Wishful Exegesis - Jephthah's Daughter and Mary Example

There was a rather glaring error repeated over and over again in the recent debate on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.  I don't think it was a lie: I think the debaters believed their own book, which makes the same mistake over and over.  The error arises from the hermeneutical principle of wishful exegesis.

Many doctrines in Roman Catholicism are not based in Scripture.  To try to justify these doctrines, Roman Catholic apologists and others will sometimes engage in what can be most charitably described as wishful exegesis.  Mr. William Albrecht provided a couple of examples of such wishful exegesis in his recent debate on the perpetual virginity of Mary.  We plan to discuss a second example in another post.  In this post, we will discuss the allegation that in the story of the annunciation as recorded by Luke, Mary (and/or Luke) "quoted" from the story of Jephthah in Judges. 

Judges 11:29-40 is the story of Jephthah. Luke 1:26-38 is the story of the annunciation, the time when Gabriel announced to Mary that Mary was pregnant.

Mr. William Albrecht (and his co-author Christiaan Kappes, collectively A&K) in their book, "Mary Among the Evangelists: The Definitive Guide for Solving Biblical Questions about Mary," claimed (emphasis is added by me): 

• "The situation is stunning, for Luke's annunciation has Gabriel, as the Lord's representative, play the part of Jephthah and Mary quotes verbatim Jephthah's ever-virgin daughter by responding to the plan of perpetual virginity entailed by the votive sacrifice as inspired by the Holy Spirit." (p. 84)
• "Luke quotes from Judges 11:39 the only other such phrase in the entire history of the Greek language." (p. 85)
• "Mary quotes verbatim her predecessor, the daughter of Jephthah, to protest her vow of perpetual virginity to the Angel Gabriel that should impede her conception of any child." (p. 87)

From the debate (emphasis obviously mine):

• "Luke is directly quoting this verse." (Circa 18:25 of the Youtube video)
• "Mary is saying the exact words in Luke 1." (Circa 21:00 of the Youtube video)
• "The claim that is being made is the fact that when Mary quotes from Judges 11, she's quoting the exact statements, actually Luke, Luke is quoting it in the language of Mary, putting in the audience for the audience to understanding what is being harkened to ... (Circa 25:50 of the Youtube video) 
• "St. Mary utters the exact words you find in Jephthah's daughter's mouth, you find for Jephthah, Jephthah's daughter, excuse me, I go between Jephthah and Jephthah's daughter over and over, just know that I'm talking about Jephthah's daughter" (Circa 56:52 of the Youtube video)
• "There's a reason when you fire up the greatest Greek database known to mankind that we have in 2022, that you only find two hits in the whole database, throughout all of the Greek literature to the point that we mention (of course, you have more hits later because the early fathers make the connection) that's with Jephthah's daughter and then in Luke 1. The Jephthah's daughter who died a perpetual virgin -- Mary's uttering the exact words  (Circa 57:15 of the Youtube video)
• "There's been no adequate response in regards to the fact that the words of Mary's mouth line up exactly with those found on Jephthah's daughter in Judges 11. There is no way around that." (Circa 1:04:34 of the Youtube video)
• "What is the best you can do and say, 'Well, why she's quoting the words of somebody that was a perpetual virgin, and died a perpetual virgin?' Well there's a lot of parallels, the parallelism is very clear. She's quoting the words of a virgin, a perpetual virgin, to let the audience know, well this is how she's so incredulous as to how she is going to have a child (Circa 1:05:06 of the Youtube video)
• "And she quotes directly from a perpetual virgin who dies a virgin." (Circa 1:14:40 of the Youtube video)
• "We're told that Judges 11 isn't quoted. Really? You're kidding me! Try to key in the Greek in the TLG - the largest Greek database in the world, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Look at the Word Biblical Commentary.  Deal with a Greek scholar. Look, I know a lot of people are armchair theologians and they think that they know Greek. Look, we've had Greek scholars look at this material. The material, this particular argument, was reviewed by one of the top scholars in the world, Dr. Sebastian Brock. The Rev. Dr. Kappes who's written on this, well look up where he got his PhD from, he is a Greek scholar." (Circa 2:09:07 of the Youtube video)

This "quotation" claim, therefore, is not simply a slip of Mr. Albrecht's tongue during the debate, nor a single typo in his book, but a repeated claim.  The major problem is this: 

It is not true.

