second time Mary defends her virginity she does so in language similar to her response to Joseph, but the claim this time is made before the high priest: “I am pure before him and I do not know a man” (15:13). Mary’s third declaration of innocence is also found in a tense situation involving the verification of her virginal state. In this second scenario the stakes are higher, but so are the rewards. When both Mary and Joseph are questioned about her pregnant state, Mary’s virginal status is doubly defended not only by her own voice, but also by Joseph, who declares that he is pure concerning Mary. The testing escalates when the high priest requires them to take the “Lord’s drink test” (16:3–8) with the purpose of disclosing their sin, moving the defense of Mary’s virginity from a vocal declaration and a private affair to a physical testing and a public matter.
The third scene emphasizing Mary’s sexually pure state and role as the Lord’s virgin has the goal of presenting Mary as a virgin to an even higher level when she is questioned and given a gynecological examination by a midwife (20:1–2). The results, of course, are that the midwife physically confirms her extraordinary and paradoxical state as virgin mother (20:3–4, 10–11). In other words, Mary’s pre- and post-partum virgin status is repeatedly established by all major characters in the narrative (Joseph, Mary, the priests, all the people, the angel, and the Lord God) and verified through the physical testing of both Mary and Joseph.
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