Isaiah 7:14 — "Virgin or Young Woman"

The Church of the Brethren affirms the virgin birth as taught in the Gospels (Matthew and Luke), but takes a more cautious approach to Isaiah 7:14 as a messianic prophecy. The Brethren recognize the scholarly debate about whether almah requires a virgin birth interpretation and whether the original Isaianic context was messianic.

The Brethren characteristic stance is to maintain the Gospel testimony to the virgin birth while remaining open to ongoing biblical scholarship and interpretation. The Church is not dogmatic about the Old Testament prophetic basis for the virgin birth; what matters theologically is that the Gospels present it as true. This reflects the Brethren's historical commitment to both faithful Scripture reading and engagement with scholarly critical methods.