Virgin, Prophecy, Presence of the LORD

1. Benjamin Kedar, "The Latin Translations," Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, ed. Martin Jan Mulder (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004) 330.

"Even discussing the crucial verse 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive' (Isa 7:14), Jerome admits that the Hebrew word 'alma, employed in this verse, was not the usual one for 'virgin'; this would have been betula. Yet, according to Jerome (4, 108), the proper etymology of 'alma vindicates the Christian interpretation: The root 'lm means 'to hide, conceal' and thus the word under review denotes 'a maiden hidden from the view of men', i.e., a virgin."

I'm not sure if I agree with Jerome here, since the word almah is the feminine form of the word alem, which means "young man." We see it in I Samuel 17:56: "The king said, "Inquire whose son the stripling is" (NRSV). The word translated "stripling" is alem. Thus, I think almah in Isaiah 7:14 is most likely "young woman." She probably would have been a virgin, but the word by itself doesn't really connote that (as far as I know). Still, Jerome is correct that 'lm means to conceal, for the verb means "hide" or "close their eyes" in Leviticus 20:4: "And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes to them, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death[.]"

2. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume II: Ante-Nicene Christianity (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1910) 680-681.

"It is difficult to imagine whether [the Shepherd of Hermas] actually had or imagined himself to have had those visions, or invented them as a pleasing and effective mode of instruction, like Dante's vision and Bunyan's dream."

I wonder this about a lot of things. Did the Shepherd of Hermas really believe that he had a vision? How about Muhammad? Or Joseph Smith? I think that Muhammad and Joseph Smith proclaimed that they indeed did receive divine revelations, but what should we make of their claim? Were they lying? Was there something psychological going on? If they weren't telling the truth, then how do we know that the biblical prophets were truthful about the visions they claimed to see?

Of course, the biblical prophets brought persecution on themselves through their prophecies, so I don't think they were seeking power and prestige. But Muhammad didn't totally have a cake-walk, either. And Joseph Smith had to relocate his movement because of persecution. Still, he did have power over a movement, not to mention more than one wife. So maybe it was harder to be an Old Testament prophet than Joseph Smith.

3. "The Nature and Character of God and His Relations with Man," A Rabbinic Anthology, ed. C.G. Montefiore and H. Loewe (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1938) 17.

"How could Jonah 'flee from the presence of the Lord'? Does it not say, 'Whither shall I flee from thy presence, etc.' (Ps. cxxxix). But Jonah said, 'I will go beyond Palestine to a land where the Shechinah does not reveal itself, for the nations are near to repentance, and I would not make Israel guilty.' (Mek., Pisha, Bo 1, p. 3; Mek. 1b (cp. [1562]).)"

Good question, but I don't understand the answer. Jonah is said to have fled from the presence of the LORD, something that Psalm 139 says is impossible. And we see in Jonah that it actually is impossible, in a manner of speaking, since God dogged Jonah wherever he went: he sent Jonah a storm, was with Jonah in the belly of the sea-monster, and talked with Jonah right outside of Nineveh.

But "presence of the LORD" can mean God's presence in the tabernacle or temple. We see this in I Samuel 26:19-20, in which David says to Saul: "Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the LORD who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering; but if it is mortals, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out today from my share in the heritage of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.' Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the ground, away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains."

According to David, being away from the tabernacle is being away from God's presence. That may be because a burnt offering in those days was something that invoked the presence of God.

Yet, I Samuel 30:6 says that David in Ziklag sought strength in God. He wasn't in the tabernacle then, right? True, but here's something I noticed just now for the first time: the high priest and the ephod were right there with him in Ziklag, and David could consult God for guidance through the ephod. So David wasn't in the tabernacle, but important aspects of the sanctuary were with David.

At some point, however, the psalms came to be attributed to David, and those clearly present David praying to God while he was on the run, even affirming that he could not escape God's presence.

Is there a way in which God was present in the worship service of ancient Israel, that was not the case in other locations? Can we draw an analogy to today? Is God present in the church when believers are assembled, in a way that he is not present outside of the sanctuary? Sure, God is everywhere, so we can call on him anywhere. But is there something special about church?