In the New Testament, Mary was initially betrothed (engaged) to Joseph (Matthew 1:18), a legally binding commitment in first-century Jewish custom—stronger than modern engagement and requiring a formal divorce to break.
When Mary was found to be pregnant (by the Holy Spirit, according to the virgin birth accounts), Joseph considered divorcing her quietly. But an angel instructed him:
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20)
Joseph then “took his wife” (Matthew 1:24), completing the marriage without consummating it. By accepting Mary and naming the child “Jesus” (Matthew 1:25), Joseph—under Jewish custom—effectively acknowledged and legally accepted Jesus as his son.
Luke 1:31-35
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered,
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[fn] the Son of God.
Virgin Birth vs Virginal Conception
Many people confuse the virgin birth with the virginal conception.
In short, “virgin birth” and “virginal conception” are not exactly the same, though in everyday Christian conversation they are very often used interchangeably to refer to the same core miracle: Jesus being conceived in Mary’s womb without a human father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Theologically, however, there is a precise distinction that many scholars and apologists highlight:
Virginal conception (or “virgin conception”) → This refers specifically to the miraculous moment of conception. Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived; there was no sexual intercourse or human male involved. The Holy Spirit supernaturally caused the pregnancy (as described in Luke 1:34-35 and Matthew 1:18-20). This is the heart of the biblical doctrine and is universally accepted across mainstream Christianity.
Virgin birth → This is the more traditional and popular term, but it technically emphasizes the entire process, including the birth itself. In stricter usage (especially in some Catholic and Orthodox traditions), it can also imply that Mary remained a virgin during the birth (virginitas in partu) — meaning the birth was miraculous in a way that preserved her physical virginity intact (no pain, no rupture of the hymen, etc.).
Some Protestant theologians prefer “virginal conception” to focus strictly on the biblical account of conception and avoid extra-biblical speculation about the mechanics of the birth.
Galatians 4:4
Galatians 4:4 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law…” Not explicit, but an allusion or echo back to Genesis 3:15, often called the protoevangelium (the “first gospel” or first promise of redemption).
The phrase “seed/offspring of the woman” (Hebrew: זֶרַע הָאִשָּׁה / zeraʿ hāʾiššâ) in Genesis 3:15 is unique in the Hebrew Bible: “Seed of the woman” appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible outside of Genesis 3:15.
Several early Church Fathers explicitly connected Genesis 3:15 (the protoevangelium) to Christ as the victorious “seed of the woman” who crushes the serpent’s (Satan’s) head. This interpretation often highlights the unique phrasing of “her seed” as pointing to Christ’s virgin birth (no human father), tying it to the incarnation and redemption. Some also linked it to Mary as the New Eve, in parallel with Christ as the New Adam.
Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD) — One of the earliest explicit Christian interpreters of Genesis 3:15 as a messianic prophecy. In his Dialogue with Trypho (chapter 100), he identifies the “seed of the woman” as Christ, who destroys the serpent (Satan) and brings deliverance. He draws an analogy between Eve (whose disobedience brought death) and Mary (whose obedience brings salvation), seeing the promise fulfilled in Christ’s victory over evil.
Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD) — A key figure who regarded Genesis 3:15 as “the first messianic prophecy in the Old Testament.” In Against Heresies (e.g., Book V, chapter 21), he explicitly links the “seed” born of a woman to Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, who defeats the serpent. He connects it directly to Galatians 4:4 (“God sent forth His Son, made of a woman”), arguing that only a man born of a woman could justly conquer the enemy who deceived a woman. Irenaeus emphasizes the New Eve typology: Mary’s obedience reverses Eve’s disobedience, and Christ (her seed) crushes Satan’s head.
Serapion of Thmuis (4th century bishop) — He highlighted the unusual emphasis on the woman’s seed (since “seed” typically traces through the father) as evidence for Christ’s virgin birth: “The woman does not have seed, only man does. How then was that (Gen 3:15) said of the Woman? Is it not evident that there is here question of Christ, whom the holy Virgin brought forth without seed?”
Messianic Judaism
Messianic Jews could come to the Eastern Orthodox faith once they realize that much of what they believe is post-second temple rabbinic Judaism and not the Second Temple faith followed by Jesus and His disciples.
Much of modern Messianic Judaism draws heavily from post-Second Temple Rabbinic Judaism (which developed after the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE and crystallized in the Mishnah, Talmud, and later traditions), rather than the pre-70 CE Jewish context of the apostles.
Proponents suggest that Messianic Jews, upon deeper historical and theological study, might recognize Eastern Orthodoxy as the true continuation of that apostolic faith—preserving ancient liturgy, sacraments, patristic tradition, and a direct link to the early Jewish-Christian communities—while shedding later rabbinic developments that post-date the apostolic era.
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