Who was the biological father of Jesus?

Was Joseph Jesus’ biological father or adoptive father? Joseph is a major figure in the birth stories in Matthew and Luke. Along with Mary, they are depicted in this 16th-century painting of the birth of Jesus by Lorenzo Lotto. Photo: Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Joseph was the biological father of Jesus? If not, who was Jesus’ biological father?

The Annunciation stories in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke state that Jesus was conceived without human participation. Ancient ideas about the biology of conceptions—based on Aristotle’s theory—are different from our modern understanding of genetics and biology. For Jesus to be considered fully human by our modern standards—and not a semi-elephant or special being—he would have needed full human DNA. While Mary must have provided the X chromosome, who provided the essential Y chromosome? God? Joseph?

Andrew Lincoln of the University of Gloucestershire tackles these questions in his article “How Babies Were Made in the Time of Jesus” in the November/December 2014 issue. Bar. Beginning with the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, he examines what early Christians thought about the Conception and explains how views on the subject have changed over time.

Who was the biological father of Jesus? As modern readers, we might wonder if the product of a virgin conception could actually be human—since the Y chromosome did not come from a human father. Andrew Lincoln explains that this problem would not have troubled an ancient audience or the writers of the Genesis stories in Matthew and Luke:

His understanding of the concept, shaped by a patriarchal culture, would have been some variation of the dominant Aristotelian theory. On this view, male semen provides the basic principle for life. Female menstrual blood provides the matter for the embryo, and the uterus the medium for the nurturing of the sperm. That person’s seed goes to him people (rational reason) and Pneumonia (vital heat/active spirit), to which the female body is receptive. In this way the male acts as the active, efficient cause of reproduction, and the female acts as the provider of the matter in which the male seed gives definition. In short. , the physical substance necessary for the human fetus comes from the mother, while the life force resides with the father.

Those who heard the birth stories in Matthew and Luke would have understood Jesus to be fully human because his mother provided his physical substance. Lincoln explained: “In primitive biology, even without a human father, Jesus would have been seen as fully human. His mother, Mary, provided his human substance, and in this case God, through the agency of the divine Spirit, provided the animating principle rather than a human father.”

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According to the Testament, was Joseph Jesus’ biological father or just his adoptive father?

The Annunciation stories in Matthew and Luke claim that Jesus was conceived without a human father, but later in the Gospel of Luke, Joseph is listed as Jesus’ parent and father (Luke 2:27, 33, 48; 4:22). In fact, through the genealogy of Joseph, Jesus is shown to be descended from King David (Luke 3:23–38). Do these accounts conflict with the declaration stories?

The traditional way of reconciling these seemingly conflicting accounts is that Joseph was Jesus’ adoptive father.

In his essay, Lincoln offers another approach: he states that knowing the genre of the Gospels helps to understand this apparent contradiction. As a subset of ancient Greco-Roman biography, the Gospels can be compared to other Greco-Roman biographies, such as the biographies of Plutarch, Romulus, and Alexander the Great. In these instances, the main character is given two fantasy stories, one natural and the other supernatural.

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Stories of dual conception for the same figure were not uncommon in Greco-Roman biographies, and Lincoln suggests that this was a way of assigning importance and worth to those “who were thought to have achieved greatness in their afterlife.” In this genre, people who accomplished great things in their adult lives deserved a story of just as big — even supernatural — imagination.

Lincoln’s perspective is certainly interesting – especially when applied to the birth stories in Matthew and Luke. To read Lincoln’s full treatment of the matter and learn more about what early Christians thought of the concept, read the full article “How Babies Were Made in Jesus’ Time” by Andrew Lincoln in the November/December 2014 issue. Bar.

All Access Users: Read the full article “How Babies Were Made in Jesus’ Time” by Andrew Lincoln in the November/December 2014 issue A Review of Biblical Archaeology.

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This Daily Bible History feature was originally published on November 3, 2014.

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