Testament of Joseph 19:8 (parentheses mine)
“And I saw that a VIRGIN (Mary) was born from Judah, wearing a linen shawl, and a SPOTLESS LAMB (YESHUA) was born from her.”
This scripture is from the Testament of the 12 Patriarchs found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which means that it was written long before YESHUA walked the earth. Mary was a virgin and she gave birth to the LAMB OF YAHWEH which is YESHUA So, continuing with the topic about heresy that is being preached and believed in these last days is whether YESHUA was born of a virgin or not. It seems that the plain and literal reading and interpretation of scripture is no longer acceptable as many are adding their own agendas into the text. The scriptures are being twisted, then preached, and then accepted by the masses. I have even heard believers go as far as to say that they don’t believe that Noah could put all the animals on the ark. If anyone does not believe every word written in the scriptures then they are not true believers. A little bit a leaven will leaven the entire lump and we can see why this is true. This is not a small matter by any means, because not only are they denying the power of YAHWEH, but they are also calling Him a liar. LET IT NOT BE!
Romans 3:4 (Complete Jewish Bible)
“Heaven forbid! ELOHIM would be true even if everyone were a liar!---as the Tanakh (Old Testament) says, “so that you, ELOHIM, may be proved right in your words and win the verdict when you are put on trial.”
So, with that said, I’ll show that as always that YAHWEH is true and all those who say otherwise are the liars! We will examine the scriptures, YESHUA’s words, Mary’s words, Gabriel’s words, the Zadok Priests, The Ascension of Isaiah and an early church fathers to let the truth shine forth.
Zadok Priests
The Covenant of Damascus pg. 20 under the section titled “Zadok Beliefs” we find this written as their third and fourth beliefs:
3. The Messiah would be BORN OF A VIRGIN.
4. The Messiah would come and die to reconcile us to ELOHIM THE FATHER.
Why is it so important to know that the Zadok priests believed in the virgin birth? It is very important because we have documentation of ANCIENT WITNESSES who knew the truth and never turned away from YAHWEH, so again I’ll quote the following as proof:
Ezekiel 44:15
“However, the PRIESTS, who are LEVITES and DESCENDANTS OF ZADOK, who took care of My sanctuary when the PEOPLE OF YISRA’EL WENT ASTRAY FROM ME----they are the ones WHO WILL APPROAH ME AND SERVE ME; IT IS THEY who will attend Me and offer Me the fat and the blood,’ says YAHWEH ELOHIM. THEY will enter My sanctuary, approach My table TO MINISTER TO ME AND PERFORM MY SERVICE.”
Whenever there was a new initiate in Qumran after a three-year initiation process, they would be required to take an oath, which is stated in “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” page 249 which says:
“Every initiate into the society of the Yahad is to enter the Covenant in full view of all the volunteers. He shall take upon himself a binding oath to return to the LAW OF MOSES (according to all that He commanded) with all his heart and with all his mind, to all that has been revealed FROM IT TO THE SONS OF ZADOK----PRIESTS AND PRESERVERS OF THE COVENANT, SEEKERS OF HIS WILL…”
So the righteous Zadok Priests, the preservers of the covenant and the seekers of YAHWEH’s will understood this concept completely.
Hebrew manuscript of Matthew
The authentic Hebrew manuscript of Matthew records the original words and teachings of YESHUA! So being that we can now accurately see what YESHUA said, let’s view one of the titles that He gave Himself that we won’t find in other manuscripts.
Matthew 13:37 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“So He (YESHUA) answered and said, “He who sows good seed is the SON OF THE VIRGIN.”
Matthew 24:30 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“Then a man will see the sign of the Son of ELOAH in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth will howl, and they will see THE SON OF THE VIRGIN coming with the clouds of the heavens with great power and image and appearance, and He will send His messengers, shouting with great voices, and they will gather the chosen ones of EL from the four portions of the world—from the heavens and unto the earth.”
Matthew 24:37 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“And just as it was in the time of Noah, so will it be at the coming of THE SON OF THE VIRGIN.”
Matthew 26:24 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“And a man who walks with Me will betray the Son of ELOAH, as it was prophesied of Him. Woe to him! – To the man by whom the SON OF THE VIRGIN will be betrayed: It would have been a good thing for him if he had not been born.”