There are also some minor problems.  For example, the Septuagint text of Judges poses significant challenges, because there are many differences between the text that Rahlfs (one of the most popular critical Septuagints [see endnote 1]) labels A and that Rahlfs labels B.  As it is not a scholarly work, A&K's work does not recognize, much less address this issue.  Even assuming Luke/Mary had access to one of the two Septuagint Judges, A&K's book does not identify which is the correct one, or how they conclude that Luke/Mary had access to that one, as opposed to some other Greek translation and/or the Hebrew text itself.

As a starting point, here are the two texts, with the variants identified (English is from the NET Septuagint):

(A) 39 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ τέλος δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἀνέκαμψεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπετέλεσεν Ιεφθαε τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ ἣν ηὔξατο καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα καὶ ἐγενήθη εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν Ισραηλ

And it came about after the end of two months that she returned to her father, and Iephthae fulfilled his vow that he had vowed. And she had never known a man. And it became for an ordinance in Israel:

(B) 39 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τέλει τῶν δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ ἣν ηὔξατο καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν Ισραηλ

And it came about at the end of the two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out against her his vow that he had vowed. And she had never known a man. And it became for an ordinance in Israel:

For what it's worth, Rahlfs does not identify any other notable variants at this verse. As you can see, some of the variants seem relatively minor ("after the end" μετὰ τέλος vs. "at the end" ἐν τέλει) some don't affect translation ("she returned" translates both ἀνέκαμψεν and ἐπέστρεψεν) and some seem to be translations of the underlying Hebrew with a greater or less translational liberty ("Iephthae fulfilled his vow" ἐπετέλεσεν Ιεφθαε τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ vs. "he carried out against her his vow" ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ).

While A&K do not explicitly state what is the alleged verbatim quotation, we can infer from the fact that they bold "And she did not know man" (p. 84) and "I do not know man" (p. 85), that A&K mean that the phrase that is allegedly quoted from Judges 11:39 is this: "καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα". 

A&K's translation of Judges 11:39 (p. 85) has: "And she did not know man".  At p. 5, A&K indicate that, "Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version and New Revised Standard Version of the Bible," but with the additional caveat that: "Some quotations have been modified according to the Greek." (Id.) There is no other note at p. 84.  The NKJV has: "She knew no man."  The NRSV has: "She had never slept with a man."  In fact, "And she did not know man" does not appear to be in any of the major English translations (see this list). Where did it come from?  It's anybody's guess.  While I have my suspicions, I will simply set that to the side.

Oddly enough, A&K provide another translation of the same phrase at page 83, "She knew not man."  That wording happens to line up with the ASV's translation of that particular phrase

Similarly, A&K's translation of Luke 1:34 has: "I do not know man" without any other note. This happens to align only with the Revised Geneva Translation among a list of major English translation (see the list here).  Where did they actually get it from? Once again, we do not know. The NKJV has, "I do not know a man," and the NRSV has, "I am a virgin."  Perhaps they were trying to follow the NKJV here, and just omitted the article.

Even looking at the various English translations of Judges 11:39 and Luke 1:34, you have probably already guessed that this is not going to be a verbatim quotation, since the English translation is different.  Nevertheless, since they appeal to the Greek, to the Greek we will go.  

The Greek phrase is: "καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα" (LXX Judges 11:39).  Both the A and B of Rahlfs have the same wording on this phrase.

Luke's and Mary's phrase is: "ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω" (Luke 1:34).  The critical text and the received text have the same wording here, and there does not to be any significant textual variant at verse 34. With so many manuscripts of Luke in existence, there are probably some variants at this verse, but none of them were significant enough to appear in the printed apparatuses of the NA27 or UBS4.

