There is a long and somewhat monotonous argument in religious communities about the meaning of the verse in Isaiah which prophesies that a virgin shall conceive and bear a child. Some folks think that the word should be translated as “young woman.” Forgetting for a moment the rather obviousness of a saying that a young woman would bear a child, the verse has been used to question the link to Mary’s pregnancy as a miraculous event.
Apparently, the battle has been rather lengthy. At one point, Martin Luther was questioned or perhaps challenged on the point. According to the story, Luther dumped a palmful of money on the table or podium and announced that it belonged to anyone who could find an instance in ancient literature in which the word does not apply to a virgin. The tradition is that the prize was never collected. The word is used several times elsewhere in the Bible, but never to a girl old enough to have a child.
Interesting.
My Bible Study Notebook 