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been extremely uncomfortable with this use of the word, since its primary connotation is
“virgin” rather than “maiden.” Thus the clear translation of the Greek in Matt. 1:23
whereby this word is rendered “virgin” satisfies its fullest implication. Therefore, there
was no embarrassment to Isaiah when his wife conceived a son by him, since the word
allowed for this. Neither is there any embarrassment in Matthew’s understanding
of the word.
VISION
A. Nouns.
(
, 2377), “vision.” None of the 34 appearances of this word appear before
First Samuel, and most of them are in the prophetic books.
)
almost always signifies a means of divine revelation. First, it refers to the
means itself, to a prophetic “vision” by which divine messages are communicated: “The
days are prolonged, and every vision faileth” (Ezek. 12:22). Second, this word represents
the message received by prophetic “vision”: “Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). Finally,
can represent the
entirety of a prophetic or prophet’s message as it is written down: “The vision of Isaiah
the son of Amoz …” (Isa. 1:1). Thus the word inseparably related to the content of a
divine communication focuses on the means by which that message is received: “And the
word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (1 Sam. 3:1— the
first occurrence of the word). In Isa. 29:7 this word signifies a non-prophetic dream.
(
, 2384), “vision.” This noun, which occurs 9 times, refers to a
prophetic “vision” in Joel 2:28: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out
my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men
shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
)
refers to divine
communication in 2 Sam. 7:17 (the first biblical occurrence) and to an ordinary dream in
Job 4:13.
B. Verb.
(
, 2372), “to see, behold, select for oneself.” This verb appears 54 times
and in every period of biblical Hebrew. Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic,
Aramaic, and Arabic. It means “to see or behold” in general (Prov. 22:29), “to see” in a
prophetic vision (Num. 24:4), and “to select for oneself” (Exod. 18:21—the first
occurrence of the word).
In Lam. 2:14 the word means “to see” in relation to prophets’ vision: “Thy prophets
have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine
iniquity.…”
VOICE
%
(
, 6963), “voice; sound; noise.” This word also appears in Ugaritic (“sound”),
Akkadian (“call”), Arabic (“say”), and in Phoenician, Ethiopic, and old South Arabic
(“voice”).
+
appears about 506 times in the Bible and in all periods.
In its first meaning the word denotes a “sound” produced by vocal cords. This
includes the human “voice”: “And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the
Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel” (Josh. 10:14).