Jewish Aspects of the Protoevangelium of James

Abstract

This essay is a reexamination of the Protoevangelium of James and its Jewish imagery and setting. By reading the Protoevangelium of James alongside the Mishnah several interesting parallels arise. The mishnaic teachings on the process by which girls become women and how they are passed from fathers to husbands provide intriguing parallels. Moreover, the concern in each of the texts is for the preservation and assurance of virginity. The implication for this cultural connection is that the assertion of Mary's postpartum virginity (the real innovation of the Protoevangelium of James) may have come from within a Jewish community (albeit a Christian one).

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