Originally Posted by mikem

It was Jewish writer (Celsus) who provides the first written evidence of Jesus' bastardy. He says that Jesus mother was pregnant by a Roman soldier caleed Panthera, and was driven away by her husband. That sound quite specific to me. I think a Jewish writer of the 2nd century would have known what Parthenos meant, since it was the Greek translation in the Septuagint version of Isaiah that Matthew based his doctrine of Mary's virginity on.