544
December 1925
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
do you see, professor?” “A goat.” “And hpw do you know it is a goat?” “Because it is black.” “But how do you know, at this distance, that It is black?” “Because it is a goat.” “How do you relieve the difficulty about Isa. 7:14, Professor? for it seems to teach the virgin birth.” “I know that ‘Almah’ sometimes means a ‘Youthful spouse recently married’.” “And how do you know that?” ; “Be cause Isaiah 7 :14 proves it.” There is not f o r ' the professor’s declaration on this passage one iota of evidence, by his learned confession, ex cept that since he does not believe it, it is not so... Since a virgin, in the natural order of things, cannot con ceive, and since, according to Gesenius and the Modernists, God could not bring it to pass, she will not, she shall not conceive. Isaiah may call this a sign from Jehovah, and Matthew may record the fulfillment of the prophecy; the usage of the Old Testament may admittedly sustain the contention of the virgin birth 100 percent; the allied languages may speak with perfect unanimity; the learned “Seventy” He brews who translated the Old Testa ment into Greek may stand with the rest; not a voice is raised except in harmony with the translation “virgin;” every avenue has been explored, every resource exhausted; the case is a sweeping victory for the faith once for all delivered and for the virgin birth, and the learned Professor of Halle University calmly admits it all. But the one conclusive reason why it cannot be is, that the professor is a neolist; he does not believe in the supernatural, and therefore it cannot be. His one lone pitiful argument is found in the fact that he is bound that the raven is a goat; and, come what will, though his reasoning may be un worthy of a sixth grade school pupil, his bent to unbelief must be satisfied;, so this “Greatest of modern Hebraists” begs his own question, denies his own full proofs, and sets himself up against the plain teaching of the Word of God, which he continually drags in the dust by his unsanctified handling of the language of Canaan. Dr. Tregelles well remarks that to the believer Matthew’s testimony is sufficient. Yet without that, pious Jews always held the same interpreta tion, which they drew from the con text of Isaiah, that the word meant a virgin birth. Examine this context: What Was “The Sign” ? 1. God declares that this is to be His own special “sign to Israel” ; using (Continued on page 585)
Testament, so simple and forceful, he ignores them. Now what is there left for the learned doctor to do, since he sidesteps the context of Scripture, and yet admits that every source of authority and light would make the meaning “virgin” ? He admits that the rendering “vir gin” is correct in every passage except the one in dispute, Isaiah 7:14. This passage alone is the foundation for his statement that Almah is sometimes used of “A youthful spouse recently married.” He has not a vestige of other proof nor does he attempt to produce any other fact or argument to back his statement. ,. A Sample of “Scholarship” ! Here is his reasoning: Two Arabs, walking along a desert trail, saw a black object ahead. “Ah, a goat,” said one. ■ “No, a raven,” said the other. “No, a goat,” insisted the first, and the dispute waxed hot till the object finally rose up and flew away.. “Aha, it flies; it’s a raven,” gleefully exclaimed the second disputant. “Walu tarit Maaz- ah,” exclaimed the first;— Even if it did fly it’s a goat.” And the Arab’s tale ends as usual with the first man proving his point by killing his com panion in travel. Professor Gesenius has looked at this object and called it a goat. “What
(Continued from preceding page) What Does “Almah” Really Mean? There are five sources of light on the true meaning of this or any other Hebrew word: 1. Its use in the Old Testament. 2. Its use in languages closely allied to Hebrew. 3. The immediate context of the pas sage. 4. The Septuagint (Greek) transla tion of the Old Testament. 5. The witness of the New Testa ment. No finished education in Hebrew is needed to see what Professor Gesenius has done in ljis lexicon. First, he admits that the common Hebrew use of the word is “virgin.” ' Second, He admits that the septu agint translators, who were learned Hebrews in a day when Hebrew was a living language, and no Christian con troversy existed, translated “Almah” by the Greek word meaning “‘virgin.” In this he states that they erred, and his proof will be seen shortly. Third, he admits that the cognate languages, Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac, have the same word meaning “virgin”, not meaning “A youthful Spouse re cently married.” Fourth, as for the' context of the passage and the testimony of the New
THE G ILLIA M S S E R V IC E , NEW YORK
TODAY IS AS Y E S T E R D A Y IN NAZAR ETH It is lik ely th a t Jesu s found H im self daily as a boy in the m idst of scenes such as this. W e may be sure th a t He did not loiter among the groups th a t halted on the villag e highways, but th a t He was constan tly a lert even then in “g oing about doing good.”
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs