Virgin birth of Jesus

{{Short description|Belief that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:GuidoReniAnnunciation.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Annunciation]] as depicted by [[Guido Reni]], 1621]]
The '''virgin birth of Jesus''' is the [[Christian theology|Christian]] and [[Islam|Islamic]] [[doctrine]] that [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] was conceived by his mother, [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]], through the power of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] and [[Virginity|without sexual intercourse]].{{sfn|Carrigan|2000|p=1359}} Christians regard the doctrine as an explanation of the mixture of the [[Hypostatic union|human and divine natures]] of Jesus.{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=unpaginated}}{{sfn|Carrigan|2000|p=1359}} The Eastern Orthodox Churches accept the doctrine as authoritative by reason of its inclusion in the [[Nicene Creed]],{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=unpaginated}} and the Catholic Church holds it authoritative for faith through the [[Apostles' Creed]] as well as the Nicene. Nevertheless, there are many contemporary churches in which it is considered [[orthodoxy|orthodox]] to accept the virgin birth but not [[heretical]] to [[Denial of the virgin birth of Jesus|deny it]].{{sfn|Barclay|1998|p=55}}

The narrative appears only in {{Bibleref2|Matthew|1:18–25|9}} and {{bibleref2|Luke|1:26–38|9}},{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=318}} and the modern scholarly consensus is that it rests on slender historical foundations.{{sfn|Bruner|2004|p=37}} The ancient world didn't possess a thoroughly modern understanding that male semen and female ovum were both needed to form a fetus;{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|pp=195–196, 258}}<!--Note: the Ancients thought that semen was a kind of seed, similar to the seed of plants, and that the vagina was similar to the soil wherein this seed grows. --> this cultural milieu was conducive to [[miraculous birth]] stories,{{sfn|Schowalter|1993|p=790}} and tales of virgin birth and the impregnation of mortal women by deities were well known in the 1st-century Greco-Roman world and [[Second Temple]] Jewish works.{{sfn|Lachs|1987|p=6}}{{sfn|Casey|1991|p=152}} 

The [[Quran]] asserts the virgin birth of Jesus, deriving its account from the 2nd century AD [[Gospel of James|Protoevangelium of James]],{{sfn|Bell|2012|p=110}} but denies the Trinitarian implications of the gospel story (Jesus is a messenger of God but also a human being and not the Second Person of the Christian Trinity).{{sfn|Hulmes|1993|p=640}}

==New Testament narratives: Matthew and Luke==
{{Christianity|state=hide}}
{{Gospel Jesus|expanded=Early life}}

===Matthew 1:18-25===
{{Main|Matthew 1}}
<blockquote>
18: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.<br/>
19: Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.<br/>
20: But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.<br/> 
21: She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."<br/>
22: All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:<br/> 
23: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."<br/> 
24: When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,<br/> 
25: but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
</blockquote>

===Luke 1:26-38===
{{Main|Luke 1}}
<blockquote>
26: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,<br/>
27: to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.<br/>
28: And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."<br/>
29: But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.<br/>
30: The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.<br/>
31: And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.<br/>
32: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.<br/> 
33: He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."<br/>
34: Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"<br/>
35: The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.<br/>
36: And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.<br/>
37: For nothing will be impossible with God."<br/>
38: Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
</blockquote>

==Texts==
In the entire Christian corpus, the virgin birth is found only in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and the [[Gospel of Luke]].{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=318}} The two agree that Mary's husband was named Joseph, that he was of the [[Davidic line]], and that he played no role in Jesus's divine conception, but beyond this they are very different.{{sfn|Robinson|2009|p=111}}{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=99}} Matthew has no [[Census of Quirinius|census]], shepherds, or [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|presentation in the temple]], and implies that Joseph and Mary are living in Bethlehem at the time of the birth, while Luke has no [[Biblical Magi|magi]], [[flight into Egypt]] or [[Massacre of the Innocents|massacre of the infants]], and states that Joseph lives in Nazareth.{{sfn|Robinson|2009|p=111}}

Matthew underlines the virginity of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] by references to the [[Book of Isaiah]] (using the 2,200 year old Greek translation in the [[Septuagint]], rather than the only 1,300 year old mostly Hebrew [[Masoretic Text]]) and by his narrative statement that Joseph had no sexual relations with her until after the birth (a choice of words which leaves open the possibility that they did have relations after that).{{sfn|Morris|1992|pp=31–32}}
Luke introduces Mary as a virgin, describes her puzzlement at being told she will bear a child despite her lack of sexual experience, and informs the reader that this pregnancy is to be effected through God's [[Holy Spirit]].{{sfn|Carroll|2012|p=39}}

