....... The Meaning of Almah
The word translated "virgin" in the KJV is almah. This term in either its feminine form (almah) or masculine form (elem) occurs nine times in the Old Testament (Gen. 24:43; Ex. 2:8; 1 Sam. 17:56; 20:22; Psa. 68:25; Prov. 30:19; S. of Sol. 1:3; 6:8; Isa. 7:14).
So far as we can judge from the contexts, the term never refers to a married person or even to an adult. In some instances, the term obviously refers to someone young and unmarried. For example, Moses' sister Miriam was an almah when she hid him in the bulrushes (Ex. 2:8).
According to Alfred Edersheim, the great Jewish scholar converted to Christianity nearly two centuries ago, the Jews recognize eight stages of growth.3 He says that the word almah pertains to the sixth stage, which is between dependent childhood and independent youth.4 By its connotation of firmness and strength, the word suggests the rapid bodily growth of early adolescence.5 Thus, an almah was a girl about twelve to fourteen years old. The closest English equivalents to almah are "maiden" and "damsel."6 "Young woman," although passable as a translation, stretches the concept too far into adulthood.
The rabbis taught that a father should betroth his daughter to his slave rather than keep her unbetrothed beyond puberty.7 A girl was normally married before she passed much beyond fourteen.8 Thus, since almah specifically denotes a girl at the stage of growth just before marriage, the term apparently came to signify "unmarried girl of marriageable age."9 And since nearly all unmarried girls in ancient Hebrew culture were chaste, the term seems to have acquired the further meaning "virgin."10 In some of the texts exhibiting almah, "virgin" is clearly the most appropriate translation.