The wondrous virginity of Jesus’ birth also interferes with his genealogy. Jewish messianic tradition, as we have seen, deemed that Jesus should be descended from David, which rules out Mary as the vehicle because she, we are told, came from the tribe of Levi, not of Judah, as did David.87 But, according to the gospels, Jesus is not born of Joseph at all, but of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, there is no link to David.88
