What does עַלְמָה (ʿalmāh) mean in the Bible?
עַלְמָה (ʿalmāh): Young woman of marriageable age, often unmarried; privacy or seclusion implied in the etymology
Hebrew · H5959
עַלְמָה
A lass (as veiled or private)
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עַלְמָה H5959
Pronunciation ʿalmāh
What does עַלְמָה (ʿalmāh) mean in the Bible?
עַלְמָה (ʿalmāh): Young woman of marriageable age, often unmarried; privacy or seclusion implied in the etymology
Full entry for עַלְמָה (H5959) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5959?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the maidens (2), a maiden (1), and maidens (1), And the girl (1), the virgin (1).
Where does עַלְמָה (ʿalmāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 24:43. Its strongest book concentrations include Song Of Solomon (2), Exodus (1), Genesis (1), Isaiah (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It the maidens 2× Psalms 68:25, Song Of Solomon 1:3
a maiden 1× Genesis 24:43
and maidens 1× Song Of Solomon 6:8
And the girl 1× Exodus 2:8
the virgin 1× Isaiah 7:14
with a maiden 1× Proverbs 30:19
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 24:43 הָֽעַלְמָה֙ to a maiden Article | Noun - feminine singular Exodus 2:8 הָֽעַלְמָ֔ה to And the girl Article | Noun - feminine singular Psalms 68:25 עֲ֝לָמ֗וֹת to the maidens Noun - feminine plural Proverbs 30:19 בְּעַלְמָֽה׃ to with a maiden Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular Song Of Solomon 1:3 עֲלָמ֥וֹת to the maidens Noun - feminine plural Song Of Solomon 6:8 וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת to and maidens Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural Isaiah 7:14 הָעַלְמָ֗ה to the virgin Article | Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 24:43
Aligned rows 7
Books represented 6
Genesis 1 Exodus 1 Psalms 1 Proverbs 1 Song Of Solomon 2 Isaiah 1
Source forms
בְּעַלְמָֽה׃ 1x bə·‘al·māh Proverbs 30:19
הָֽעַלְמָה֙ 1x hā·‘al·māh Genesis 24:43
הָֽעַלְמָ֔ה 1x hā·‘al·māh Exodus 2:8
הָעַלְמָ֗ה 1x hā·‘al·māh Isaiah 7:14
וַעֲלָמ֖וֹת 1x wa·‘ă·lā·mō·wṯ Song Of Solomon 6:8
עֲ֝לָמ֗וֹת 1x ‘ă·lā·mō·wṯ Psalms 68:25
עֲלָמ֥וֹת 1x ‘ă·lā·mō·wṯ Song Of Solomon 1:3
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - feminine singular 3x Genesis 24:43, Exodus 2:8, Isaiah 7:14
Noun - feminine plural 2x Psalms 68:25, Song Of Solomon 1:3
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural 1x Song Of Solomon 6:8
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular 1x Proverbs 30:19
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Hebrew word. Young woman of marriageable age, often unmarried; privacy or seclusion implied in the etymology
Source Gloss
a lass (as veiled or private)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Young woman of marriageable age, often unmarried; privacy or seclusion implied in the etymology
a lass (as veiled or private) BDB: young woman Usage: damsel, maid, virgin.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
A young woman of marriageable age; in canonical development connected to miraculous conception.
Showing 1 selected witness from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עַלְמָה is built from this root:
עֶלֶם H5958
Why This Word Matters
The term anchors the prophecy in immediate context while pointing forward to its fuller fulfillment in Christ. Isaiah 7:10-17
Canonical Themes
Messiah
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain