Catholic Encyclopedia · A
Alma
Historical Article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
Read this historical Catholic Encyclopedia article within the CatholicG33k reference library.
Catholic Encyclopedia
Historical Context
This article preserves the historical wording and context of the printed encyclopedia. Dates, statistics, terminology, disciplinary descriptions, and civic or ecclesiastical circumstances may reflect the period in which the article was published.
Article Text
A Hebrew signifying a “young woman“, unmarried as well as married, and thus distinct from bethulah, “a virgin” (see Hebrew Lexicons). The interest that attaches to this word is due to the famous passage of Isaiah 7:14: “the Alma shall conceive”, etc. We can only mention some of the various opinions with regard to the meaning of Alma in this verse. She is said to be
- the wife of Achaz;
- the prophetess mentioned in Isaiah 8:3,
- any young married woman, who on account of the promised victory of Judah, could at some near date call her child Immanuel (God with us),
- metaphorically, the Chosen People;
- the Virgin Mother of the Messiah. This last view is the one adopted by St. Matthew 1:23, and after him by Christian tradition. (See EMMANUEL; MESSIAS.)
Sources
CONDAMIN, and other Commentaries on Isaias.
Source Record
- Author
- Butin, Romain
- Publication
- The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1907.
- Nihil Obstat
- Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
- Imprimatur
- Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.