Pagan religions had virgin births aplenty -- even the Roman Caesars claimed to be gods born of virgins. . . But there is absolutely no virgin birth prophecies in the T'nach (bible). Indeed, if Jesus was a "virgin birth" he would be disqualified from being a king or a priest as he would not have had any tribal status. To be a Jewish priest a person must be of the tribe of Levi, through the line of Moses' brother, Aaron. To be a rightful Jewish king -- and specifically to be the prophesied messiah, you must be from the tribe of Judah, through the paternal lines of Kings David and Solomon. A virgin birth = no tribal status = no Jewish king or priest. Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:22, like yesterday's claim of a "massacre of infants", is in fact speaking of the Jewish people in exile, and their eventual return to the land of Israel from that exile. "So said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; They shall yet say this thing in the land of Judah and in its cities when I return their captivity; May the L-rd bless You, dwelling of righteousness, holy mount." Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:22 So -- how does the list maker conclude that this is a prophecy about a virgin birth of anyone when it clearly says: "I return their captivity"? The list maker must assume that no one is going to fact check his / her list. The sheer number (365) is supposed to awe enough that it will just be believed. Remember the words of former President Ronald Reagan: "trust, but verify." This claim is easily disproved. The verse normally claimed as prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth is Y'shayahu / Isaiah 7:14. The list maker claimed this earlier on the list. 164. Isaiah 7:14...To be born of a virgin...Luke 1:35 165. Isaiah 7:14...To be Emmanuel-God with us... Matthew 1:18-23 False there, too. Tribal lineage is only passed by a Jewish biological father impregnating a Jewish woman (his wife or concubine). The mother must be Jewish because "who is a Jew" is passed maternally (link), while tribal status is passed by the Jewish father IF the mother is Jewish. For those who want to understand in more depth why "who is a Jew" is passed maternally follow the link. Tribal status (being a member of a given tribe) requires a Jewish mother and a Jewish biological father (sperm) of a given tribe. The story of the "virgin" birth totally disqualifies Jesus from being a Jewish king (messiah). Joseph was married to Mary. Some missionaries try to avoid the issue of Jesus' legitimacy by stating that Mary was engaged to Joseph, but not yet married. Thus there is no question of adultery, because she was engaged, but not married. Nice try, but (there was no such thing as an engagement in ancient Judaism). Marriage was a two part process, and in the first stage (eirusin) the couple might not live together, but they were still considered married. Also note that Joseph is said to have thought to divorce Mary (Matthew 1:19). One divorces a wife, not a fiance. Mary being pregnant by anyone other than her lawful husband, Joseph, and the child would have no tribe -- certainly not that of Joseph! Tribal lineage however is passed only by the Jewish father (if the mother is Jewish). We also know this because this is what G-d tells us in the T'nach (bible). Start with Bamidbar / Numbers 1:17-18 where the pedigrees are decreed by the men (not the women). according to their families (tribes). Rashi (great biblical commentator) wrote "They brought the records of their pedigrees and witnesses of their birth claims, so that each one should trace his genealogy to a tribe." Every tribal lineage can only be transmitted from a father to his biological sons (assuming the mother is Jewish -- if the mother is not Jewish the child has no Jewish status at all, including no tribe). The Torah discusses that only men transmit tribal status in Bamidbar / Numbers 1:17-18 , including the right to priesthood and kingship (Sh'mot / Exodus 40:15.; Bamidbar / Numbers 25:12-13). The T'nach (bible) makes it clear that the messiah will be a human king of Israel -- a legal descendant from the tribe of Judah, descended from King David and from his son Shlomo (Solomon). The first mention of Judah being the royal tribe is found in Br'eshit / Genesis 49:10 says “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the student of the law from between his feet, until (it or he) comes to Shiloh, and to him will be a gathering of peoples.” David was from the tribe of Judah and was the first king from that tribe. G-d then makes it clear that the rightful royal line will descend through David's son, Solomon: Shmuel Beit / 2 Samuel 7:12-16 – When your days (King David) will be completed and you will lie with your forefathers, then I shall raise up your seed after you, that which will issue from your loins, and I shall establish his kingdom. (13) He shall build a Temple for My sake, and I shall make firm the throne of his kingdom forever. And then read Divrei Hayamim Alef / 1 Chronicles 22:9-10 – Behold a son will be born to you; he will be a man of peace, and I shall give him peace from all his enemies around about, for Solomon will be his name, and I shall give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. (10) He shall build a House in My Name, and he shall be to Me as a son, and I to him as a Father, and I shall prepare the throne of his kingdom forever. If Jesus was the result of a "virgin" birth hewas not of the tribe of Judah. He was not a legal descendant of Kings David, or of King Solomon. The Christian bible may call him a "son of David" -- but the two conflicting lineages given are for Jesus' "non" father, Joseph. If Joseph's sperm did not impregnate Mary those lineages are worthless to Jesus. Who is a Jew" passes maternally (see D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:1–5, Vayikra / Leviticus 24:10, and Ezra 10:2–3) and lineage (tribal status) passes paternally (by the father -- assuming one first has a Jewish mother) -- and ALL of this is found in the written Torah. Sh'mot / Exodus 6:14, 6:25, B'midbar / Numbers 17:21, 34:14, 36:1, Y'hoshua / Joshua 14:1, 19:51, 21:1, 22:14, Ezra 1:5, 2:59, 2:68, 3:12, 4:2-3, 8:1, 10:16; N'ḥemyah / Nehemiah 7:61, 7:69-70, 8:13, 12:12, 12:22-23. According to the Torah, lineage/pedigree, a blood right, is passed exclusively by a biological father to his sons. Ergo the virgin birth totally disqualifies Jesus from being the messiah. Bottom line? Virgin births are not biblical and the idea would eliminate Jesus from any right to the throne. Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31:22 says nothing about virgin births. It is about the Jewish people returning from exile to the land of Israel.
2 Comments
Leanne
7/6/2020 07:06:46 pm
Out of curiosity: do we know of the actual baby Immanuel or his mother? I also heard stories that it would be the baby of the prophet, soon mentioned after, but he has a different name
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7/7/2020 05:15:23 pm
In Isaiah 8:8, עִמָּנוּאֵל is a name, and is identified as someone from the Tribe of Judah (presumably Isaiah's son of Isaiah 7:14) who is part of the prophecy described in the passage. In Isaiah 8:10, עִמָּנוּ אֵל is an expression
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