BIBLE QUESTIONS ANSWERED | The Virgin Mary​—What Does the Bible Say About Her?

[The Librarian]

Some claim that Jesus’ virgin birth was the Immaculate Conception. Does the Bible support this teaching?

Source

[JW Insider]

Reading recently about the history of the LXX (Septuagint), I was curious at the fact that some early Christians (especially 2nd through 4th century) were angry at scholarly Jews and even some knowledgeable Christians for re-translating Isaiah 7:14 as "young woman" instead of "virgin."  Correcting the LXX was seen as an attack on Christianity.

[Evacuated]

*** it-2 p. 1158 Virgin ***
Although the Hebrew word bethu·lahʹ means “virgin,” another term (ʽal·mahʹ) appears at Isaiah 7:14: “Look! The maiden [ha·ʽal·mahʹ] herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Immanuel.” The word ʽal·mahʹ means “maiden” and can apply to a nonvirgin or a virgin. It is applied to “the maiden” Rebekah before marriage when she was also called “a virgin” (bethu·lahʹ). (Ge 24:16, 43) Under divine inspiration, Matthew employed the Greek word par·theʹnos (virgin) when showing that Isaiah 7:14 found final fulfillment in connection with the virgin birth of Jesus, the Messiah. Both Matthew and Luke state clearly that Jesus’ mother Mary was then a virgin who became pregnant through the operation of God’s holy spirit.—Mt 1:18-25; Lu 1:26-35
 

7 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Correcting the LXX was seen as an attack on Christianity

LXX translators appear to have used the Greek word par·theʹnos at Is 7:14. So do you mean that the wording of Isaiah 7:14  was altered by post time of Christ revisionists of the LXX such as Aquila "Ponticus" of Sinope?

[JW Insider]

16 hours ago, Gone Away said:

So do you mean that the wording of Isaiah 7:14  was altered by post time of Christ revisionists of the LXX such as Aquila "Ponticus" of Sinope?

Yes. That's a part of it. Note the even the "free page" here:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1561026?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Even some early "Church Fathers" thought that these changes were being made to undermine Christianity, and opposed the revisions and their authors (mostly directed at Symacchus and Aquila).

What I was reading was from other sources but Wikipedia implies the same here in the entry about Symacchus:

• Saint Jerome admired his style but faulted his translation in two areas important to Christians, saying that he substituted the Greek word neansis (woman) for parthenos (virgin) in Isaiah 7:14 and Genesis 24:43.^[13] Symmachus' Greek translation of the Pentateuch appeared in Origen's Hexapla,  . . . According to Eusebius Symmachus also wrote commentaries, then still extant, apparently written to counter the canonical Greek Gospel of Matthew, . . . .