In contrast to earlier writers St. Luke had an excellent Birth‐tradition at his disposal. According to his sources the coming and future Messianic greatness of Jesus had been divinely foretold. His birth was heralded by angelic choirs, and humble shepherds brought their meed of worship and of praise. By an insight divinely given, men like Simeon and women like Anna saw in Him the child of promise. He was to be a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel. We need not stay to look more closely into the story, which doubtless has been worked up as regards its form by the Evangelist’s hand. Suffice it to say that St. Luke’s picture is that of a Wondrous Birth, supernaturally foretold; not a virgin birth.(70) Some time after he had penned his narrative, possibly after it had been dispatched to Theophilus, but at any rate before the Gospel gained a wider circulation, St. Luke received the tradition of the Virgin Birth. At what time and from what source the story reached him we are quite unable to say; possibly it was from some reader or readers to whom he had submitted his narrative; possibly the story travelled along some independent channel. In any case the probability is that the tradition was imparted to St. Luke by some one who claimed to possess a fuller and a better account, and whose claim the Evangelist respected and admitted. Having regard to St. Luke’s standing and methods as an historian, we prefer to believe that the tradition reached him through a definite and _personal_ channel, than to suppose that of his own initiative he freely altered a valuable source out of deference to a growing theory. The historical value of the new information is a question we are not now considering. It is part of our theory, however, that it satisfied the mind of St. Luke; to him the Virgin Birth was historic fact. Probably the story appealed to him at once as a fitting explanation of the unique personality of Jesus. It was a tradition rich in doctrinal possibilities; it provoked reflection, and it answered questions. The Evangelist saw at once that the story must find a place in his narrative. Fortunately it was not too late, and fortunately again there was a point where it could be included without entailing the necessity of rewriting cc. i, ii entirely. He had only to insert the words we have now in i. 34 f. into the address of the angel, and to add to the opening words of the Genealogy the phrase “as was supposed”, to obtain a narrative in which truths previously unknown to him found sufficient statement. If we can suppose that the adaptation of what he had previously written was not drastic enough, we obtain a hypothesis which at least does justice to every result we have yet secured.