So, the alleged quotation starts with five Greek words in Judges matched against four Greek words in Luke.  Obviously, "καὶ" (and) is not quoted by Mary/Luke and her "ἐπεὶ" (because) does not come from Judges.  So, now the two phrases are:

J: αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα

M/L: ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω

Of the four words in the first line, you can see that there is one matching word in the second line: "ἄνδρα" (man). The word is in a different position within the phrase, and the rest of the words are different words.  The first phrase even has an extra word compared to the latter.  When only one word of an alleged quotation lines up, what you do not have is a verbatim quotation.  So, the claim was a false claim, no matter how many times it was repeated.

Suppose that A&K corrected their claim to assert that this was an allusion, instead of a quotation.  The problem with claiming that it is an allusion is that you have to have something other than the similarity of words.  The situations of Jephthah's daughter and Mary are remarkably different.  Jephthah's daughter was a young lady living in his house. Mary was betrothed to a husband.  Mary was receiving an angelic promise that she would have a child, Jephthah's daughter was guaranteed that she would not. 

What about the similarity between the phrases?  The similarity is that both have a negative particle (οὐκ in Judges and οὐ in Mark), a form of the verb ginosko (to know), and the word for man.  That's a very slender reed upon which to hang the weight of an alleged allusion.

Notice the grandiose claim about this being "the only other such phrase in the entire history of the Greek language" (A&K, p. 85)

Comparative Example 1

• "καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ..." (LXX Hosea 2:10 - corresponds to Hosea 2:8)
• "καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα" (LXX Judges 11:39)

Notice how those two places have the same four words, in the same order.  The only difference is the object of knowledge.

In fact, I was able to locate dozens of verses that have the phrase "οὐκ ἔγνω" in the Septuagint, but only that one other verse with the exact phrase "καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω."  Does that mean that Hosea 2:8 is quoting Judges 11:39?  Does that mean that there is an allusion?  Absolutely not.

To assert that this is a quotation or an allusion would just be wishful exegesis.

Comparative Example 2 

• Genesis 4:9 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Καιν ποῦ ἐστιν Αβελ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ὁ δὲ εἶπεν οὐ γινώσκω μὴ φύλαξ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μού εἰμι ἐγώ
• Genesis 27:2 καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ γεγήρακα καὶ οὐ γινώσκω τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς τελευτῆς μου
• Luke 1:34 εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω;

Notice how those three places have the same pair of words, in the same order.  In the first one Cain says he doesn't know where Abel is.  In the second, Isaac says he doesn't know when he's going to die.  Is Luke quoting from these verses?  Are these allusions just because the identical phrase is used?  Absolutely not.

To assert that these are quotations or allusions would just be wishful exegesis.

Comparative Example 3 

• Genesis 19:8 εἰσὶν δέ μοι δύο θυγατέρες αἳ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἄνδρα ἐξάξω αὐτὰς πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ χρήσασθε αὐταῗς καθὰ ἂν ἀρέσκῃ ὑμῗν μόνον εἰς τοὺς ἄνδρας τούτους μὴ ποιήσητε μηδὲν ἄδικον οὗ εἵνεκεν εἰσῆλθον ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῶν δοκῶν μου
• Judges 21:12 καὶ εὗρον ἀπὸ τῶν κατοικούντων Ιαβις Γαλααδ τετρακοσίας νεάνιδας παρθένους αἳ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἄνδρα εἰς κοίτην ἄρσενος καὶ ἦγον αὐτὰς εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν εἰς Σηλω ἥ ἐστιν ἐν γῇ Χανααν
• Judges 11:39 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τέλει τῶν δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἐπέστρεψε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ, ἣν ηὔξατο· καὶ αὕτη οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα. καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν ᾿Ισραήλ·
• Luke 1:34 εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω;

I provide this comparative example because someone may try to say that I'm not being fair because Judges and Luke have a word that can be translated "not," together with a word for "man," and a word that is a form of the verb, "to know."  Is Judges 11:39 unique as a previous case of that?  No, it is not.  Genesis 19:8 and Judges 21:12 also have the same.  Genesis 19:8 is about Lot's daughters who were of zero interest to the men of Sodom, and Judges 21:12 is about the four hundred young women who became the brides of the surviving Benjamites.  

