Isaiah 7:14 — "Virgin or Young Woman"

Assemblies of God affirms the traditional reading of Isaiah 7:14 as a messianic prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth. The Hebrew word 'almah' is translated as 'virgin' in the LXX (Septuagint) as 'parthenos' and similarly in Matthew 1:23, where Matthew explicitly cites Isaiah 7:14 to confirm that Jesus was conceived of a virgin. The AG's Statement of Fundamental Truths affirms that Jesus Christ was 'conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary.'

The AG does not engage extensively with modern critical scholarship that treats 'almah' as simply meaning 'young woman' or that sees Isaiah 7:14 as originally referring only to an 8th-century BC sign. Rather, the AG holds to the traditional Christian reading: the prophecy has primary (messianic) and secondary (historical) fulfillments. The sign was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus' miraculous, virgin birth.

The virgin birth is doctrinally important for AG Christology because it underscores Jesus' unique status as God incarnate and affirms his sinlessness (no participation in Adam's fallen humanity through male lineage).