There is a serious debate as to whether Luke's nativity story is an original part of his gospel.{{sfn|Zervos|2019|p=78}} Chapters 1 and 2 are written in a style quite different from the rest of the gospel, and the dependence of the birth narrative on the Greek Septuagint is absent from the remainder.{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=170}} There are strong Lukan motifs in Luke 1–2, but differences are equally striking—Jesus's identity as "son of David", for example, is a prominent theme of the birth narrative, but not in the rest of the gospel.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|pp=341-343}} In the early part of the 2nd century, the gnostic theologian [[Marcion]] produced a version of Luke lacking these two chapters, and although he is generally accused of having cut them out of a longer text more like our own, genealogies and birth narratives are also absent from Mark and John.{{sfn|BeDuhn|2015|p=170}}

==Cultural context==
{{Further|Miraculous births}}
Matthew 1:18 says that Mary was betrothed (engaged) to Joseph.{{sfn|Vermes|2006a|p=216}} She would have been twelve years old or a little less at the time of events described in the gospels, as under Jewish law betrothal was only possible for minors, which for girls meant aged under twelve or prior to the first mense, whichever came first.{{sfn|Vermes|2006a|pp=72, 216}} According to custom the wedding would take place twelve months later, after which the groom would take his bride from her father's house to his own.{{sfn|Vermes|2006b|p=72}} A betrothed girl who had sex with a man other than her husband-to-be was considered an adulteress.{{sfn|Vermes|2006b|p=72}} If tried before a tribunal, both she and the young man would be stoned to death, but it was possible for her betrothed husband to issue a document of repudiation, and this, according to Matthew, was the course Joseph wished to take prior to the visitation by the angel.{{sfn|Vermes|2006b|p=73}} 

The most likely cultural context for both Matthew and Luke is [[Jewish Christian]] or mixed [[Gentile Christian|Gentile]]/Jewish-Christian circles rooted in Jewish tradition.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=328}} These readers would have known that the [[Roman Senate]] had declared [[Julius Caesar]] a god and his successor [[Augustus]] to be ''divi filius'', the [[Son of God]] before he became a god himself on his death in AD 14; this remained the pattern for later emperors.{{sfn|Hornblower|Spawforth|2014|p=688}} Imperial divinity was accompanied by suitable miraculous birth stories, with Augustus being fathered by the god Apollo while his human mother slept, and her human husband being granted a dream in which he saw the sun rise from her womb, and inscriptions even described the news of the divine imperial birth as ''evangelia'', the gospel.{{sfn|Borg|2011|pp=41-42}} The virgin birth of Jesus was thus a direct challenge to a central claim of Roman imperial theology, namely the divine conception and descent of the emperors.{{sfn|Borg|2011|p=41}} 

Matthew's genealogy, tracing Jesus's Davidic descent, was intended for Jews, while his virgin birth story was intended for a Greco-Roman audience familiar with virgin birth stories and stories of women impregnated by gods.{{sfn|Lachs|1987|pp=5-6}} The ancient world had no understanding that male semen and female ovum were both needed to form a fetus; instead they thought that the male contribution in reproduction consisted of some sort of formative or generative principle, while Mary's bodily fluids would provide all the matter that was needed for Jesus's bodily form, including his male sex.{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|pp=195–196, 258}} This cultural milieu was conducive to miraculous birth stories – they were common in biblical tradition going back to [[Abraham]] and [[Sarah]] (and the conception of [[Isaac]]).{{sfn|Schowalter|1993|p=790}}

Such stories are less frequent in Judaism, but there too was a widespread belief in angels and divine intervention in births.{{sfn|Casey|1991|p=152}} Theologically, the two accounts mark the moment when Jesus becomes the [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]], i.e., at his birth, in distinction to Mark, for whom the Sonship dates from [[Baptism of Jesus|Jesus's baptism]],<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|1:9–13}}</ref> and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] and the pre-Pauline Christians for whom Jesus becomes the Son only at the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] or even the [[Second Coming]].{{sfn|Loewe|1996|p=184}}

Tales of virgin birth and the impregnation of mortal women by deities were well known in the 1st-century Greco-Roman world,{{sfn|Lachs|1987|p=6}} and [[Second Temple]] Jewish works were also capable of producing accounts of the appearances of [[angel]]s and miraculous births for ancient heroes such as [[Melchizedek]], [[Noah]], and [[Moses]].{{sfn|Casey|1991|p=152}} Luke's virgin birth story is a standard plot from the Jewish scriptures, as for example in the annunciation scenes for Isaac and for [[Samson]], in which an angel appears and causes apprehension, the angel gives reassurance and announces the coming birth, the mother raises an objection, and the angel gives a sign.{{sfn|Kodell|1992|p=939}} Nevertheless, "plausible sources that tell of virgin birth in areas convincingly close to the gospels' own probable origins have proven extremely hard to demonstrate".{{sfn|Welburn|2008|p=2}} Similarly, while it is widely accepted that there is a connection with [[Zoroastrian]] (Persian) sources underlying Matthew's story of the [[biblical Magi|Magi]] (the wise men from the East) and the [[Star of Bethlehem]], a wider claim that Zoroastrianism formed the background to the infancy narratives has not achieved acceptance.{{sfn|Welburn|2008|p=2}}

