The Historical Evidence for the Virgin Birth by Vincent Taylor, B.D. (Lond.) Clarendon Press Oxford 1920 CONTENTS Preface Abbreviations Chapter I. The Virgin Birth And The New Testament Outside The First And Third Gospels I. St. Paul II. Q III. St. Mark’s Gospel IV. Acts V. The Epistle to the Hebrews VI. The Fourth Gospel VII. The Pastoral and the Catholic Epistles and the Apocalypse VIII. Summary Chapter II. The Virgin Birth And The Third Gospel I. Narratives and Passages Said to be Inconsistent With the View (a) Lk. iii. 22, according to the “Western Text” (b) The Lukan Genealogy and Lk. iii. 23 (c) The Narratives of Lk. ii (d) The References to Joseph and Mary in Lk. ii (e) Lk. ii. 5 II. The Passage Lk. i. 34 f (a) The Interpretation of Lk. i. 34 f (b) The Purport of the Angelic Announcement in Lk. i. 30‐3 (c) Reasons for regarding Lk. i. 34 f. as a Later Insertion III. Summary and Conclusion Chapter III. St. Luke and the Virgin Birth I. Lk. i. 34 f. and the Textual Question II. Linguistic and Stylistic Examination of Lk. i. 34 f III. Summary and Conclusion Chapter IV. The Place Of The Virgin Birth In The Third Gospel I. A Suggested Theory II. Literary Conditions Under Which the Gospels Were Written III. The Objections to Which the Above Theory is Exposed IV. Certain Consequences Chapter V. The Virgin Birth And The First Gospel I. The Characteristics of the Genealogy II. The Genuineness of Mt. i, ii III. The Unity of Mt. i, ii 1. The Genealogy 2. The Passage Mt. i. 18‐25 IV. Implications, Sources, and Results Appendix To Chapter V. The Textual Problem of Mt. i. 16 Chapter VI. The Historical Question: Its Limits And Bearings I. The Virgin Birth in the First and Third Gospels II. The Date of the Gospels in Relation to the Virgin Birth Tradition III. The Relation of the Question of the Historical Value of the Gospels to the Problem IV. The Question of Alternative Theories V. Doctrinal Considerations Index Footnotes [Cover Art] PREFACE This book is intended to be a literary and critical examination of the historical evidence for the Virgin Birth. It is not the writer’s desire to discuss the evidence from the point of view of an advocate; with a view, that is to say, of obtaining an uncompromising verdict. His aim is rather to trace and to define the earliest Christian tradition upon the subject, and to show the limits and the bearings of the historical question. A limited aim such as this ought not to require much justification. If, however, justification is needed, it is not far to seek.