Matthew 26:63-64 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“But YESHUA was quiet. So the chief of the priests said to him, “I adjure You by the living EL that you tell us whether you are Mashiach (Messiah), the Son of the living EL.” Then YESHUA said unto him, “You are saying it. Truly I say to you that you will also see the SON OF THE VIRGIN sitting at the right side of EL and coming with the clouds of the heavens.”
Can it be any doubt why these Hebrew manuscripts are unknown to the world? Although it is abundantly clear in the scriptures that YESHUA was born a virgin without the Hebrew Matthew, but if the world was reading YESHUA’s originals words, there would be no room for the heresy being preached in Torah communities today.
Joseph had sex with Mary AFTER YESHUA was born!
As we clearly saw from the authentic Hebrew manuscript of Matthew that YESHUA said that He was born of a virgin several times. However, the heretical teachers say that Joseph is the literal father of YESHUA because he had sex with Mary. This is complete falsehood! Mary conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH because it makes YAHWEH the Father of YESHUA when He became flesh, just as YESHUA is the eternal Son of YAHWEH Who always existed and uncreated before He walked the earth.
Matthew 1:18-24 (Complete Jewish Bible)
“Here is the how the birth of YESHUA the Messiah took place. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she was found to be PREGNANT FROM THE RUACH HA’KODESH. Her husband-to-be, Joseph, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. But while he was thinking about this, an angel of YAHWEH appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife; for what has been CONCEIVED IN HER IS FROM THE RUACH HA’KODESH. She will give birth to a son, and you are to Name Him YESHUA means “YAHWEH Saves”, because He will save His people from their iniquities.” All this happened in order to fulfill what YAHWEH had said through the prophet, “THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIM IMMANU’EL.” (The name means, “EL (God) IS WITH US.”) When Joseph awoke he did what the angel of YAHWEH had told him to do---he took Mary home to be his wife, but HE DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HER UNTIL SHE HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO A SON, AND HE NAMED HIM YESHUA.”
Most translations including the Hebrew says “But Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to the son” that is because the phrase “to know” was sexual in context in the scriptures. Everyone is familiar with what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah because of their homosexual practices and the same phrase is used there:
Genesis 19:4-5
“Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sedom, both old and young, all the people from every part, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and let us ‘KNOW’ them.”
Ascension of Isaiah 11:1-6
“After this I saw, and the malach (angel) who spoke with me, who conducted me, said unto me: Understand, Isaiah son of Amoz; for this purpose have I been sent from ELOHIM. And I indeed saw a woman of the family of David the prophet, named Mary, A VIRGIN, and she was espoused to a man named Joseph, a carpenter, and he also was of the seed and family of the righteous David of Bethlehem Judah. And he came into his lot. And when she was espoused, she was found with child, and Joseph the carpenter was desirous to put her away. But the angel of the Spirit appeared in this world, and after that Joseph did not put her away, but kept Mary and did not reveal this matter to any one. And HE DID NOT APPROACH MARY, BUT KEPT HER AS A SET-APART VIRGIN, THOUGH WITH CHILD. And he did not live with her for two months.”
Joseph kept Mary as a virgin even though she was pregnant, which means she was a virgin who conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH, and that Joseph did not have sexual relations with her even during her pregnancy, which matches what we read in Matthew that he did not have sexual relations with Mary until AFTER YESHUA was born! And while we are at it, we can throw out the false doctrine from Catholicism that Mary remained a virgin her entire life as we see in John 7:3
“But the festival of Sukkot in Judah was near; SO HIS (YESHUA’S) BROTHERS said to Him…”
Galatians 1:18-19
“Not until three years later did I go up to Jerusalem to make Peter’s acquaintance, and I stayed with him for two weeks, but I did not see any of the other emissaries except James the MASTER’S BROTHER.”
When we read the scriptures for what it actually says, we can clearly see that it would be impossible for Joseph to be the literal father of YESHUA being that he did not have sexual relations with Mary, until AFTER YESHUA was born, which means that she was already pregnant WITHOUT him being involved in the process, and scripture does not leave us in doubt about how she became pregnant as we are told that she conceived by the RUACH HA’KODESH! Let’s now see what Mary and Gabriel have to say concerning her virgin status.