==Historicity and sources of the narratives==
{{Jesus| in Christianity}}
The modern scholarly consensus is that the doctrine of the virgin birth rests on very slender historical foundations.{{sfn|Bruner|2004|p=37}} Both Matthew and Luke are late and anonymous compositions dating from the period AD 80–100.{{sfn|Fredriksen|2008|p=7}} The earliest Christian writings, the [[Pauline epistles]], do not contain any mention of a virgin birth and assume Jesus's full humanity, stating that he was "born of a woman" like any other human being and "born under the law" like any Jew.{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=21}} In the [[Gospel of Mark]], dating from around AD 70, we read of Jesus saying that "prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house" – {{Bibleref2|Mark|6:4}}, which suggests that Mark was not aware of any tradition of special circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth, and while the author of the [[gospel of John]] is confident that Jesus is more than human he makes no reference to a virgin birth to prove his point.{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=23}} John in fact refers twice to Jesus as the "son of Joseph," the first time from the lips of the disciple Philip ("We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth" – {{Bibleref2|John|1:45}}), the second from the unbelieving Jews ("Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose mother and father we know?" – John {{Bibleref2-nb|John|6:42}}).{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=24}} These quotations, incidentally, are in direct opposition to the suggestion that Jesus was, or was believed to be, illegitimate: Philip and the Jews knew that Jesus had a human father, and that father was Joseph.{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=29}}

This raises the question of where the authors of Matthew and Luke found their stories. It is almost certain that neither was the work of an eyewitness.{{sfn|Boring|Craddock|2009|p=12}}{{sfn|Reddish|2011|p=13}} In view of the many inconsistencies between them neither is likely to derive from the other, nor did they share a common source.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=318}} [[Raymond E. Brown]] suggested in 1973 that Joseph was the source of Matthew's account and Mary of Luke's, but modern scholars consider this "highly unlikely" given that the stories emerged so late.{{sfn|Lincoln|2013|p=144}} It follows that the two narratives were created by the two writers, drawing on ideas in circulation at least a decade before the gospels were composed, to perhaps 65-75 or even earlier.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|pp=318–319, 325}}

Matthew presents the ministry of Jesus as largely the fulfilment of prophecies from the [[Book of Isaiah]],{{sfn|Barker|2001|p=490}} and Matthew 1:22-23, "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son...", is a reference to [[Isaiah 7:14]], "...the Lord himself shall give you a sign: the maiden is with child and she will bear a son..."{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=161}}{{sfn|Saldarini|2001|p=1007}} But in the time of Jesus the Jews of Palestine no longer spoke Hebrew, Isaiah was translated into Greek,{{sfn|Barker|2001|p=490}}{{Failed verification|date=June 2023}} and Matthew uses the Greek word ''parthenos'', which does mean virgin, for the Hebrew ''[[almah]]'', which scholars agree signifies a girl of childbearing age without reference to virginity.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=161}}{{sfn|Saldarini|2001|p=1007}} This mistranslation gave the author of Matthew the opportunity to interpret Jesus as the prophesied [[Immanuel]], ''God is with us'', the divine representative on earth.{{sfn|Saldarini|2001|p=1007}}

==Theology and development==
Matthew and Luke use the virgin birth (or more accurately the divine conception that precedes it) to mark the moment when Jesus becomes the [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]].{{sfn|Loewe|1996|p=184}} This was a notable development over Mark, for whom the Sonship dates from [[Baptism of Jesus|Jesus's baptism]], {{bibleverse|Mark|1:9-13}} and the earlier Christianity of Paul and the pre-Pauline Christians for whom Jesus becomes the Son at the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] or even the [[Second Coming]].{{sfn|Loewe|1996|p=184}} The [[Ebionites]], a [[Jewish Christian]] sect, saw Jesus as fully human, rejected the virgin birth, and preferred to translate ''almah'' as "young woman".{{sfn|Paget|2010|p=351}} The 2nd century gnostic theologian [[Marcion]] likewise rejected the virgin birth, but regarded Jesus as descended fully formed from heaven and having only the appearance of humanity.{{sfn|Hayes|2017|p=152 fn.153}} By about AD 180 Jews were telling how Jesus had been illegitimately conceived by a Roman soldier named [[Panthera (Jesus's father)|Pantera]] or Pandera, whose name is likely a pun on ''parthenos'', virgin.{{sfn|Voorst|2000|p=117}} The story was still current in the [[Middle Ages]] in satirical parody of the Christian gospels called the [[Toledot Yeshu]].{{sfn|Cook|2011|p=unpaginated}}{{sfn|Evans|1998|p=450}} The Toledot Yeshu contains little historical material, and was probably created as a tool for warding off conversions to Christianity.{{sfn|Cook|2011|p=unpaginated}}

