[anna_hun]

for those who havent seen the other thread:

Differences in Bible translations


As Hebrew and Greek, the original languages of the Bible,
have idioms and concepts not easily translated,
there is an on going critical tension about whether
it is better to give a word for word translation
or to give a translation that gives a parallel idiom in the target language.
For instance, in the English language Catholic translation,
the New American Bible, as well as the Protestant translations of the Christian Bible, translations like the King James Version,
the New Revised Standard Version,
and the New American Standard Bible are seen as fairly literal translations
(or "word for word"),

Hebrew:Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma"
as giving birth.
The word "alma" has always meant a young woman,
but Christian theologians came centuries later
and translated it as "virgin."
The name "Mary" comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew/Aramaic/Arabic name Maryam. During the Middle Ages Hebrew vowel systems were formed and the Hebrew vowel "a" changed (regularly) to "i" in a closed unaccented syllable, so that by the time the Jews began to use vowel points, they wrote it as Miryam.