Does the similarity mean that Mary and/or Luke was alluding back to Sodom or to Jabeshgilead?  Does that make it a verbatim quotation or anything like that? Of course not.

To assert that these are quotations or allusions would just be wishful exegesis, which is exactly what the argument from Luke 1 to Judges 11 was, as I hope we have satisfactorily proven.

-TurretinFan

Post Script About Drs. Brock and Kappes

I understand that William was under pressure to bolster his argument after I pointed out during the debate that the claim being made was false.  So, William appealed to the authority of two men, as allegedly "Greek scholars."  I certainly invite either of these men to try to justify the claims that William made, based on their alleged erudition on the topic. [Update: I see that Dr. Kappes has already responded with an indication that more response will follow.  I have updated this post to correct the typographic error of "Rahlf's" to "Rahlfs" that he helpfully identified. I may further update or supplement this post based on his comments.]

Dr. Christiaan Kappes is the co-author of William's book I criticize above.  I cannot tell from the book whether Kappes wrote particular chapters and Albrecht wrote others, or how they collaborated.  So, I attribute all of the work to both of them.  As such, Kappes is not exactly an independent witness to the merits of this argument.  Dr. Kappes' PhD is in Comparative Theology.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't doubt that Dr. Kappes knows at least some Greek: his PhD in comparative theology is from a prestigious Greek university, and the topic of his doctoral thesis was about George-Gennadios Kourteses Scholarios, a 15th century theologian who wrote in both Greek and Latin.  Dr. Kappes' dissertation is, as far as I can tell, written in English.  He does offer translation of a few sentences or paragraphs from Greek to English within the thesis (for example, at pp. 16, 113, and 191-92), and many of the primary sources cited (see p. 373 and following) are in Greek.  So, though Kappes does not have a doctorate in Greek or a thesis centered on providing a new translation of a Greek text, or the like, Kappes certainly does present himself as a scholar who is familiar with Greek.  So, Kappes should know better.  I don't think it would be reasonable for him to use as an excuse that he is just an armchair theologian. He knows what quotation is, and he should know that it is not correct to call this a quotation.

Dr. Sebastian Brock is one of five men who endorsed A&K's book, and apparently the only one of the group who is not a Roman Catholic.  Dr. Brock's endorsement, with the others, can be found at p. 11 of A&K's book.  Dr. Brock is a scholar of the Classical Syriac language.  I have not bothered the octogenarian Dr. Brock for comment about this allegation that the text is a quotation.  While Dr. Brock has a particular focus on Syriac, Dr. Brock is also familiar with Greek and has published various things that deal with the interaction between Syriac and Greek.  I have serious doubts that Dr. Brock would agree with the materials I've quoted (actually quoted) from A&K's book or the statements I've quoted from the debate.

I don't think either Dr. Kappes or Dr. Brock would continue to insist that a vaugely similar wording is a "quotation."  They may want to believe that it is an allusion, but - of course - allusion is often in the eye of the beholder, and simply claiming that it is an allusion would not have had the rhetorical force in the debate. In case either of these doctors ultimately distance themselves from the "quotation" claim, I will be happy to update this section.

Reference Materials

Judges 11:29-40

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Luke 1:26-38

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

You can probably already see from the English that there is not a quotation: just two-ish points of verbal similarity.  However, since the Greek is not necessarily the same as English, let's look at the Greek.

Here's the text in the Septuagint (B version):

29 Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ ᾿Ιεφθάε πνεῦμα Κυρίου, καὶ παρῆλθε τὸν Γαλαὰδ καὶ τὸν Μανασσῆ καὶ παρῆλθε τὴν σκοπιὰν Γαλαὰδ εἰς τὸ πέραν υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών. 30 καὶ ηὔξατο ᾿Ιεφθάε εὐχὴν τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐὰν διδοὺς δῷς μοι τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Αμμὼν ἐν τῇ χειρί μου, 31 καὶ ἔσται ὁ ἐκπορευόμενος, ὃς ἂν ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς συνάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών, καὶ ἔσται τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα. 32 καὶ παρῆλθεν ᾿Ιεφθάε πρὸς υἱοὺς ᾿Αμμὼν παρατάξασθαι πρὸς αὐτούς, καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς Κύριος ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. 33 καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ ᾿Αροὴρ ἕως ἐλθεῖν ἄχρις ᾿Αρνὼν ἐν ἀριθμῷ εἴκοσι πόλεις καὶ ἕως ᾿Εβελχαρμὶμ πληγὴν μεγάλην σφόδρα, καὶ συνεστάλησαν οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Αμμὼν ἀπὸ προσώπου υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ.

