]
What is the canon of Scripture?[/FONT]
I'm very much aware of the history but you made the claim, more than once, that all scripture is inspired by "God" and I'm simply pointing out there are more scrolls than what you have in your bible. It in itself was bound together by men who decided what should be collected together. This isn't a slam against your book. I'm only saying that before you go saying it's the inspired word of "God" you should know there are lots more scrolls out there that didn't make it in. Since man didn't included them then can we consider them the "word of God" as well.....
I have read several explanations as to the reasons that Matthew referred to Jeremiah rather than Zachariah and I am not sure as to definitely why he did so, although some are certainly feasible. One thing, I am sure of is that simply because we do not have all the information, reasons, or understanding as to why Matthew quoted as he did does not in any way prove the Bible is faulty. The scriptures have proved themselves to be reliable through archeology, history, fulfilled prophecy, and various other ways. At this point, it is only human inability to fully understand everything that causes confusion, not the scriptures.
The writer of Matthew simply got it wrong and there's nothing wrong with admitting that....but when you say it's the inspired word of "God" then the writer deserves to be called on this faux pas.