10.05 Virgins of the Lord (from Bible Studies, pp. 204-205)
Besides the normal meaning, it would appear that in Israel the word "virgin” carried also a more specialized meaning - with reference to a young woman consecrated, either for life or until marriage, to the service of the sanctuary of the Lord. Several occurrences of the word strongly suggest this:
- Psalm 68 describes an impressive procession to "thy temple at Jerusalem” (v.29). It includes mention of “the damsels playing with timbrels." The title of Psalm 46 (possibly a subscription to Psalm 45): "Alamoth," Maidens suggests the same idea.
- The historian of the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar describes the massacre there of “young men in the house of their sanctuary, no compassion upon young man or maiden old man or him that stooped for age... and all the vessels of the house of God he brought to Babylon" (2 Chr. 36. 16-18).
- At that time Jeremiah lamented: “The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts..her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted (Lam. 1 :4). Here is the same association of ideas. And in the same chapter (v.18), Jerusalem is represented as lamenting that virgins and my young men are gone to captivity. Priests are mentioned in the next verse.
- This special idea would explain the not uncommon phrase "the virgin daughter of Zion - the temple mount itself like a virgin giving herself wholly to the service of the God of Israel.
- Similarly, after some powerful invective against the gods of Babylon, that great city is apostrophized as "virgin daughter of Babylon, for was she not dedicated to the service of Marduk, Bel, Nebo, and the rest, as Zion was to Jehovah? (Isaiah 46 47:1).
- This idea helps also to explain why the 144 000 on mount Zion are referred to as "virgins. The explanation suggested in "Revelation: a Biblical Approach" (HAW: p176) goes part way towards this, but here there is now a more Biblical approach.
- In the ... [horifically cruel] incident of Amnon and Tamar (2 Sam. 13). there is at least one hint that the maiden was a temple virgin. The garment of divers colours which she wore was a k’toneth. This word, in nearly every occurrence, refers to a a priestly or holy garment of many colours, like that of Joseph, the priest of Jacob's family. Also, if the cakes which Amnon deceitfully asked for are seen as being (very hypocritically) a holy meal brought to Amnon because he was too sick (sic!) to go up to the house of the Lord, this would help considerably to throw dust in the eyes of David.
- The problem of Jephthah's daughter is either regarded as no problem - she was offered as a burnt offering - or else the narrative is read as implying that she was dedicated to the sanctuary of the Lord for life - “she bewailed her virginity" (Jud. 11:37). This present study gives fairly good support to the second of these alternatives. And when the child Samuel was dedicated to the service of the sanctuary, would not Jephthah's daughter be glad in her later days to devote herself to caring for him? If so, no wonder that he had such a monolithic sense of duty.
- The special mention of the virginity of Anna the prophetess now takes on a more pointed meaning (Lk.2 36). Evidently until her marriage she had been a temple virgin, and after her husband's death she resumed a similar role "serving God (in the temple) with fastings and prayers night and day.”
- The Immanuel prophecy of Is.7 :14 now calls for special re-examination. ". If, as seems likely, the virgin of the primay reference of the prophecy was wife (wife-to-be) of king Ahaz, then she was Abijah, the daughter (or, grand-daughter) of the high priest Zechariah (2 Chr.29:1). Then would not she especially be a temple virgin? But now the real fulfilment through Mary and Jesus has to be considered. Mary was somehow related to the priesthood (Lk.1 :36,5). She clearly had a phenomenal familiarity with the Book of Psalms (Lk. 1:46-55). Then is it possible that this had been accentuated by her service as a virgin in the temple at Jerusalem - under the supervision of Anna?
- Among the rules laid down for priests in Ezekiel's temple is this: "They shall take (for wives) virgins of the seed of the house of Israel" (44 :22). In the light of what has already been shown, it rather looks as though this may mean marriage with one of the virgins already serving in the sanctuary.
- Something rather like this may be at the back of the figurative language of Isaiah 62: "As a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy builders marry thee" (v.5). But in earlier verses the bridegroom is described as though he were a priest: "as a bridegroom decketh himself as a priest" (61 :10 RVm.).
- Other passages which, without mentioning virgins, suggest the service of women at the sanctuary of the Lord are the following: Ex.38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22; Num.31 28,30,40: 1 Chr.25 :5,6; Ezra 2 :65; Is.3:16ff.
If this result may be regarded as established, the next question is: Does it have any bearing on the status and activities of sisters in the ecclesia today?
