In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes to Gentile believers (who were being persuaded to be circumcised according to the law) about what it means to be children and heirs of God. In chapter four, the apostle writes:  

Galatians 4:1-7 (NASB) Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.  

The context of this chapter, indeed the letter itself, is not about the post-Biblical concept of the incarnation.  Nevertheless, some Trinitarians point to verse four as evidence that God became a man. More specifically, the phrase born of a woman (or made of a woman in the King James Version), is said to be a reference to a divine Jesus taking on a human nature.

Augustine, for example, viewed Galatians 4:4 as evidence of Jesus’ dual natures. He wrote that Jesus being made (born) of a woman was evidence that he “did not disdain to participate in our nature.”[1]

In like manner, John Calvin interpreted Jesus being sent from God as proof of his being a member of the “eternal Godhead.”  Furthermore, Jesus being born of a woman was evidence that he “assumed our nature” showing that “he has two natures.”[2] This, despite the fact that John the Baptist was also sent from God in John 1:6. (See Jesus Came Down From Heaven.) 

Other Trinitarian scholars agree with Augustine and Calvin. In his commentary on Galatians, Barnes writes that the phrase made of woman refers to Jesus’ “human nature” and “implies that he had another nature than that which was derived from the woman.”  Barnes continues, “On the supposition that [Jesus] was a mere man, how unmeaning would this assertion be! How natural to ask, in what other way could he appear than to be born of a woman? Why was he particularly designated as coming into the world in this manner?”[3]

To be sure, this argument is made by many Trinitarians. If Paul was not referring to the incarnation and the human side of Jesus’ dual natures, why write that he was born of a woman? In other words, if Paul did not use the phrase to emphasize that Jesus was a God-man, what was his intent? To answer the question, let us look to ancient Greek writings and to Scripture to determine how the phrase born of a woman is used. 

Born of a Woman in Other Ancient Texts 

The phrase born of woman in Galatians 4:4 is translated from the Greek genómenon ek gynaikos, which means to be made or to become from or out of woman. Genómenon is regularly used in ancient literature to refer to the birth of humans. Plato’s Republic for example, uses genómenon to speak of a human birth when it says that a son was born to a timocratic man. [4] Josephus’ Antiquities also uses the word to speak of children born to Leah, wife of Jacob and to David by his wife, Uriah.[5] 

The Dead Sea Scrolls also use the phrase born of a woman. For example, in the 1QS (Community Rule) 11.20b-21, it asks the question, “What indeed is Adam’s son among your wondrous works? Born of a woman, how can he dwell before you, he whose kneading [is] from dust, and whose corpse [is] food for maggots?”[6]

In addition, in the Thanksgiving Hymn, 1QH 13.14, it says, “All these [things] and be enlightened by Thy mystery of [Thy] great mystery of Thy name…and what is he, born of a woman, among Thy awe inspiring [works]? [7] 

Once again, in the same hymn, 1QH 18.12-13, it says, “And Thou didst open [my] a fountain to correct the way of a creature of clay and the guilt of a man born of a woman according to his deeds…” [8]

In Pseudo Clementines, we see the plural form of the phrase. In Homily 3.52, the author writes, “Since, then, while the heaven and the earth still stand, sacrifices have passed away, and kingdoms, and prophecies among those who are born of woman, and such like, as not being ordinances of God…” [9] 

In these examples, born of a man (in the example from Plato and Josephus’ example referring to a child born to David) and born of a woman (in the examples from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Pseudo Clementines) are either references to the birth of individuals or speak of humanity in general. Surely no one queries, when reading these texts, why the authors would choose to use such phrases since man can only be born of a woman. Instead, the reader understands the phrases are used in a poetic way. 

This truth is underscored in the Gospel of Thomas where we find an interesting application of the phrase. In Saying 15, the author writes, “Jesus said, ‘When you see him who was not born of a woman, throw yourselves down upon your face and worship him. He is your Father.” [10] In this example, the phrase is used in the negative apparently to denote someone who is not human.  