The virgin birth was subsequently accepted by Christians as the proof of the divinity of Jesus, but its rebuttal during and after the 18th century European Enlightenment led some to redefine it as mythical, while others reaffirmed it in [[dogma]]tic terms.{{sfn|Kärkkäinen|2009|p=175}} This division remains in place, although some national synods of the Catholic Church have replaced a biological understanding with the idea of "theological truth," and some [[evangelical]] theologians hold it to be marginal rather than indispensable to the Christian faith.{{sfn|Kärkkäinen|2009|p=175}}

==Celebrations and devotions==
[[File:Ellenrieder Maria 1833.jpg|thumb|upright|''Mary writing the [[Magnificat]]'', by [[Marie Ellenrieder]], 1833]]
{{See also|Annunciation|Marian devotions|Hymns to Mary|Annunciation in Christian art}}
Some Christians celebrate the conception of Jesus on 25 March and his birth on 25 December.{{sfn|Nothaft|2014|p=564}} ([[Date of birth of Jesus|These dates]] are traditional; no one knows for certain when Jesus was born.) The [[Magnificat]], based on Luke 1:46-55 is one of four well known Gospel [[canticle]]s: the [[Benedictus (Song of Zechariah)|Benedictus]] and the Magnificat in the first chapter, and the [[Gloria in Excelsis]] and the [[Nunc dimittis]] in the second chapter of Luke, which are now an integral part of the Christian [[Liturgy|liturgical]] tradition.{{sfn|Simpler|1990|p=396}} The Annunciation became an element of [[Marian devotions]] in medieval times, and by the 13th century direct references to it were widespread in French lyrics.{{sfn|O'Sullivan|2005|pp=14–15}} The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the title "Ever Virgin Mary" as a key element of its Marian veneration, and as part of the [[Akathist]]s hymns to Mary which are an integral part of its [[liturgy]].{{sfn|Peltomaa|2001|p=127}}

The doctrine is often represented in [[Christian art]] in terms of the [[annunciation]] to Mary by the Archangel [[Gabriel]] that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God, and in [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]] scenes that include the figure of [[Salome (disciple)|Salome]]. The Annunciation is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in Western art.{{sfn|Guiley|2004|p=183}} Annunciation scenes also amount to the most frequent appearances of Gabriel in medieval art.{{sfn|Ross|1996|p=99}} The depiction of Joseph turning away in some [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity scenes]] is a discreet reference to the fatherhood of the Holy Spirit and the virgin birth.{{sfn|Grabar|1968|p=130}}

==In Islam==
{{Further|Mary in Islam#Virgin birth}}
The [[Quran]] follows the [[apocryphal gospels]], and especially in the [[Gospel of James|Protoevangelium of James]], in its accounts of the miraculous births of both Mary and her son Jesus,{{sfn|Bell|2012|p=110}} but while it affirms the virgin birth of Jesus it denies the Trinitarian implications of the gospel story (Jesus is a messenger of God but also a human being and not the Second Person of the Christian Trinity).{{sfn|Hulmes|1993|p=640}} {{qref|3|35-36|c=y}}, for example, follows the Protoevangelium closely when describing how the pregnant "wife of Imran" (that is, Mary's mother [[Saint Anne|Anne]]) dedicates her unborn child to God, Mary's secluded upbringing within the Temple, and the angels who bring her food.{{sfn|Reynolds|2018|pp=55–56}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Holy Doors.jpg|Holy Doors, [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] on Mount Sinai in Egypt, 12th century
File:Sandro Botticelli 080.jpg|[[Sandro Botticelli]] (1489–90)
File:Annunciation nesterov.jpg|[[Mikhail Nesterov]], Russia, 19th century
File:Mural - Birth of Christ.jpg|Eastern Orthodox Nativity depiction little changed in more than a millennium
File:Birth of Jesus - Capella dei Scrovegni - Padua 2016.jpg|[[Giotto]] (1267–1337): Nativity with an uninvolved Joseph but without Salome
File:Meister von Hohenfurth 002.jpg|Medieval miniature of the Nativity, {{circa|1350}}
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Adoptionism]]
* [[Almah]]
* [[Christology]]
* [[Denial of the virgin birth of Jesus]]
* [[Immaculate Conception]] of Mary
* [[Incarnation (Christianity)]]
* [[Isaiah 7:14]]
* [[Perpetual virginity of Mary]]
* [[Parthenogenesis]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