Luke 1:26-35 (Complete Jewish Bible)
“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by ELOHIM to a city in the Galilee called Nazareth, TO A VIRGIN engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; THE VIRGIN’S NAME WAS MARY. Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! YAHWEH is with you!” She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with ELOHIM. Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him YESHUA. He will be great, He will be called Son of Ha’ ELYON (The Most High), YAHWEH, ELOHIM, will give Him the throne of His forefather David; and He will rule the House of Jacob forever---there will be no end to His Kingdom.” How can this be,” asked Mary of the angel, “SINCE I AM A VIRGIN?” The angel answered her, “The RUACH HA’KODESH will come over you, the power of Ha’ ELYON (The Most High) will cover you. Therefore the set-apart child born to you will be called the Son of ELOHIM..”
Scripture wants it to be abundantly clear to us that Mary is a virgin as the term is used three times in this one passage alone, and one of those is Mary herself asking how she can have a son being that she is a virgin? In other words, she has not had sexual contact with a man before including her engaged husband Joseph. This is the reason why Joseph wanted to divorce Mary during the betrothal stage because during the betrothal stage they did not live together. The bridegroom would go back to his father’s house to prepare a place for his soon-to-be bride, so when Joseph saw that she was pregnant he thought she was being unfaithful to him knowing that he was NOT THE ONE who had sexual relations with her.
Then Gabriel the angel tells Mary exactly how she will conceive through the RUACH HA’KODESH and not through a human being. Again, going back to Matthew’s quote, we can see that he understood the prophecy as he was quoting Isaiah.
“All this happened in order to fulfill what YAHWEH had said through the prophet, “THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIM IMMANU’EL.” (The name means, “EL IS WITH US.”)”
Isaiah 7:14 (Aramaic Peshitta)
“Therefore YAHWEH Himself will give you a sign; Behold, A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE and bear a son, and shall call His name IMMANU’EL.”
The beautiful thing about Isaiah 7:14 is that it contains a dual prophecy, one for the near future and one for the distant future! Sadly, many are only seeing one layer or one prophecy out of this verse and rejecting the prophecy of the virgin birth of YESHUA! There is always a physical and spiritual meaning embedded within the scriptures, especially with a prophet like Isaiah. Many will say “The word used is not virgin (betulah) but is (Almah) which means young woman or young girl. But does it only mean young woman? Let’s view the etymology of the word virgin used here:
Brown-Drivers-Briggs H5959 “Almah” definition: VIRGIN, young woman 1a) of marriageable age 1b) maid or newly married
Strongs H5959 “Almah” definition: Feminine of H5958; a lass (as veiled or private):-damsel, maid, VIRGIN.”
So we can see that the word “Almah” carries two meanings , one is a virgin and the other is a young woman of marriageable age. So, lets view the literal meaning of the passage and then view the deeper spiritual meaning.
To fully understand the literal meaning of this prophecy we have to go back to the beginning of the chapter:
Isaiah 7:1-9
“During the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of Uziyahu, king of Judah, Retzin the king of Aram and Pekach the son of Remalyah, king of Yisra’el, advanced on Jerusalem to attack it but were UNABLE TO CONQUER IT. It was told to the house of David that Aram and Ephraim had become allies. Achaz’s heart began to tremble, as did the hearts of the his people, like forest trees shaken by the wind. Then YAHWEH said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Achaz, you and your son Sh’ar Yashuv, at the end of the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderers’ Field; and say to him, “Take care to STAY CALM AND UNAFRAID; don’t be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah; or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remalyah have been plotting against you, thinking, “We will invade Judah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves and appoint the son of Tav’el as king there.” This is what YAHWEH ELOHIM says; “IT WON’T OCCUR, IT WON’T HAPPEN. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus Retzin. In sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken and will cease to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established.” YAHWEH spoke again to Achaz, he said, ask YAHWEH your ELOHIM to give you a SIGN. Ask it anywhere, from the depths of Sheol to the heights above.” But Achaz answered, “I wont ask, I won’t test YAHWEH.”
Achaz was afraid because the kings of Aram and Ephraim were coming up to fight against him, but YAHWEH told Achaz not to be afraid because their plans would fail because He would protect them. YAHWEH told Achaz to ask for a sign, and even though Achaz refused to do so, YAHWEH told him the sign anyway. The sign was when the “Almah” the young woman gives birth to a son, which is a reference to Isaiah’s wife because she was not a virgin. We are told this in verse 3 when YAHWEH tells Isaiah to take his son with him to meet Achaz, which means this son to be born in Chapter 8 would be their second son. So the peshat, which means the literal meaning of this prophecy is that when she gives birth to their second son, it would be the sign that “EL (God) IS WITH US”, because YAHWEH would protect them from those two kings, but in the remez the hint to a deeper spiritual meaning it was a prophecy for the distant future, that a VIRGIN which is the other definition included in the etymology of the word “Almah” would give birth to a Son (YESHUA) and be called IMMANU’EL (EL WITH US)! So it’s a prophecy within a prophecy and Matthew understood this as we saw him quoting this from Isaiah. Is YESHUA EL WITH US? Yes indeed!
