Struck by Wood, Struck by God

Two second-century works—one Christian, one Rabbinic—reflect anxiety about strictly anatomical definitions of virginity. The Protevangelium of James, even as it extols Mary’s physical virginity, casts doubt on medical standards of virginity by appealing to faith-based standards of virginity testing. One sees a similar pattern emerge in the the Rabbinic Mishnah, which introduces a dissenting view at a critical juncture to disrupt the dominant paradigm. Late antique Syriac poetry builds on the nascent anxiety of the Protevangelium in verses that closely resemble the themes and the stories of the Protevangelium of James. Especially noteworthy in its influence is the continued importance of in partu virginity in the texts of late antique Syriac Christianity.