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|publisher     = John Wiley & Sons
|year          = 2011
|chapter-url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=te96AkpyiKAC&q=%22Jews%27+perceptions+of+Jesus+were+predominantly+disparaging%22&pg=PT244
|isbn          = 9781444351750
}}
* {{Cite book
| last         = Davidson 
| first        = John 
| title        = The Gospel Of Jesus: In Search Of His Original Teachings
| year         = 2005 
| publisher    = Clear Press
| url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=GoWhptP_up0C&q=%22the+nativity+stories+found+in+Luke+and+Matthew+are+completely+absent%22&pg=PA82 
| isbn         = 978-1904555148
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Deiss 
|first         = Lucien 
|author-link   = Lucien Deiss 
|title         = Joseph, Mary, Jesus 
|publisher     = Liturgical Press 
|year          = 1996 
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=IZLWU9zvj-4C&q=%22How+old+could+Mary+have+been%3F%22&pg=PA25 
|isbn          = 978-0814622551 
}}
* {{Cite book
|last         = Dorman 
|first        = T.M. 
|chapter      = Virgin Birth 
|editor-last  = Bromiley 
|editor-first = Geoffrey W. 
|title        = International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q-Z 
|publisher    = Eerdmans 
|year         = 1995 
|chapter-url  = https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C&q=definition+virgin+birth&pg=PA990 
|isbn         = 978-0802837844
}}
* {{cite book
| last1            = Dunn
| first1           = James D.G.
| title            = Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, Volume 1
| publisher        = Eerdmans 
| year             = 2003
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=G4qpnvoautgC&pg=PA341
| isbn             = 9780802839312
}}
* {{Cite book
|last         = Erskine
|first        = Andrew
|title        = A Companion to the Hellenistic World
|publisher    = John Wiley & Sons
|year         = 2009
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=krJF3rnhQdsC&pg=PA218
|isbn         = 9781405154413
}}
* {{Citation 
|last1         = Evans
|first1        = Craig
|chapter       = Jesus in non-Christian Sources
|editor1-last  = Chilton
|editor1-first = Bruce 
|editor2-last  = Evans
|editor2-first = Craig 
|title         = Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research
|publisher     = BRILL
|year          = 1998
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=AJM9grxOjjMC
|isbn          = 9004111425
}}
* {{cite book
|last           = France 
|first          = R.T. 
|title          = The Gospel of Matthew 
|publisher      = Eerdmans 
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=0ruP6J_XPCEC&pg=PA56 
|year           = 2007 
|isbn           = 978-0802825018 
}}
* {{cite book
|last           = Fredriksen 
|first          = Paula 
|title          = From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus 
|publisher      = Yale University Press 
|year           = 2008 
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=tDFlfjZ4Ho4C&pg=PT7  
|isbn           = 978-0300164107
}}
* {{cite book 
|last           = Grabar
|first          = André 
|title          = Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins
|publisher      = Princeton University Press 
|year           = 1968
|isbn = 9780710062376 
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=cTanjgEACAAJ
}}
* {{cite book
|last1         = Gregg
|first1        = D. Larry
|chapter       = Docetism
|editor1-last  = Freedman 
|editor1-first = David Noel 
|editor2-last  = Myers
|editor2-first = Allen C. 
|title         = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
|publisher     = Eerdmans
|year          = 2000
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC
|isbn          = 9789053565032
}}
* {{cite book 
|last           = Guiley
|first          = Rosemary
|title          = The Encyclopedia of Angels
|publisher      = Facts on File 
|location       = New York 
|year           = 2004
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=mkVwQgAACAAJ
|isbn           = 0-8160-5023-6
}}
* {{cite book 
|last           = Hayes
|first          = Andrew 
|title          = Justin against Marcion: Defining the Christian Philosophy
|publisher      = Fortress Press
|year           = 2017
|isbn = 9781506420400 
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZGSjDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152
}}
* {{cite book
| last1            = Hendrickson
| first1           = Peter A. 
| last2            = Jenson
| first2           = Bradley C.
| last3            = Lundell
| first3           = Randi H. 
| title            = Luther and Bach on the Magnificat
| publisher        = Wipf and Stock
| year             = 2015
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=EHuoCgAAQBAJ
| isbn             = 9781625641205
}}  
* {{cite book
| last1            = Hornblower
| first1           = Simon
| last2            = Spawforth
| first2           = Antony
| title            = The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
| publisher        = Oxford University Press
| year             = 2014
