A fundamental principle of the Christian faith is that Jesus was born of Mary, a virgin. Both Matthew and Luke trace the genealogy of Joseph back to David. According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah must be a  descendant of David, but if Jesus was born of a virgin  , he cannot be a descendant of David through Joseph. Michael Martin asserts that Mary's virginity is a later addition to Christianity as indicated through Paul's letters. Further, Martin notes that early Christian communities did not seem to have widely believed in the virgin birth. The confusion surrounding the virginity of Mary may result from Septuagint translation of both "young girl" and , "virgin" into , which usually means virgin. Relying on this translation, Matthew tried to show that Jesus's virgin birth was foretold in Isaiah 7:14—which refers to an almah in Hebrew. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), article Virgin Birth of Christ
A fundamental principle of the Christian faith is that Jesus was born of Mary, a virgin. Both Matthew and Luke trace the genealogy of Joseph back to David. According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah must be a blood descendant of David, but if Jesus was born of a virgin (via the Holy Spirit) , he cannot be a descendant of David through Joseph. Michael Martin asserts that Mary's virginity is a later addition to Christianity as indicated through Paul's letters. Further, Martin notes that early Christian communities did not seem to have widely believed in the virgin birth. The confusion surrounding the virginity of Mary may result from Septuagint translation of both "young girl" and , "virgin" into , which usually means virgin. Relying on this translation, Matthew tried to show that Jesus's virgin birth was foretold in Isaiah 7:14—which refers to an almah in Hebrew. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), article Virgin Birth of Christ
A
blood
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(via the Holy Spirit)