Considering the Biblical account and ancient Jewish traditions, Mary was likely much younger than you'd expect when she had Jesus.
Public DomainThe Virgin in Prayer by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato. 17th century.
Over the past 2,000 years, Biblical scholars have pored over questions about Jesus Christ. What did the Christian Messiah look like? How tall was he? What do we know about his race? When and where was Jesus born? And where was he laid to rest after his crucifixion? The Bible offers some clues. But the religious text is more vague on questions concerning his mother. For example, how old was Mary when she had Jesus?
The Bible says nothing concrete about Mary’s age when she gave birth to Jesus. However, it and other religious texts do offer clues about her early life, betrothal to Joseph, and encounter with the angel Gabriel. These hints, paired with what we know about the lives of Jewish girls in the first century, can help answer questions about how old Mary was when she had Jesus.
This is what we know about Mary’s age — and what we can guess — based on ancient texts and Jewish marriage traditions in the first century.
How Mary Is Introduced In The Bible, From “The Annunciation” To Jesus’ Birth
Not only does the Bible never reveal how old Mary was when she had Jesus, but it also never says anything about her life before the story of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel tells her that she will conceive a child, Jesus, who will be the Christian Messiah and the Son of God.
Mary is first mentioned by name in the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 1:26-28 states: “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'”
Public DomainThe Bible largely focuses on events like the Annunciation, but doesn’t discuss Mary’s age or her life in depth.
Gabriel then tells Mary that she will bear a son, Jesus. When Mary asks how this is possible, since she is still a virgin, the angel tells her that it will happen through the power of the Holy Spirit and that her child “will be called the Son of God.” Mary responds: “I am the Lord’s servant.”
Joseph, upon learning about Mary’s pregnancy, decides to quietly leave her — he would have had justification at the time to have Mary killed — but angels reassure him that her conception came from the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 2:1-20, Mary gives birth to Jesus, but again, the Bible does not tell us Mary’s age when she welcomes her son. That said, a second-century, non-canonical text called the Gospel of James might offer some clues.
How Old Was Mary When She Had Jesus, According To The Gospel Of James?
Though the Bible is silent on how old Mary was when she had Jesus, the Gospel of James — a text rejected by Christian religious leaders, but sometimes used in the theological study of Mary — offers some purported information about her childhood, her betrothal, and her pregnancy.
Public DomainA 12th-century depiction of Mary and Jesus.
The Gospel of James says Mary was born to Joachim and Anna, and they took her to a temple to dedicate her to God when she was three years old. When Mary was 12, an angel visited a local priest and ordered him to gather the town’s widowers. “[L]et them bring each his rod; and to whomsoever the Lord shall show a sign, his wife shall she be,” the angel said.
Since a dove flew out of Joseph’s rod, he was chosen as Mary’s husband. Joseph initially protested, noting he already had children, that he’s an “old man,” and that Mary is a young girl. But he eventually agreed to wed her.
The text goes on to say that Mary conceived Jesus while Joseph was away. It also states that she was “sixteen years old” and in the “sixth month” of her pregnancy when he learned that she was expecting a baby.
As such, the Gospel of James offers much more information than the Bible about how old Mary might have been when she had Jesus. The non-canonical text offers a timeline of Mary’s early life, describes her as a “young girl” during her betrothal, and suggests that she was 16 years old (or potentially 17 years old) by the time she gave birth to Jesus.
Public DomainA depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus from circa 600 C.E.
Though the Gospel of James is not accepted by the Church, its description of Mary’s marriage does line up with what we know about marriage traditions for Jewish girls in first-century Galilee and Judea.
Marriage Traditions For Jewish Girls During Mary’s Lifetime
Even without the Gospel of James, it’s possible to guess how old Mary was when she had Jesus by looking at Jewish marriage traditions during her lifetime. During the first century in the region where she lived, Jewish girls would be betrothed between the ages of 12 and 15, around the time when they started menstruating and were able to bear children.
Public DomainLike other girls in first-century Galilee and Judea, Mary was probably a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus.
The bride and groom’s families would negotiate a marriage. Mary’s father might have consulted her about his choice of a husband, but she would ultimately have little say in the matter. Once the betrothal was in place, the bride and the groom would have scant contact for about a year. They would not be permitted to be alone together before their wedding night.
If a girl became pregnant during this period, she could face severe punishment, even execution. In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph is distressed to learn about Mary’s pregnancy. Matthew 1 reads:
“Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived.'”
Wikimedia CommonsJoseph was horrified to learn of Mary’s pregnancy, but he was assured by an angel that it was because of the Holy Spirit.
So given the Bible, the Gospel of James, and Biblical-era Jewish marriage traditions, how old was Mary when she gave birth to Jesus?
How Old Was Mary When She Had Jesus? An Educated Guess About Her Age
Public DomainMary is often portrayed as a woman in her 20s with baby Jesus, but she was likely much younger when she gave birth.
Because the Bible does not state Mary’s age during or after her pregnancy — and because the Church does not accept the Gospel of James as a canonical text — we can only guess at Mary’s age when she had Jesus.
Given the traditions of the time, it’s fair to assume that she was between the ages of 12 and 15 when she was betrothed to Joseph, and she was probably between the ages of 12 and 16 when she gave birth to Jesus.
This means that Mary, though often depicted in classical art as a young woman in her 20s, was probably still a teenage girl when she had Jesus.
But her life is not described in great detail in the Bible. Though Mary was obviously a key figure at Jesus’ birth, and though she stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was executed in an agonizing crucifixion at Golgotha, we don’t know much more about the mother of Christ.
Public DomainMary, the mother of Jesus, at the cross.
As the Virgin Mary and the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary is widely revered by Christians across the world today. But details about the life of Jesus’ real-life mother have been largely lost over the last 2,000 years.
After reading about how old Mary was when she had Jesus, discover the story of the other Mary, Mary Magdalene, and how her role in Jesus’ life was distorted. Then, learn about Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea who ordered Jesus’ death, or Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus.
