“Mary was an almah,” a Jewish friend said.
I had not heard the word before. I looked it up. Doing so I learned the most precise definition of the term is a young woman between the age of 11 and 12 at the moment in her life when she can first decide what happens to her.
Mary would have been eleven when Jesus was conceived.
David’s last wife was 11. She remained a virgin because David was unable to consummate his marriage with her. This actually made him no longer fit to be king. I see this as a prophecy of Mary.
Joseph is most often presented in historical films as a young man, especially today. However Joseph was held to be 99.
Abraham was 99 when his wife Sarah conceived Isaac. When told by God she will bear a son she says, “Is pleasure to come the way of these withered breasts once again?”
God only works when all human means is precluded, is impossible.
So it was then. So it is now.