(Some of these will have biblical references and some will not)
I will begin with the earliest classification.
na’arah – (plural ne’arot): Girl or young woman
baht – (plural bahtot): daughter
betulah – (plural betulot): married/unmarried virgin
almah – (plural alamot): virgin, unmarried, sexually ripening (“pubescent”) woman
isha – (plural nasheem): wife; literally, woman
pilegesh – (plural pilgasheem): concubine (Song of Songs 6:8)
emah – (plural emote): mother
malkah – (plural melakhot): queen (Song of Songs 6:8)
gevirah – noble woman/queen mother
agunah – a woman whose husband’s whereabouts are unknown (an abandoned woman) (Romans 7:2)
noefet – adulteress (na’aph is the act of committing adultery)
zonah – non-virginal harlot/prostitute (Dt. 23: 18-19)
gerushah – divorcee (literally exile/stranger…)
I found these interesting.
The classification betulah and almah as often used interchangably in scripture.
But a zonah cannot be an almah. (duh?) The two cannot be used interchangably.
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April 29, 2012 at 6:53 am
Ryan Dial
All of these are pretty close to there original cultural concepts except almah and pilegesh.
With almah, while it was translated as “virgin” into many copies of the Christian bible, it never explicitly meant such in an ancient context. Almah, in fact, in several cases in the bible is used for someone who has recently had sex or is currently in the act of having sex, which no one could argue these individuals are still virginal. Almah means only “a young woman of marrying age — 14 to 18 — the class directly above na’arah — 12 to 14,” and is NEVER used interchangeably with betulah. Na’arah and betulah, however, are often used to describe the same individual. The classes of na’arah and almah deal with pubic hair and breast growth. The definition of almah only applies when the breasts “begin to hang so that there is a visible crease.”
Pilegesh more aptly means “a live-in girlfriend” or “a half-wife.” She was afforded many rights, though not marriage rights, and if she bore the first born son of a man, he was entitled to all of the rights of a first born son, even though his mother was not the man’s full wife.
Anyway, I hope this helps you! I’ve spent many years studying early Israelite and First Temple culture, so if you want to learn more, I might be able to point you in the right direction.