The Virgin Birth... Again
Christmas is but six weeks away, and our thoughts turn inevitably to the dubious claims of a virgin birth...
Looking only at Luke's account, it is interesting to note that it is actually consistent with an angel visiting the virgin Mary and telling her she would conceive, Mary then going to tell Elizabeth about it, and staying with Elizabeth three months, then returning home to her family. She then had sex with Joseph, conceiving Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ... 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I [v]am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the [w]holy Child will be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and [x]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 Now at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [z]how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she who [aa]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [ab]by the Lord.” ...
56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
57 Now the time [aj]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
Of course, that would imply she had pre-marital sex, and such a thing would have been scandalous...
Or would it?
Betrothal in the First Century
I think we need to be careful of what exactly betrothal meant back then. It was far more than merely being engaged. Mary was already Joseph's legal wife once they were betrothed (see here for example).
According to some sources, there were, in effect, two weddings. After the first a couple would be expected to consummate it, despite then being betrothed rather than married, and not yet living together. The husband would then set up a home for his wife ready for the second ceremony, when they would be brought together to live in the prepared home.
Now I appreciate this is not certain, but it is clear that betrothal was far more than merely being engaged, and the idea that there would be any charge of sexual impropriety if she had sex with Joseph is dubious, to say the least. The Bible has a lot of rules about sex, but this is not fornication or adultery or incest; three things the Bible clearly states are wrong. I do not think there are any rules prohibiting "normal" sex between husband and wife - and a betrothed couple are husband and wife.
Indeed, it may well have been the expectation!
Mary went to Elizabeth when Elizabeth was six month pregnant, and stayed with her three months. Was that to avoid scandal when she thought she would become pregnant? Or was it to help Elizabeth in the last trimester of her pregnancy? The timing fits the latter perfectly.
Scenario 1
Let us suppose Joseph suffered from impotency. He becomes betrothed to Mary, at which point it would be customary for them to have sex, but he is unable to do. The angel comes to Mary, and tells her she will conceive. Mary, knowing Joseph has a problem, points out that that is not likely. Here she is betrothed to a man, and still a virgin! Don't worry, says the angel, the Holy Spirit will sort it out.
Mary then hurries to tell Elizabeth the good news, and finds Elizabeth is struggling to get things done, being both pregnant and advanced in years, so Mary agrees to stay with her until the baby is due.
Mary then returns to live with her family, but is, of course, still seeing Joseph. Without the pressure of the betrothal night, Joseph performs his duties, and Mary gets pregnant.
Compare to the narrative proposed by Christianity makes Mary look stupid...
Scenario 2
Joseph becomes betrothed to Mary, but they do not have sex. The angel comes to Mary, and tells her she will conceive a baby. Mary points out that she is a virgin, and therefore cannot conceive...
Wait, what? Why would she think a virgin cannot conceive? Her own mother was at one time a virgin, and she managed to conceive! Is Mary really so clueless about the birds and the bees?
Don't worry, says the angel, the Holy Spirit will sort it out. Because the only way a virgin can get pregnant is when the Holy Spirit does it?
Mary then rushes off to her cousin, who lives about eighty miles away, rather than telling her husband -to-be this rather important news. Why would she do that? Purely because Luke wants to ensure she perseveres her virginity.
Matthew
Although I am focusing on Luke, it is worth looking at Matthew:
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
Note that although they are only betrothed, Joseph is already considered Mary's husband.
Furthermore, the phrase "before they came together" fits the idea that betrothal was like being married, but not yet living together. The gospel is not saying they had not engaged in sex, but that they had not yet come together in the sense of sharing a home.
Of course, this gospel is clear that Mary was still a virgin, but this seems to come from a misunderstanding of Isaiah.
Scenario 3
So what actually happened? Well the first thing to note is that we do not know. More importantly, neither did the authors of Luke or Matthew. The gospels indicate Joseph was not around during Jesus' ministry; he was likely already dead. Mary would be around 100 by the time these two gospels were written, so presumably dead too. It is unlikely either author actually spoke to the people involved, and the fact that the stories vary so much tells us one is made up, likely both.
But perhaps there is a kernel of truth in there. Mary and Joseph were betrothed, and Jesus was conceived and perhaps born during that time. This was likely known by some Jewish Christians, for example James, Jesus' younger brother (presumably conceived after their parents married). Maybe gentile Christians failed to understand the significance of betrothal, and so understood Jesus to be born out of wedlock, and this was the impetus for the virgin birth story.
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