The NAB’s decision to change “virgin” to “young woman” in Isaiah 7:14 has once again brought up the virgin birth, Mary, and the nature of prophesy, as well as the role of translation in accurately conveying the text of the Bible. Most reports I’ve seen recently, though, confuse what are really three separate issues here.…
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What happens to prophecies in the New Testament? The obvious answer is that they come true, but I think a more careful look shows otherwise. Matthew 1:18-22 / Isaiah 7:14 As an example of a prophecy apparently coming true, we might consider the first chapter of Matthew. The text starting around Matthew 1:18 deals with…
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Sometimes it seems that translators look too closely at individual words, only asking “how do I say this ancient word in English?” rather than asking “how do I translate this text into English?” I think this flawed approach comes in part from ignorance, but also from the religious tradition that each word has meaning. So…
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