(5) As regards the origin of the Virgin Birth tradition implied in Lk. i. 34 f., we have to confess that we are completely in the dark. We have stated our preference for the view that it came through a personal channel (p. 73). We are unable to think that in writing i. 34 f. St. Luke was himself merely translating theology into narrative. But who the intermediary was we cannot tell. On our theory, the tradition cannot have been [pg 087] directly imparted to the Evangelist by Mary. Whether, in the end, the story can be traced back to her, is a question we cannot now discuss. At this stage it would be no more than a guess to connect it with the women mentioned in Lk. viii. 2, 3; xxiv. 10, or with the daughters of Philip (Acts xxi. 8, 9). In an historical inquiry it is never safe to ascribe a tradition to an authority, unless we have solid grounds for so doing. Otherwise, we import a bias into the investigation, if indeed we do not beg the question. The mistake is one which has been made more than once in discussing the Virgin Birth. In the present case we have nothing whatever to guide us, and accordingly we have to acquiesce in the bare conclusion that St. Luke accepted the Virgin Birth tradition, but that we do not know anything about his authority, except that it satisfied his mind.
(6) The form in which the tradition reached St. Luke can hardly have been the brief statement of i. 34 f. The literary form of that passage is determined by that of the earlier narrative. The latter, as we have said (p. 73), is something more than a bare transcript of events. It is a product of high art, and is shaped upon Old Testament models. Ramsay finds in it a Greek element. The story has been “re-thought out of the Hebraic into the Greek fashion” (Luke the Physician, p. 13). The divine messenger becomes to St. Luke “the winged personal being who, like Iris or Hermes, communicates the will and purpose of God” (op. cit., p. 13). Having regard, however, to the Old Testament birth-stories of Isaac, Samson, and Samuel, it is doubtful if we really need this suggestion. In any case, we may say that it is the mould in which the earlier story has been cast, which accounts for the literary form of the Virgin Birth tradition in Lk. i. 34 f. The tradition which St. Luke received probably contained the substance of what is stated in verse 35, and asserted that Jesus was begotten of Mary by the Holy Spirit.
(7) The historical value of the Virgin Birth tradition in the Third Gospel is a question which cannot be answered until the problem is treated as a whole. Our study of the Lukan problem adds to the material at our disposal. It confirms our conclusions in Chapter I as regards St. Paul and St. Mark. It also enables us to say that St. Luke, in his later years, came to believe and teach the Virgin Birth, on grounds which are unknown to us, but which he himself deemed sufficient.
Chapter V. The Virgin Birth And The First Gospel
More than the other Synoptic Gospels, the First Gospel comes before us as an “official” document of the Christian Church. Our Third Gospel was somewhat of the nature of a “private venture”, and how inadequately the value of St. Mark's Gospel was recognized in the first half of the second century appears in the fact that its survival seems almost accidental, all existing copies being derived from a single mutilated MS.[78] Whether, then, we can claim the authority and sanction of the First Gospel for the Virgin Birth tradition, is clearly a question of first-rate importance. To some the question will appear determinative; but for those also, who feel that in any case the historical value of the witness would remain an open question, a conclusion as regards the problem is of very great significance, in view of its historical implications.
In the present chapter our purpose is to inquire how far the First Gospel bears witness to the Virgin Birth, and what the character of its witness is. Was the narrative, as we have it to-day, present in the Gospel from the first? Is Mt. i, ii a later insertion, or is the passage i. 18-25 an interpolation? Extremely interesting discussions have also arisen around the question of the Matthaean Genealogy and the true text of Mt. i. 16, and these call for notice. The question of the historical value of the tradition of Mt. i. 18-25 must in the main be postponed, but the possibilities, and such positive facts as emerge, can be noted.
Perhaps the best method of approach is to consider first the character of the Genealogy, apart altogether from the question of its authorship. The details of the textual problem of Mt. i. 16 will be discussed in an Appendix to the chapter. The remaining points to be treated are the genuineness of cc. i, ii, the unity of [pg 089] these chapters, and lastly the sources and implications of the narrative, together with a survey of the results reached.