John 1:14 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“And so EL WAS MADE FLESH and DWELT AMONG YOU…”
Matthew 28:19-20 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“Therefore go preach to all the peoples, and immerse them in the Name of the Father and the Son and of RUACH HA’KODESH, and teach them, and keep all that I commanded you. AND I WILL BE WITH YOU IN ALL TIME, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD.”
Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 160 AD)
“But you (Jews) and your teachers venture to claim that in the prophecy of Isaiah it is not said, ‘Behold the virgin will conceive,’ but, ‘Behold, the young woman will conceive, and bear a son.’ Furthermore, you explain the prophecy as if (it referred) to Hezekiah, who was your king. Therefore, I will endeavor to soon discuss this point in OPPOSITON to you.”
So even Justin Martyr in 160 AD was dealing with false teachers in Judaism who claimed this prophecy refers to a young woman and not a virgin, and as demonstrated above, it was a dual prophecy and shows clearly that Mary was a virgin!
Early Church fathers
Irenaeus 185 AD
As a reminder, Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp and Polycarp was a disciple of John who walked with YESHUA! Which means we have another ancient witness who was close to the original teachings as he was not far removed from YESHUA’s day. In his book titled “Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 22) he states this:
“In accordance with this design, MARY THE VIRGIN is found obedient, saying, “Behold the handmaid of YAHWEH; be it unto me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 But Eve was disobedient; for she did not obey when as yet she was a VIRGIN. And even as she, having indeed a husband, Adam, but being nevertheless as yet a virgin (for Paradise “they were both naked, and were not ashamed,” Genesis 2:25 inasmuch as they, having been created a short time previously, had no understanding of the procreation of children; for it was necessary that they should first come to adult age, and then multiply from that time onward), having become disobedient, was made the cause of death, both to herself and to the entire human race; so also did Mary, having a man betrothed to her, and BEING NEVERTHELESS A VIRGIN, by yielding obedience, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race. And on this account does the law term a woman betrothed to a man, the wife of him who had betrothed her, ALTHOUGH SHE WAS A YET A VIRGIN…
Irenaeus wrote in 195 AD “The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching”
“VIRGINITY DURING BIRTH; sinlessness; incorruptibility; childbirth without pain—Isaias says, “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and He, being EL (God), is going to be with us” (Isa 7:14). And whilst, as it were, astonished at this thing, he makes known what will come about, that EL will be with us. And concerning His birth, the same prophet says in another place, “Before she who was in labor gave birth, and before the birth pains came on, she was delivered of a male child” (Isa 66.7) he indicated the unexpected AND EXTRAORDINARY BIRTH FROM THE VIRGIN.”
Irenaeus (Against Heresies 180 AD)
“Messiah YESHUA, the Son of ELOHIM, because of His surpassing love towards His creation, humbled Himself to be BORN OF THE VIRGIN. Thereby, He united man through Himself to ELOHIM.”
Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) Paedagogus, Book I
“YESHUA whom the lightening flash of Divinity THE VIRGIN BORE.”
So in conclusion we see that the righteous Zadok Priests knew that YESHUA would be born of a virgin well before He walked the earth, YESHUA called Himself the Son of the Virgin, Isaiah the prophet said that a virgin would give birth to YESHUA, Matthew knew it and wrote it in his gospel, Mary said she was a virgin, as also did Gabriel who brought the good news to her, Irenaeus, Clement and Justin Martyr wrote about it, it was prophesied in the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Testament of Joseph and the Ascension of Isaiah . Let’s let the word of YAHWEH speak for itself without adding to or taking away from it.
Testament of Levi 16:2
“And you will make void the Torah, and SET THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS AT NOTHING BY EVIL PERVERSNESS.”
Don’t let this be you by despising the words of Isaiah the prophet, who spoke the words of YAHWEH and setting aside the prophecy of the virgin birth in order to build a wall of heresy.
As always may YAHWEH bless you all in YESHUA’s Name!