"His father, Isaiah," said Isaac.

"Read, read, please, verse 14 of the 7th chapter," I asked him.

Isaac read the following in Hebrew: "... Hinne ha alma hara, vayoleget ben ve karat shemo Immanuel," and translated: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means: "God is with us").

"Do not forget also," I emphasized to him, "that it is said before this verse: 'Therefore the Lord himself desires to give you a sign.' And now judge for yourself. The son of Isaiah is called Maher-shelal-hash-baz, and the son of the Virgin is called Emmanuel. The first is born of a prophetess, the wife of Isaiah, i.e. a married woman, while the second, i.e. Emmanuel, is born of a virgin. You see that mothers are completely different, and also children have completely different names! There is no resemblance between a married prophetess and a Virgin... And here is what else is worthy of special note. Since Ahaz, because of unbelief, refuses to ask God for a sign in depth or in height, the Lord Himself, by His Grace alone, desires to give a sign - the only one, strange and supernatural! - namely, the condescension of God to man and the elevation of man to God. And truly, as the Gospel of John relates: "And the Word was made flesh" (ch. 1:14). This is more concisely expressed by Emmanuel, which precisely means: "God is with us." (Im-anu-el. Im = s, anu = us, El = God). "That is, God became man," or, in one word, the God-man, as our Orthodox Church of Christ understands it. This is a Divine sign: the union of God with man, while the natural birth of the son of Isaiah is by no means a sign.

What does Alma mean?

"Oh, at last I am beginning to understand!" cried Isaac, "but I am still troubled by some doubts. Let's clarify the text of the prophet once again. What does verse 14 in chapter 7 proclaim? And when he opened it, he read: "Lachen giten Adonagi hu lahem od Hinne a alma hara, vagiodet ben ve karat shemo Immanuel," and translated: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin (Alma) shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel."

"So what is it that troubles you in this verse, friend Isaac?" I asked him.

Isaac told me that he had learned from the rabbis, as well as by studying the Talmud, that the meaning of the word alma was different and meant a young woman, not a virgin at all. For in the Hebrew language the Virgin or maiden is expressed by the word Betulah.

- So you learned from the rabbis and in the Talmud? I asked Isaac. - And if many places in the Old Testament (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) testify to us that the word Alma means a virgin or a maiden who does not know a husband, however, as well as the word Betulah, what will you say then?

- I will say that the Truth is found among Christians, but the heart of Israel is hardened and as if petrified. I will say that you are the true children of Abraham, the true faithful, the true Israel, and we...

"Listen, Isaac," I interrupted, "you only have to accept with all your heart that the word alma means Virgin, and only Virgin, and not a young woman, and is synonymous with the word Betula. You know very well that the word Alma comes from the verb Alam, which means to grow to manhood, to reach puberty. Therefore, alma means a girl, a maiden.

Then I asked Isaac:

- Who were the 70 interpreters who translated from Hebrew into Greek all the books of the Old Testament around 285 B.C.? Christians or Jews?