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=AIgdBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA688
| isbn             = 978-0-19-870677-9
}}     
* {{Citation 
|last1             = Hulmes
|first1            = Edward
|chapter           = Quran and the Bible, The
|editor1-last      = Metzger 
|editor1-first     = Bruce M. 
|editor2-last      = Coogan
|editor2-first     = Michael David 
|title             = The Oxford Companion to the Bible
|publisher         = Oxford University Press
|year              = 1993
|chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2KGVuym5OUC&pg=PA640
|isbn              = 978-0-19-974391-9
}}
* {{cite book
| last             = Hurtado
| first            = Larry 
| title            = Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity
| publisher        = Eerdmans
| year             = 2005
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=k32wZRMxltUC&pg=PA318
| isbn             = 9780802831675
}}        
* {{Citation 
|last1             = Kärkkäinen
|first1            = V.-N
|chapter           = Christology
|editor1-last      = Dyrness  
|editor1-first     = William A. 
|editor2-last      = Kärkkäinen
|editor2-first     = Veli-Matti
|title             = Global Dictionary of Theology
|publisher         = InterVarsity Press
|year              = 2009
|chapter-url               = https://books.google.com/books?id=ncqkZnDSeo4C&pg=PA175
|isbn              = 9780830878116
}}
* {{cite book
| last             = Kodell 
| first            = Jerome 
| title            = The Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament, NAB 
| editor-last      = Karris 
| editor-first     = Robert J.
| chapter          = Luke 
| publisher        = Liturgical Press
| year             = 1992 
| chapter-url      = https://books.google.com/books?id=fJR0wYP12ZEC&q=%22infancy+stories+were+added%22%22to+serve+as+a+prologue%22&pg=PA939 
| isbn             = 978-0814622117
}}      
* {{cite book
| last             = Koester 
| first            = Helmut 
| title            = Introduction to the New Testament: History and literature of early Christianity 
| volume           = 2
| publisher        = Walter de Gruyter
| year             = 2000
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=thXUHM5udTcC&q=Introduction+to+the+New+Testament:+History+and+literature+of+early+Christianity
| isbn             = 9783110149708 
}}      
* {{cite book
| last1            = Kugler
| first1           = Robert
| last2            = Hartin
| first2           = Patrick
| title            = An Introduction to the Bible
| publisher        = Eerdmans
| year             = 2009
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=L8WbXbPjxpoC
| isbn             = 9780802846365
}}      
* {{cite book
| last             = Lachs
| first            = Samuel T.
| title            = A Rabbinic Commentary of the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke
| publisher        = KTAV Publishing House
| year             = 1987
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=_qSWLVIi2xwC&pg=PA5
| isbn             = 978-0881250893
}}     
* {{cite book
| last             = Lincoln 
| first            = Andrew 
| title            = Born of a Virgin?
| publisher        = Eerdmans 
| year             = 2013 
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=deNgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA144
| isbn             = 978-0802869258
}}     
* {{cite book
| last            = Loewe
| first           = William P.
| title           = The College Student's Introduction to Christology
| publisher       = Liturgical Press
| year            = 1996
| url             = https://books.google.com/books?id=o7e1PCoH1dIC&q=infancy+narrative+of+Jesus&pg=PA184
| isbn            = 9780814650189
}}
* {{cite book
|last1            = Marsh 
|first1           = Clive
|last2            = Moyise
|first2           = Steve 
|title            = Jesus and the Gospels
|publisher        = A&C Black
|year             = 2006
|url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=ecHpPzDLkhcC&q=%22focuses+on+Joseph%22&pg=PA37
|isbn             = 978-0567040732 
}}
* {{cite book
| last1            = Marthaler
| first1           = Berard L. 
| title            = The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology
| publisher        = Twenty-Third Publications
| year             = 2007
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=TY3-aZIo9HEC
| isbn             = 9780896225374
}}  
* {{cite book
| last1            = McGuckin
| first1           = John Anthony 
| title            = The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology
| publisher        = Westminster John Knox Press
| year             = 2004
| isbn = 9780664223960 
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=u4i8jv0b7IkC&pg=PS286
}}  
* {{Cite book 
|last            = Miller 
|first           = John W. 
|editor-last     = Ellens
|editor-first    = J. Harold
|title           = Miracles 
|publisher       = ABC-CLIO
|year            = 2008
|chapter         = The Miracle of Christ's Birth 
|chapter-url     = https://books.google.com/books?id=51n9m5oTdrkC&q=miracle+of+christ%27s+birth+john+w.+miller&pg=PR5-IA3
