# At what age did Mary become pregnant with Jesus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729 "2018-01-29T15:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/1 "2018-01-29T15:41:51Z")
Is there a definite answer to this question? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/2 "2018-01-29T15:52:29Z")
Could there possibly be a factual answer to this? Or do you mean, what is the generally accepted mythology? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/3 "2018-01-29T15:54:22Z")
There won’t be an answer to the question until there is definitive proof of their existence in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/4 "2018-01-29T15:56:24Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Could there possibly be a factual answer to this? Or do you mean, what is the generally accepted mythology? Not asking for a factual answer-not debating religion in this thread. I’m just asking if there is a definite answer somewhere in the Bible or related teachings that most Christians agree upon. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/5 "2018-01-29T16:00:45Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Could there possibly be a factual answer to this? Or do you mean, what is the generally accepted mythology? > [@Clothahump](#): > > There won’t be an answer to the question until there is definitive proof of their existence in the first place. Methinks you guys are being needlessly pedantic. The OP could reasonably be interpreted as asking whether there’s any Biblical or extrabiblical indication of how old Mary was supposed to have been when she became pregnant with Jesus. (ETA: Written before I saw **Czarcasm** ’s reply.) As far as **I** know, there isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/6 "2018-01-29T16:03:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not asking for a factual answer-not debating religion in this thread. I’m just asking if there is a definite answer somewhere in the Bible or related teachings that most Christians agree upon. There are various thoughts about it, and we often hear that she was a young teenager, but I think that’s just based on what the custom of the time was, not on anything specifically from the NT. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/7 "2018-01-29T16:06:07Z")
> [@](#): > > So that when at length she arrived to her fourteenth year … according to the custom of their country, endeavor to be married. > > Book of Mary 5:3-4 (from _The Lost Books of the Bible_) Strictly non-Canonical … ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/8 "2018-01-29T16:08:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > There are various thoughts about it, and we often hear that she was a young teenager, but I think that’s just based on what the custom of the time was, not on anything specifically from the NT. That’s my take on it, as well. AFAIK, there’s nothing canonical on her age. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/9 "2018-01-29T16:48:34Z")
If you’re asking whether anything in a standard Catholic or Protestant Bible tells us Mary’s age, the answer is no. There are assorted Gnostic gospels and “infancy narratives” that may assign her an age, but no conventional Christian cares what those books say. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/10 "2018-01-29T17:25:13Z")
She was supposed to be bethroed. How old did first-century Judean women normally get bethroed? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/11 "2018-01-29T17:50:38Z")
Minimum age for a woman to be married/betrothed was twelve, but that’s a minimum. Scripture doesn’t mention how old she was. 14-16 would not have been unusual. Mary was post-pubertal, since she was pregnant, and first century women did not enter puberty as early as many modern women do, due to nutrition and other factors. So nobody knows for certain, but the guess of 14-16 is probably not far off the mark. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/12 "2018-01-29T18:41:48Z")
Considering the whole pregnancy was a miracle, we can’t even say that she was post-pubertal. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/13 "2018-01-29T19:24:07Z")
She was already betrothed to Joseph, so I think she was post-pubertal. I doubt she would have been betrothed otherwise. It’s mostly negative evidence, but the miracle part seems only to be in reference to her getting pregnant without having sex, and not getting pregnant before she had reached menarche. Joseph had no problem believing she was pregnant (nor did Elizabeth, or anyone else), but it took a dream to convince Joseph that it was a virgin birth. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/14 "2018-01-29T20:47:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > She was already betrothed to Joseph, so I think she was post-pubertal. I doubt she would have been betrothed otherwise. Was the custom of the times to not conclude a betrothal until the girl had reached puberty? Or was it a matter of the girl’s age, whether or not she had reached menarche. For some girls, that would have been as late as 17. Or even later. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/15 "2018-01-29T21:13:12Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > There won’t be an answer to the question until there is definitive proof of their existence in the first place. