traced from
David, Joseph's descent.

The narrative continued: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this
wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child by the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her
husband being a just man and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on
these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost."

The genealogy completed, though perhaps inadequately, since Jesus, not
being a son of Joseph, could not have descended from David, the Church
continued: "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Behold a virgin shall be
with child and shall bring forth a son and call his name Emmanuel."

The prophecy mentioned occurs in Isaiah vii, 14. In the King James
version it is as follows: "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a
son and shall call his name Immanuel." But the Aramaic reading is:
"Behold an _'alma_ shall conceive." _'Alma_ means young woman. The
Septuagint, in translating it, employed the term [Greek: parthenos],
or maiden. In _Matthew_ the term was retained.

Matthew, at the time, had long been dead. Even had he been living it
is improbable that he could write in Greek. Unfortunately there were
others who could not only write Greek but read Hebrew. In particular,
there was a rabbi Aquila who retranslated Isaiah with no other purpose
than the malign object of definitely re-establishing the exact
expression which the old poet had used.[67]

[Footnote 67: Renan: Les Evangiles.]

It was presumably in these circumstances that the _Evangel of Mary_
was advanced. Among other elucidations, the work contained
professional testimony of the immaculacy that was claimed.
Additionally, in reparation of the earlier oversight, the Virgin was
genealogically descended from the royal line.

That, however, is apocryphal, and if, regarding the other genealogy,
exegesis has since obscured the luminousness of the method adapted by
the Church, the latter's intention was none the less irreproachable,
and that alone imports. Before it, before the miracle of the nativity
and the divine episodes of the transfiguration, crucifixion,
resurrection, and ascension, reverently the Occident has knelt