|isbn            = 978-0275997236
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Morris 
|first         = Leon 
|title         = The Gospel According to Matthew 
|year          = 1992 
|publisher     = Eerdmans 
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=-pwaSKcHyEEC&q=%22standpoint+of+Joseph%22&pg=PA26
|isbn          = 978-0851113388
}}
* {{Cite book 
|last1          = Nothaft
|first1        = C. Philipp E.
|title         = Medieval Latin Christian Texts on the Jewish Calendar: A Study with Five Editions and Translations 
|year          = 2014
|publisher     = Brill 
|location      = Leiden 
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=Fae7oAEACAAJ
|isbn          = 9789004274129
}}
*{{cite book 
|last          = O'Sullivan
|first         = Daniel E.
|title         = Marian devotion in thirteenth-century French lyric
|year          = 2005
|publisher     = University of Toronto Press
|isbn          = 0802038859
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Paget
|first         = James Carleton
|title         = Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in Antiquity
|year          = 2010
|publisher     = Mohr Siebeck
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=AFLJ682D9QUC&pg=PA360
|isbn          = 9783161503122
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Reddish
|first         = Mitchell
|title         = An Introduction to The Gospels
|year          = 2011
|publisher     = Abingdon Press
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=hliGUOv18cQC
|isbn          = 9781426750083
}}
* {{Cite book 
|title         = The image of the Virgin Mary in the Akathistos hymn
|last          = Peltomaa
|first         = Leena Mari   
|publisher     = Brill
|year          = 2001
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=ED_cXouKxl8C
|isbn          = 9004120882
}}
* {{cite book
| last1        = Reynolds
| first1       = Gabriel Said
| title        = The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary
| publisher    = Yale University Press
| year         = 2018
| url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=ynVaDwAAQBAJ
| isbn         = 9780300181326
}}
* {{cite book
|last1         = Robinson
|first1        = Bernard P.
|chapter       = Matthew's Nativity Stories
|editor1-last  = Corley
|editor1-first = Jeremy 
|title         = New Perspectives on the Nativity
|publisher     = Bloomsbury 
|year          = 2009
|chapter-url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=c_gRBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111
|isbn          = 9780567613790
}}
* {{cite book 
|last          = Ross
|first         = Leslie
|title         = Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary
|publisher     = Greenwood Press
|year          = 1996
|isbn          = 9780313293290
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=b-5YPoia7qwC
}}
:  {{Cite book
| last             = Saldarini
| first            = Anthony J.
| chapter          = Matthew
| editor1-last     = Dunn
| editor1-first    = James D.G.
|editor2-last      = Rogerson
|editor2-first     = John
| title            = Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible
| publisher        = Eerdmans
| year             = 2001
| isbn = 9780802837110
| chapter-url      = https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA1007
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Saritoprak
|first         = Zeki
|title         = Islam's Jesus
|publisher     = University Press of Florida
|location      = Tampa
|year          = 2014
|isbn=978-0-8130-4940-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last           = Satlow
|first          = Michael L.
|title          = Jewish Marriage in Antiquity
|publisher      = Princeton University Press
|url            = https://books.google.com/books?id=BQBaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA104
|year           = 2018
|isbn           = 9780691187495
}}
* {{Cite book 
|last1         = Sawyer
|first1        = W. Thomas
|editor1-last  = Mills
|editor1-first = Watson E. 
|editor2-last  = Bullard 
|editor2-first = Roger Aubrey 
|title         = Mercer Dictionary of the Bible 
|publisher     = Mercer University Press 
|year          = 1990 
|chapter       = Mary
|chapter-url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=%22infancy+stories+involving+Mary+are+found+only+in%22&pg=PA555 
|isbn =978-0865543737
}}
* {{Cite book
|last          = Schowalter
|first         = Daniel N.
|chapter       = Virgin Birth of Christ
|editor1-last  = Metzger
|editor1-first = B.M. 
|editor2-last  = Coogan
|editor2-first = D.
|title         = The Oxford Companion to the Bible
|year          = 1993
|publisher     = Oxford University Press
| location     = Oxford
|chapter-url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2KGVuym5OUC&pg=PA790
|isbn          = 9780199743919
}}
* {{Cite book
|last1         = Simpler
|first1        = Steven
|chapter       = Hymn
|editor1-last  = Mills 
|editor1-first = Watson E. 
|editor2-last  = Bullard 
|editor2-first = Roger Aubrey 
|title         = Mercer Dictionary of the Bible 