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Methinks you guys are being needlessly pedantic. The OP could reasonably be interpreted as asking whether there’s any Biblical or extrabiblical indication of how old Mary was supposed to have been when she became pregnant with Jesus. (ETA: Written before I saw **Czarcasm** ’s reply.) > > As far as **I** know, there isn’t. Okay, I’ll stand corrected on my original comment and take it from the point of view of looking for biblical, etc. confirmation. I found one person who gave a very detailed reference saying she was 11 when she and Joseph got married. I don’t have a copy of the Catholic Encyclopedia; perhaps someone who does can verify this? > [@](#): > > The Catholic Encyclopedia says Mary Mother of Jesus (as) was 11 (and Joseph was 90) upon their marriage. [The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Reference of Work on the Constitution, Doctrine, Dicipline, and History of the Catholic Church, New York Robert Appleton Company, Vol. VIII, Pg. 505]. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/16 "2018-01-29T21:34:15Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Was the custom of the times to not conclude a betrothal until the girl had reached puberty? Or was it a matter of the girl’s age, whether or not she had reached menarche. For some girls, that would have been as late as 17. Or even later. I am not sure what you mean by “conclude” a betrothal. Betrothal in the first century AD entitled the couple to have sex - they just didn’t live together. It wasn’t scandalous for Mary to be pregnant, just for her to be pregnant by someone other than Joseph. My point was that she was pregnant, so she must have reached menarche. There are instances of children being promised to each other in childhood, certainly, but that is somewhat different from betrothal. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/17 "2018-01-29T21:36:12Z")
At [catholic.org](http://catholic.org) I found [the entry on Mary on the Catholic Encyclopedia Online.](http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=12101) First, this: > [@](#): > > Jewish maidens were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months, though the actual age of the bride varied with circumstances. The marriage was preceded by the betrothal, after which the bride legally belonged to the bridegroom, though she did not live with him till about a year later, when the marriage used to be celebrated. All this agrees well with the language of the Evangelists. St. Luke ( 1:27 ) calls Mary "a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph "; St. Matthew ( 1:18 ) says, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost ". As we know of no brother of Mary, we must suppose that she was an heiress, and was obliged by the law of Numbers 36:6 to marry a member of her tribe. The Law itself prohibited marriage within certain degrees of relationship, so that the marriage of even an heiress was left more or less to choice. , then it goes on from there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/18 "2018-01-29T21:37:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Was the custom of the times to not conclude a betrothal until the girl had reached puberty? Or was it a matter of the girl’s age, whether or not she had reached menarche. For some girls, that would have been as late as 17. Or even later. > [@Shodan](#): > > I am not sure what you mean by “conclude” a betrothal. > > Betrothal in the first century AD entitled the couple to have sex - they just didn’t live together. It wasn’t scandalous for Mary to be pregnant, just for her to be pregnant by someone other than Joseph. My point was that she was pregnant, so she must have reached menarche. > > There are instances of children being promised to each other in childhood, certainly, but that is somewhat different from betrothal. > > Regards, > Shodan Just to be clear, I was asking a question because I honestly don’t know. And now that you’ve answered, can you let us know what your source for that information is? Again, I’m honestly curious as I don’t know. I have never heard that betrothal = OK to have sex. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/19 "2018-01-29T21:42:10Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Okay, I’ll stand corrected on my original comment and take it from the point of view of looking for biblical, etc. confirmation. There’s nothing in the Bible saying how old Joseph or Mary were, except Joseph was old enough to be employed, both were old enough to be married, and old enough to be an independent household and therefore subject to the census. > [@](#): > > I found one person who gave a very detailed reference saying she was 11 when she and Joseph got married. I don’t have a copy of the Catholic Encyclopedia; perhaps someone who does can verify this? That’s from _[The History of Joseph the Carpenter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph)_, which dates from the fifth century AD. Some believe that St. Joseph was old and had been married before, and his children of his first marriage were the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus. This appears to be a backwards construction of the belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary, which is based on tradition rather than Scripture. Nobody knows, basically. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729/20 "2018-01-29T21:48:18Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just to be clear, I was asking a question because I honestly don’t know. And now that you’ve answered, can you let us know what your source for that information is? Again, I’m honestly curious as I don’t know. I have never heard that betrothal = OK to have sex. On second thought, my question was not answered. I was not asking about sex. I was asking if a girl could be betrothed before she reached puberty. Can we, in fact, assume that Mary had reached puberty because she had been betrothed? I honestly don’t know, but my instincts tell me that we can’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-did-mary-become-pregnant-with-jesus/807729.md?page=2)