One Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14: what does *almah* do elsewhere?

Isaiah 7:14 turns on one Hebrew word, almah (עַלְמָה). Here is how the word behaves when you line up its other appearances.

By the usual count it occurs seven times in the Hebrew Bible. Here is how the King James Version (1611) renders each, which is a quick way to see how much translators have had to decide:

• Genesis 24:43: "the virgin" (Rebekah at the well)
• Exodus 2:8: "the maid" (Miriam)
• Psalm 68:25 (Hebrew 68:26): "damsels playing with timbrels"
• Proverbs 30:19: "a maid"
• Song of Solomon 1:3: "virgins"
• Song of Solomon 6:8: "virgins"
• Isaiah 7:14: "a virgin"

Notice that the KJV's own choices already vary: "virgin", "maid", "damsel". The word marks a young woman of marriageable age; whether it also entails virginity is exactly what readers disagree about. Hebrew has a separate, more specific word, betulah, which the Hebrew Bible also uses of young women.

Then there is the Greek. The Septuagint reads parthenos at Isaiah 7:14, and Matthew 1:23 quotes the verse with parthenos. So the question has two layers: what the Hebrew meant to Isaiah's audience, and what the Greek translators and the Gospel writer understood.

Translations then split. The KJV and the American Standard Version (1901) give "a virgin"; the World English Bible has "the virgin". Many modern versions render it "the young woman" or "a young woman", sometimes with a footnote offering "virgin".

Questions for the room:

1. Which of the seven occurrences do you think is most informative for the meaning, and why?
2. How do you weigh the Septuagint's parthenos: evidence of how an early Jewish translator read the word, or a later interpretation?
3. If you read Hebrew, is there context in Isaiah 7–8 itself that settles it for you?

I have deliberately left out my own verdict; I'd rather see what each tradition holds and why.