|publisher     = Mercer University Press 
|year          = 1990 
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC
|isbn          = 9780865543737
}}
* {{Cite book
|last         = Sweeney  
|first        = Marvin A 
|title        = Isaiah 1–39: with an introduction to prophetic literature 
|publisher    = Eerdmans 
|year         = 1996 
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=BdSzj9-SZv0C&q=%22scholars+agree%22%22nothing+to+do+with+whether+she+is+a+virgin%22&pg=PA161 
|isbn         = 978-0802841001 
}}
* {{Cite book
|last         = Turner 
|first        = David L.
|title        = Matthew 
|publisher    = Baker 
|year         = 2008 
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=8z9LSdKLUl4C 
|isbn         = 978-0-8010-2684-3
}}
* {{cite book
| last1       = Tyson
| first1      = Joseph B.
| title       = Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle
| publisher   = University of South Carolina Press
| year        = 2006
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=MU2U08v6aq0C
| isbn        = 9781570036507
}}
* {{cite book
| last        = Vermes
| first       = Geza
| title       = Who's Who in the Age of Jesus
| publisher   = Penguin UK
| year        = 2006a
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=t6C6kxbpdO8C&pg=PT216
| isbn        = 9780141937557
}}
* {{cite book
| last        = Vermes
| first       = Geza
| title       = The Nativity: History and Legend
| publisher   = Penguin UK
| year        = 2006b
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=J00OOo-3RqEC&pg=PT72
| isbn        = 9780141912615
}}
* {{cite book
| last        = Voorst
| first       = Robert van 
| title       = Jesus Outside the New Testament
| publisher   = Eerdmans 
| year        = 2000
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC
| isbn        =9780802843685
}}
* {{cite book
| last        = Wahlde
| first       = Urban von
| title       = Gnosticism, Docetism, and the Judaisms of the First Century
| publisher   = Bloomsbury 
| year        = 2015
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=gRB0BgAAQBAJ
| isbn        =9780567656599
}}
* {{cite book
|last1        = Ware
|first1       = Timothy
|title        = The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity
|publisher    = Penguin
|year         = 1993
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=ckkRoFrW_dQC
|isbn         = 9780141925004
}}
* {{Citation 
|last1        = Weaver 
|first1       = Rebeccah H. 
|chapter      = Jesus in early Christianity 
|editor1-last = Benedetto 
|editor1-first= Robert 
|editor2-last = Duke 
|editor2-first= James O 
|title        = The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History: The early, medieval, and Reformation eras 
|publisher    = Westminster John Knox Press 
|year         = 2008 
|chapter-url  = https://books.google.com/books?id=g46euaF7HAsC&pg=PA351 
|isbn=978-0664224165 
}}
* {{cite book
|last1        = Welburn
|first1       = Andrew J.
|title        = From a Virgin Womb: The "Apocalypse of Adam" and the Virgin Birth
|publisher    = BRILL
|year         = 2008
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=nuYM_jgnv6EC
|isbn         = 9789004163768
}}
* {{cite book 
|last1        = Wilson 
|first1       = Frank E.
|title        = Faith and Practice
|publisher    = Church Publishing, Inc. 
|location     = Harrisburg, PA 
|year         = 1989
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=uTltAAAAQBAJ
|isbn         = 9780819224576
}}
*{{cite journal
|last         = Zebiri
|first        = Kate
|date         = March 2000
|title        = Contemporary Muslim Understanding of the Miracles of Jesus
|journal      = The Muslim World
|volume       = 90
|issue        = 1–2
|pages        = 71–90
|doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2000.tb03682.x
}}
*{{cite book
|last         = Zervos
|first        = George
|title        = The Protevangelium of James
|publisher    = Bloomsbury Academic
|year         = 2019
|url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=ky2nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79
|page         = 79
|isbn = 9780567053169
}}

{{Refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Chronology of Jesus|Life of Jesus]]|||}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Zechariah (priest)|Gabriel announces John's<br/>birth to Zechariah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[New Testament]]<br/>Events}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Visitation (Christian)|Mary visits Elisabeth]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Virgin Mary}}
{{Nativity of Jesus}}
{{Jesus footer}}
{{Christianity footer}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin Birth Of Jesus}}
[[Category:Virgin birth of Jesus| ]]
[[Category:Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament|*]]
[[Category:Christianity and Islam]]
[[Category:Christology]]
[[Category:Gospel of Luke]]
[[Category:Gospel of Matthew]]
[[Category:Islamic belief and doctrine]]
[[Category:Mary, mother of Jesus]]
[[Category:New Testament miracles]]
[[Category:Gabriel]]
[[Category:Holy Spirit]]