Dr Paul Allen

And all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." Matthew 1:22-23 (NAB) In the biblical passage above, Saint Matthew is quoting from the Old Testament Book of the prophet Isaiah. It is a quote from the "sign" Isaiah gave to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7:14 . The Greek Septuagint translation used during Jesus' lifetime translates the Hebrew word ha almah as "the virgin," using the Greek word parthenos.   Since the Christian era, Jewish scholars have maintained that the Hebrew word almah does not mean "virgin" but instead refers to a young woman recently married. The Septuagint translation of this Hebrew word as "virgin," however, is an important witness to an early Jewish interpretation of this word as "virgin", a translation accepted by Saint Matthew and applied to the ...

 The Bible is clear that women followed Jesus—Joanna, wife of Chuza, Mary Magdalene, and Jesus’ mother are just a few. But did he have female apostles? Dr. Mike Heiser explores the answer in this article excerpted from his book I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible. *** Paul’s final greetings to the Roman Church seem typical. We might just skim over the list of names without a second thought. But one name within that list has become the focus of controversy and heated debate: Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. (Rom 16:7) Junia is most likely the name of a woman. When you read the phrase “among the apostles,” you understand how a simple salutation has become a prooftext in the debate over the role of women in ministry. The evidence that Junia is a woman is compelling . It's Greek spelling (Iounian) could point to either a man or a woman. However, the addition of an accent mark ...