parthenos

One essential characteristic of the story of Jesus’ birth is that Mary was a virgin. In reading the account from the Gospel According to Luke, this truth becomes apparent, though there is on occasion some debate based on confusion about parthenos, the Greek word that’s translated as “virgin.”

Opponents of the virgin birth tend to base their arguments upon the definition of the Greek word παρθένος (parthenos), which is the word typically translated in the Gospel narratives as “virgin.” This word, as they point out, only has a secondary meaning of “virgin.” Its primary meaning is simply a young woman. In fact, in Greek literature, there are numerous uses of this word going all the way back to Homer to refer to young women who decidedly are not virgins. The possible meaning “virgin” develops because young women were assumed to be chaste, but chastity is not an essential characteristic of this concept. As a result, the use of parthenos to refer to Mary is not alone sufficient evidence for textual support of the virgin birth.

A much stronger case can be made on the basis of the Gospel According to Luke 1:34 (NABRE): “But Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?'” With this passage, the ambiguous context of parthenos becomes apparent in Mary’s case. She makes a clear claim to having been chaste prior to the conception of Jesus—a claim that does not rely on the use of an ambiguous word—and thus we hold as dogma that the birth of our Lord was in fact a virgin birth.

related topics: Ascension; Assumption; favor with God; grace; magnify

you also may like our study of Saul, David & Solomon (digital only)
The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at the First and Second Books of Samuel to learn how the lives of the monarchs Saul, David, and Solomon point ahead to the kingdom of heaven. The unified reign of King David is seen as a foreshadowing or type of the unity that is one of the four marks of the Church—the kingdom of God—established by Jesus Christ. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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