THREAD: Thinking today about the ESV's practice of almost always translating the Hebrew word 'almah (young woman) as "virgin." It's probably to preserve the "virgin" of Isa. 7:14, but it forces such funny (even weird) translations elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. For example... 1/

Psalm 68:25. The Psalmist is describing a victory parade for God. You got singers & musicians, and between them, "virgins"? Why on earth would their sexual status be in view? Just random. Probably just means "young ladies" running around with tambourines. Next up... 2/

Songs of Songs 1:3. My wife says, "Sam, you're such a catch. All the girls who never had sex are just crazy for you." Lol. Why would sexual status matter here? Is virginity in view? Or is this lady simply saying, "I'm so lucky. My guy is such a hit with all the girls."? But... 3/

Prov. 30:19 is the funniest. What's the man doing "with" an 'almah? Scholars Waltke & Alter both say a more accurate translation is "in." The man is physically "in an 'almah." Pretty tough to figure how a man is "in a virgin." And notice the other images (up/down, back/forth). 4/

Not to mention there's already a specific word for "virgin" (betulah) used lots of times in the Hebrew Bible. I'm not saying Christians can't/shouldn't take Isaiah 7:14 as a Christological prophesy (given Matt 1:23). But these examples suggest to me what most Hebrew... 5/

...scholars already conclude. The basic meaning of 'almah in the Hebrew Bible is "young woman." Translating it "virgin" in most (not all) cases is unjustified & honestly creates kinda weirdly sexualized messages about young women. 6/