Virgin

The word "virgin" in Scripture carries both literal and theological significance, centered especially on the great Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The Hebrew word used is almah, meaning a young woman of marriageable age; the Septuagint translators rendered it with the unambiguous Greek parthenos (virgin), and Matthew's Gospel cites both (Matthew 1:23) in applying the prophecy to the birth of Jesus from Mary. The incarnation of the Son of God through a virgin birth is a foundational doctrine of Christian faith, affirming both his true humanity (born of a woman) and his divine identity (no human father).

The term also carries broader import in biblical ethics and typology. Deuteronomy and the Mosaic law treated a woman's virginity as a matter of family honor and covenant integrity. Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2 describes the church as a "pure virgin" whom he has betrothed to Christ, and the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1 uses the image of wedding attendants to teach eschatological readiness. The 144,000 in Revelation 14:4 are described as those who "have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins"—a likely metaphor for those who have remained faithful to Christ rather than committing spiritual adultery with the world.