[B-Greek] Luke 2:36
Donald R. Vance, Ph.D.
donaldrvance at mac.com
Thu Jan 4 11:39:26 EST 2007
Subject line provided. Sorry for the double post.
See remarks below.
Donald R. Vance, Ph.D.
Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature
Oral Roberts University
dvance at oru.edu
donaldrvance at mac.com
On Jan 4, 2007, at 7:50 AM, Tory Thorpe wrote:
> TT: The former is possibly the sense in Rev. 14:4,
> since marital life, or even sex per se, does not cause
> 'defilement' in a Jewish context. As for the latter,
> you are, once again, reading virgo intacta into Lk
> 2:36. It might help to explain that a pregnant btwlh
> is not a contradiction or biological impossibility,
> not in the Jewish worldview (Chag. 14b-15a) where
> btwlh simply refers to a minor, i.e. a girl below
> puberty. Thus Hanna's virginity (btwlyh) can refer to
> delayed puberty, that is, she experienced seven years
> of marital life before becoming a menstruant, which
> would be noteworthy in Judaism.
>
>
>
Chag 14b-15a actually says the opposite of what you are claiming. It
confirms the idea of Betulah having a distinction based on the
intactness of the hymen:
Ben Zoma was asked: Is it permitted to castrate a dog? He replied:
"Neither shall ye do this in your land" [a reference to Lev 22:24], —
[this means], to none that is in your land shall ye do thus. Ben Zoma
was [further] asked: May a high priest marry a maiden [betulah] who
has become pregnant? Do we [in such a case] take into consideration
Samuel's statement, for Samuel said, I can have repeated sexual
connections without [causing] bleeding; or is perhaps the case of
Samuel rare? He replied: the case of Samuel is rare, but we do
consider [the possibility] that she may have conceived in a bath. But
behold Samuel said: A spermatic emission that does not shoot forth
like an arrow cannot fructify! — In the first instance, it had also
shot forth like an arrow.
The point is, Samuel claimed that he could have sexual intercourse
without rupturing the hymen thus preserving the betulah status of the
girl.
> Tory Thorpe
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