Virginal Conception or a Pregnant Young Woman?
Jewish and Christian Readings of Isaiah 7:14
How do context and translation impact biblical interpretation? How does the Gospel of Matthew’s claim that Jesus’s mother, Mary, was a virgin at the time he was conceived fit into first-century Jewish thought? Who is Isaiah’s “Immanuel,” and where can he be found today?
Watch our Jesus and the Jews Lecture from spring 2020| Read Prof. Levine’s biography | Interview with Prof. Levine from US Catholic Magazine
We are happy to offer these webinars free of charge in these challenging times and hope you enjoy them. Any contribution to support our efforts is appreciated.
The Agreeing to Disagree Series: How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently
Although Jews and Christians share common books — the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament — differences in translation, punctuation, definitions, theology, emphasis and even canonical order all lead to differences in community self-definition. What prompts these differences, and what do they suggest about Jewish and Christian priorities?
Join us as we see how and why Jews and Christians have disagreed over biblical interpretation in the past, and how, with knowledge of history and theology, we can today better appreciate each other’s interpretations.
Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies, is a self-described Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches biblical studies in Nashville, the buckle of the Bible Belt. Her most recent book, coauthored with Marc Z. Brettler, is The Bible With and Without Jesus.
