DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
Matthew's wording follows the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the scriptures made by Jewish scholars in Alexandria from the third century BC on. There Isaiah's almah — "young woman" — had been rendered parthenos, usually "virgin": the word Matthew quotes.
Why it’s interesting
The Septuagint was the Bible most early Christians actually read — the New Testament usually quotes scripture in its Greek. A choice made by translators two centuries before Jesus sits inside one of Christianity's most famous verses.
Scholarly consensus
You can know the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.