34 Καὶ ἦλθεν ᾿Ιεφθάε εἰς Μασσηφὰ εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, καὶἰδοὺ ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ὑπάντησιν ἐν τυμπάνοις καὶ χοροῖς· καὶ αὕτη ἦν μονογενής, οὐκ ἦν αὐτῷ ἕτερος υἱὸς ἢ θυγάτηρ. 35 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὴν αὐτός, διέρρηξε τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν· ἆ ἆ, θυγάτηρ μου, ταραχῇ ἐτάραξάς με καὶ σὺ ἦς ἐν τῷ ταράχῳ μου, καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ἤνοιξα κατὰ σοῦ τὸ στόμα μου πρὸς Κύριον καὶ οὐ δυνήσομαι ἀποστρέψαι. 36 ἡ δὲ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτόν· πάτερ, ἤνοιξας τὸ στόμα σου πρὸς Κύριον; ποίησόν μοι ὃν τρόπον ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ στόματός σου, ἐν τῷ ποιῆσαί σοι Κύριον ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών. 37 καὶ ἥδε εἶπε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς· ποιησάτω δὴ ὁ πατήρ μου τὸν λόγον τοῦτον· ἔασόν με δύο μῆνας, καὶ πορεύσομαι καὶ καταβήσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη καὶ κλαύσομαι ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένιά μου, ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες μου. 38 καὶ εἶπε· πορεύου· καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὴν δύο μῆνας. καὶ ἐπορεύθη, αὐτὴ καὶ αἱ συνεταιρίδες αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ τὰ παρθένια αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη. 39 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τέλει τῶν δύο μηνῶν καὶ ἐπέστρεψε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῇ εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ, ἣν ηὔξατο· καὶ αὕτη οὐκ ἔγνω ἄνδρα. καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς πρόσταγμα ἐν ᾿Ισραήλ· 40 ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν εἰς ἡμέρας ἐπορεύοντο θυγατέρες ᾿Ισραὴλ θρηνεῖν τὴν θυγατέρα ᾿Ιεφθάε τοῦ Γαλααδίτου ἐπὶ τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ.

Here's the text of the New Testament, Luke 1:26-38 (NA28):

26Ἐν δὲ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ ἕκτῳ ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος Γαβριὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας ᾗ ὄνομα Ναζαρὲθ 27πρὸς παρθένον ἐμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσὴφ ἐξ οἴκου Δαυὶδ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριάμ. 28καὶ εἰσελθὼν πρὸς αὐτὴν εἶπεν· χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. 29ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ διεταράχθη καὶ διελογίζετο ποταπὸς εἴη ὁ ἀσπασμὸς οὗτος.  30Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῇ·

μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ, εὗρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τῷ θεῷ.

31καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήμψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν

καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.

32οὗτος ἔσται μέγας καὶ υἱὸς ὑψίστου κληθήσεται

καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν θρόνον Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ,

33καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας

καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος.

34εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; 35καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν αὐτῇ·

πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ

καὶ δύναμις ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι·

διὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον κληθήσεται υἱὸς θεοῦ.

36καὶ ἰδοὺ Ἐλισάβετ ἡ συγγενίς σου καὶ αὐτὴ συνείληφεν υἱὸν ἐν γήρει αὐτῆς καὶ οὗτος μὴν ἕκτος ἐστὶν αὐτῇ τῇ καλουμένῃ στείρᾳ· 37ὅτι οὐκ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πᾶν ῥῆμα. 38εἶπεν δὲ Μαριάμ· ἰδοὺ ἡ δούλη κυρίου· γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου.  Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ’ αὐτῆς ὁ ἄγγελος.