Conceiving Jesus 'through the ear'

[Alvin Kimel]

Can anyone provide me patristic citations where Jesus is said to be conceived in the womb of Mary through hearing or through her ear? TIA

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Alvin,

Regarding the Mother of God conceiving Christ through the ear, this was apparantely a rather commonplace belief among the Syriac writers of the Church. The chief statement to its effect is from St Ephrem:


'Through her ear the Word entered and dwelt secretly in the womb' (attributed to Ephrem, H. Mary 11.6).

It is certainly the vision of the divine conception that is held by Jacob of Serug, who writes:


'See how Eve's ear inclines and hearkens to the voice of the deceiver when he hisses deceit to her. But come and see the Watcher [Gabriel] instilling salvation into Mary's ear and removing the insinuation of the serpent from her and consoling her. [...] Instead of this virgin [Eve] another was chosen: truth was spoken to her in her ear from the Most High. By the door which death entered [i.e. the ear], by it entered life and loosened the great bond which the evil one had bound there' (B. 627-28).

It also seems to lie behind his less obvious comment elsewhere:


'As our Father Adam begot our mother without intercourse, so did Mary give birth, has as Adam did before he had sinned. The Holy Spirit blew on Adam' face, and he gave birth to Eve; this Spirit too did Mary receive, and she gave birth to a Son' (Jacob of Serug, B. 634).

In the case both of Ephrem and of Jacob, this belief in a conception 'through the ear' is closely related to their common belief that Mary's discussion or deliberation with the archangel Gabriel was a necessary 'overthrow' of Eve's too willing submission to the word of the devil in the Garden.

INXC Matthew

[irineu]

I was reading few days ago a book on medievale heresies, and in there I read that Bogomils also had taken that teaching as if Mary was conceived through ear.

Actually, personally I see in those verses of the Fathers more a obidience than a way how St. Mary was conceived with the Word, and usually the Church has kept itself far from detailing these things as how that did happen!