In the original Hebrew, the passage had read “young woman” (almah), apparently describing an ordinary birth. Apparently Matthew knew the Hebrew Bible in its Greek translation, where he would have read the following: “The Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel-God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). There the Lord promises to give Israel a “sign” of the coming of God’s salvation. “For example, in opposition to the rumor that Jesus was born illegitimate, Matthew and his predecessors found vindication for their faith in Jesus in Isaiah 7:14.
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