. . . the Greek translation
contains two nuances that facilitate a Messianic-Christological interpretation.
In the first instance we note that the translator rendered the Hebrew word עלמה
“young woman” as παρθενος, a term normally translated as “virgin”.
In the second instance we note that the translator used a future verbal form in
his translation of the Hebrew adjective “pregnant”: “Look, the virgin shall
become pregnant and shall bear a child.”
It should be clear to the majority
that the concept “virgin” was understood at an early stage as a reference to
the virgin Mary. The use of the future verbal form “shall become pregnant”
would undoubtedly have facilitated this application.
Did the translator intend such a
Messianic interpretation? There are some reasons to respond to such a question
in the negative. We should not lose sight of the fact that the Septuagint is a
Jewish product. If we bracket the Christian interpretation for a moment and endeavour
to read the text from the perspective of the reader living in the second or
first century before Christ, then the suspicion is bound to arise that
preference should be given to an alternative interpretation. Bearing this in
mind we shall first examine the use of the future tense in the expression “shall
become pregnant” and then move on to the significance of the term παρθενος.
(1) The use of the future tense to
translate a nominal clause is not unusual. The Hebrew literally reads “Look,
the young woman pregnant”. The reader is thus obliged to insert a form of the
copula “to be” best fitting the context. Similar birth announcements, such as
that in Gen 16,11, are not open to doubt. In Genesis 16 Hagar is unmistakably
pregnant and shall bear a son. In this instance the LXX translates the words
addressed to her by the angel as follows: “Look, you are now pregnant and you
shall bear a son”. In Judg 13,5 and 7 we encounter a similar use of terminology
with respect to the announcement of the birth of Samson. In this instance,
however, the context makes it clear that we are dealing with a future event and
the translator clearly opts for a future tense in his translation: “Look, you shall
become pregnant and you shall bear a child”. The context in Isa 7,14 is
less helpful. The translator opts for a future tense in line with the following
verb: “you shall become pregnant” and “you shall bear a son”. The translator’s
choice does not as such imply any kind of allusion to a Messianic interpretation.
(2) The choice of the Greek word παρθενος is likewise indeterminate. While
the term evolved more and more in later Greek to mean “virgin” and function for
the most part in the Septuagint s the translational equivalent of the Hebrew בתולה
“virgin”, its significance is earlier Greek was much broader and indeed closer
to the Hebrew word עלמה “young woman”. In Isaiah the term παρθενος is always
used as the equivalent of the Hebrew בתולה (Isa 23,4; 37,22; 47,1; 62,5). The
only exception to this is its use in 7,14. In two of the four passages in which
παρθενος is employed to render the Hebrew בתולה,
its use clearly refers to a collective entity rather than an individual person:
Zion in 37,22 and Babylon in 44,1. Outside Isaiah the term is repeatedly
employed as a title for Lady Zion, for Judah or for Israel (2 Kings 19,21; Jer
18,13; 38(31),4,21; Lam 1,14; 2,13). Remarkably, moreover, the context in both
Isa 7,14 and Isa 3722 is quite similar. In both instances the text refers to a
threat to Jerusalem in the time of Ahaz and in both instances God promises
assistance to his people and a “remnant” returns. (7,3,31). It seems reasonable
to assume, therefore, that the translator identified the παρθενος in both instances with Lady Zion
(the plural form of the personal pronoun in the name of the child [“Immanuel, God with
us”] in 7,14 also calls for a collective interpretation. A similar
plural form is found in the name “The Lord is our righteousness” in Jer 23,5;
33,16). The two remaining Isaiah texts further underline the fact that the
concept παρθενος is not employed in order to accentuate
the “virgin” connotation. As a matter of fact, its use in 62,5 would seem to
suggest the very opposite since it alludes to παρθενος who lived together with a young
man, and in a parallel clause to a married couple. (Johan Lust, “A Septuagint
Christ Preceding Jesus Christ Messianism in the Septuagint Exemplified in Isa
7,10-17,” in Messianism and the Septuagint: Collected Essays by J. Lust,
ed. K. Hauspie [Bibliotheca Ephemeridium Theologicarum Lovaniensium
CLXXVIII; Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2004], 220-22, emphasis in original)