VIRGIN, one who has not experienced sexual intercourse. The word is commonly fem. and used of young women of marriageable age.
I. Terminology. Several Heb. terms are utilized in the OT. The most important term is בְּתוּלָה, H1435, which is exclusively fem. and is cognate to Ugaritic btlt often used as a title of ’Anat. There is no definite evidence that the term means strictly virgin, that is untouched. It is also cognate to Akkad. batultu, Neo-Assyrian batussu which certainly means “virgin” in the contexts where it is qualified by some statement stating that the young woman had not had intercourse. However in many contexts the term cannot possibly mean simply “virgin.” A late Aram. cognate describes a young woman in the latter stages of pregnancy who cannot bear (J. A. Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur [1913], 178:13 1. 9.) The masc. forms are considerably more common in the E Sem. languages. Less common is the Heb. עַלְמָה, H6625, “young woman” cognate to Ugaritic glmt, which simply means “young female.” The term is much more frequent in the masc. However there is no question that in context this term can be used for “virgin” (Gen 24:43 et al.). It is used most frequently in the Psalms. The difference between this and the preceding term is not precisely clear. However in light of the “tokens of virginity” for which the term betūwlīym is used it appears that that term is more exact for “virgin.” The LXX is unclear in its use of Gr. παρθένος, G4221, since it renders both Heb. terms in this fashion. However the text of Aquila renders it by νεᾶνις, “young woman,” a term even less precise. Frequently in the OT the question as to how precisely the terms are to be taken is answered by some qualification (Deut 22:13-21). More often than not, there is no such phrase and the context must determine the us age. Traditionally the key verse in which ’alemāh appears is Isaiah 7:14. An elaborate controversy has ensued because of the quotation of this verse in the nativity accounts of Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:27. The text of Isaiah 7:14 describes a divine activity which would be a sign to the king, Ahaz. This does not mean however that the fulfillment of this sign would occur at that time. The NT utilizes Gr. παρθένος, G4221, exclusively and the abstract noun παρθενία, G4220, once in Luke 2:36, in the sense of “virginity.” However, like the OT usage, the exact determination of virgo intacta must be made from the context.
II. Virgin in the OT. Virginity is a virtue in the creation-law order for three reasons at least: (1) It was commanded to keep the monogamous relationship of marriage undefiled (Exod 22); (2) Marriage of a man with a virgin insured the purity of the inheritance which was fundamentally important to the sacerdotal offices of specific groups within Israel (Lev 21:14); (3) Virginity was considered in and of itself to be a desirable state (Esth 2:2, et al.). Accordingly loss of virginity was to be within the bounds of marriage and loss through force a severe misfortune (2 Sam 13:13, 14). In such contexts it is obvious that the terms can only mean “virgin”; however, on occasion additional qualifying phrases are added, וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יְדָעָ֑הּ, “whom no man had known” (Gen 24:16). The reason for this additional phrase is to remove any possible ambiguity in the use of the term for “virgin.” The OT frequently uses the pl. in the sense of the community of “virgins” within a state or nation. They are often the most protected and secluded of the social grouping and so their happiness (Song of Solomon 6:8), their scorn (2 Kings 19:21; Isa 37:22) and their misery (Isa 46:11) are indicative of the health and security of a people. The position of a virgin is often compared to the purity of Israel’s worship of Jehovah, a concept which finds fulfillment in the NT concept of the Church as the pure bride of Christ. On the other hand, the idolatry of Israel is portrayed as the depths of sexual depravity (Hosea). Incest, seduction and outright promiscuity are all categorized as capital offenses in the OT. The price of the sanctity of the body was no less than another life (Deut 22:19-21).
III. Virgin in the NT. All of the teachings about virginity in the OT are carried over and restated in the NT. The primary discussion of the subject has rested upon the statements concerning Mary in the gospel narratives. It is abundantly clear that the virginity of Mary is taught in Sem. terms in Luke 1:34, ἐπεὶ̀ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω, “since I have no husband.” This phrase is nearly identical to that in Genesis 24:16, the variation being accountable in the shift from third to first person. The LXX of that passage reads, ἀνὶ̀ρ οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτήν, “a man had not known her.” A variant of the Lukan text is poorly attested which reads ἄνδρα μετέχω, “enjoy a man,” and refers to sexual experience. The RSV rendering “since I have no husband,” is a clear paraphrase and without warrant in the ancient MSS, while the common tr. of the variant “have a husband” is also specious.
At no point in the NT is the term parthenos ever used apart from virgins. The only ambivalent passage is 1 Corinthians 7:36, which can easily be explained from the context. The term is used in the masc. pl. only in Revelation 14:4, which is an oblique reference to Genesis 6:2, the sons of the covenant line marrying the daughters of the fallen human race outside of the covenant. The defilement mentioned is in the religious sphere.
The church as bride is a theme which first appears in 2 Corinthians 11:2 but is alluded to in Jesus’ parables (Matt 25:1). However, the image did not achieve the apocalyptic impact of certain others since it is not used in Revelation which utilizes a derivative notion, the bride and bridegroom (Rev 18:23; 21:2, 9, 17). The world of the 1st Christian cent. was still rocking under the disruption caused by Hellenism. The age-old social castes and mores were gone, and unbridled hedonism was the order of the day. In such a world the constraint of the Early Church for morality and purity in sexual relations was radical and abrasive and so its import in the apostolic age was foremost. It is this necessity which pervades Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:25-37.
Bibliography W. G. Machen, The Virgin Birth of Christ (1932); D. Edwards, The Virgin Birth in History and Faith (1943); E. J. Young, Studies in Isaiah (1954); S. Mowinckel, He That Cometh (1956).