Christ
Virgin Birth
20 passages, 5 quoted here · Broad agreement in this library
Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Where they stood
Each row is one claim. Each name is a writer, placed at the date of the passage. Select a name to read what they said.
2 of the 3 writers here teach: “Christ was born of a virgin, as Isaiah said.” They answer a rival view: “He was born by ordinary human generation.”
teaches it partly rejects it later writer, summary only
Apostolic FathersApostolicBefore NicaeaBefore NicaeaNicaea to ChalcedonNicaea to 451After ChalcedonAfter 451
Christ was born of a virgin, as Isaiah said2 teach
He was born by ordinary human generation1 reject
100 AD200300400500Nicaea 325
Where this divides churches today: May Mary be called Mother of God (Theotokos)? · Did Mary remain a virgin all her life? · Was Mary free from sin, and from when? · How did Mary's earthly life end?
What each writer said, earliest first
The virginity of Mary, her giving birth, and the death of the Lord escaped the notice of the ruler of this age. These are three mysteries proclaimed aloud, yet accomplished in the silence of God. How then was he revealed to the ages?
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Greek
Καὶ ἔλαθεν τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἡ παρθενία Μαρίας καὶ ὁ τοκετὸς αὐτῆς, ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ θάνατος τοῦ κυρίου: τρία μυστήρια κραυγῆς, ἅτινα ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ θεοῦ ἐπράχθη.
You are fully assured about our Lord, who is truly of the family of David according to the flesh, Son of God by the will and power of God, truly born of a virgin, baptized by John so that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him. He was truly nailed in the flesh for us under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch.
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Greek
Δοξάζω Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν θεὸν τὸν οὕτως ὑμᾶς σοφίσαντα: ἐνόησα γὰρ ὑμᾶς κατηρτισμένους ἐν ἀκινήτῳ πίστει, ὥσπερ καθηλωμένους ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ σαρκί τε καὶ πνεύματι καὶ ἡδρασμένους ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ αἵματι Χριστοῦ, πεπληροφορημένους εἰς τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν, ἀληθῶς…
So make yourselves deaf whenever anyone speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ. He was of the family of David and of Mary. He truly was born, and he ate and drank.
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Greek
Κωφώθητε οὖν, ὅταν ὑμῖν χωρὶς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ λαλῇ τις, τοῦ ἐκ γένους Δαυείδ, τοῦ ἐκ Μαρίας, ὃς ἀληθῶς ἐγεννήθη, ἔφαγέν τε καὶ ἔπιεν, ἀληθῶς ἐδιώχθη ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτον, ἀληθῶς ἐσταυρώθη καὶ ἀπέθανεν, βλεπόντων τῶν ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ ὑποχθονίων.
Once again, just as it was spoken by himself, it was foretold through Isaiah that he would be born through a virgin; listen. It was spoken in this way: "Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel," which means "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14).
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Greek
Καὶ πάλιν ὡς αὐτολεξεὶ διὰ παρθένου μὲν τεχθησόμενος διὰ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου προεφητεύθη, ἀκούσατε. Ἐλέχθη δὲ οὕτως· „Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ ἐροῦσιν ἐπὶ τᾷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ Μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός“.
Let us see whether those who fabricated the story of the virgin’s adultery with Panthera and the carpenter’s rejection of her did so blindly, inventing all these details for the purpose of abolishing the paradox of a conception from the Holy Spirit.
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Greek
Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπανέλθωμεν εἰς τὴν τοῦ Ἰουδαίου προσωποποιΐαν, ἐν ᾗ ἀναγέγραπται ἡ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μήτηρ ὡς ἐξωσθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ μνηστευσαμένου αὐτὴν τέκτονος, ἐλεγχθεῖσα ἐπὶ μοιχείᾳ καὶ τίκτουσα ἀπό τινος στρατιώτου Πανθήρα τοὔνομα· καὶ ἴδωμεν εἰ μὴ τυφλῶς οἱ μυθοποιήσαντες τὴν μοιχείαν τῆς…
Other passages filed here (15)
- Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 1d. c. 110 AD
- Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians 1.18d. c. 110 AD
- Justin Martyr, First Apology 22c. 100–c. 165 AD
- Justin Martyr, First Apology 31c. 100–c. 165 AD
- Justin Martyr, First Apology 46c. 100–c. 165 AD
- Justin Martyr, First Apology 54c. 100–c. 165 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 34c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 35c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 37c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 7c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.33c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.34c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.35c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.69c. 185–c. 254 AD
- Novatian, On the Trinity 28fl. c. 250 AD