Below is a question posed to Bart Ehrman he shared in a post of three good questions here. Bart’s response explains what Isaiah was saying and not saying.
Blog Member’s QUESTION:
We have all heard of the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that have been attributed to Jesus. Although scholars state that Isaiah 7:14 actually reads ” a young woman has conceived”, apologists argue that the Hebrew word for young woman can also mean virgin, and some have referred to other verses outside of this example in which the same “young woman” word in Hebrew is used when referring to a virgin. One example I believe was used was Sarah possibly. Anyway, are there other examples where that term is used and was actually referring to someone understood to be a virgin?
Bart’s RESPONSE:
It very much depends what you mean by “can also mean.” There is a Hebrew word for “woman who has never had sex” (BETHULAH) and that is not the word used in Isa 7:14; the word that is used there normally means “young woman” (ALMAH) and applies to a young woman independently of whether she has had sex yet or not. If she is very young and not married yet, the normal assumption is that she has not had sex (hence it *can* refer to a woman who has not had sex). If she’s a young woman who *has* had sex she still is a young woman (ALMAH).
The other big issue is what the verse says about the woman in relation to her being pregnant. It does not say she will become pregnant but that she already is. It uses the “perfect tense” for “conceived.” That will require some explaining.
Hebrew doesn’t have verbal tenses like English (past, present, future; perfect; past perfect; future perfect; etc.) It’s main tenses are “perfect” for actions that are already completed and “imperfect” for those that are not completed yet (whether in the past, present, or future). By using the Perfect tense here it indicates that the woman is already pregnant (a completed action) not that she is going to be.
And when you read the entire chapter, that’s the point. She’s pregnant (perfect tense). She will give birth (imperfect tense). And before the child is very old, the problems confronting the king Ahaz (to whom Isaiah is speaking) will have disappeared.