Born of a Woman in Scripture 

Are there other instances, in addition to Galatians 4:4, where the phrase born of a woman is used? There are, in fact, four other instances where the phrase is found.  These will provide us with insight into Paul’s use of the phrase.

Job 14:1 (NASB) Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. (emphasis added) 

Job 15:14 (NASB) “What is man, that he should be pure, or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? (emphasis added) 

Job 25:4 (NASB) “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman? (emphasis added) 

Matthew 11:11 (NASB) Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (emphasis added) 

In the passages from Job, the phrase born of a woman, whether in Hebrew or in the Greek Septuagint, is used to describe the universal frailty and futility of mankind. In particular, the phrase is used in Job 15:14 and 25:4, as part of a synonymous parallelism, a literary device that uses synonyms to emphasize an idea through repetition. In these verses, the author uses born of a woman to depict the sinfulness of humanity before God.  

In the passage from Matthew, Jesus uses born of women as a metaphor to describe humanity, since all men, save Adam, are born of a woman. Jesus uses the phrase to underscore the importance of John the Baptist. The word born here is the root word gennaó, which means begotten, born, and not ginomai, which means to come into being, to happen, to become. Regardless, the thought that is communicated is the same. Jesus uses the phrases in a poetic sense to refer to humanity in general.  

Some Trinitarians will agree that born of a woman in Galatians 4:4 has nothing to do with a special conception (or incarnation) of Jesus.  Ellicott in his commentary on Galatians states that: “Made of a woman. —Perhaps better translated, born of a woman. There is no allusion here to the miraculous conception. The phrase ‘born of a woman’ was of common use.” Ellicott goes on to compare Paul’s use of born of a woman with reference to Jesus with Jesus’ own use of the phrase in Matthew 11:11 to speak of John the Baptist, concluding that “…the expression is intended to bring out, not the divinity, but the true humanity of Christ. [11]  

Came Into the World  

It may help to know that born of a woman is not the only phrase that has been misinterpreted support the claim Jesus had dual natures and that he preexisted before his birth. Came into the world is also used by some Trinitarians to draw similar conclusions.

1 Timothy 1:15 (NASB) It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (emphasis added) 

Trinitarians view this phrase through a post-Biblical, Platonic lens, ignoring other passages that aid the discerning reader in understanding this Biblical language from a Hebraic perspective.  

Came into the world is an idiom that means to come into existence, to be born. Jesus used this phrase to compare the sorrow and joy his disciples would experience with that of a woman who has given birth to a human being: 

John 16:21 (NASB) “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. (emphasis added) 

The apostle Paul’s use of the idiom also reveals this understanding:  

1 Timothy 6:7 (NASB) For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. (emphasis added) 

A cognitive bias causes the Trinitarian to read a preexistence into 1 Timothy 1:15. In like manner, Trinitarians read the confusing and contradictory fourth-century doctrine of Jesus’ dual natures into Galatians 4:4. 

Why Did Paul Use the Phrase in Galatians 4:4? 

If Paul did not use the phrase to refer to an incarnation, an idea that was anathema to Paul and other first century Christians, why might he have chosen to use it in this context? It is possible that Paul used the phrase to disarm docetism, which denied the humanity of Christ, claiming that Jesus had an immaterial body and only appeared to have a human one.  

In addition, Paul could have chosen born of a woman to combat a gnostic worldview, which held disdain for the material world in general and viewed the human body as contemptable. Some gnostics embraced the notion that a divine being “put on Jesus” like a garment or that he came through Mary like “water through a pipe.” Thus, Paul may have used born of a woman to emphasize that Jesus was truly a part of humanity, having experienced a physical birth in the same manner as other Jewish men born under the law. 

The historical record reflects this theory. Irenaeus, for example, used Galatians 4:4 against docetists to demonstrate that Jesus was a man because he came from a woman. (Adv. Haer. V, 21,1). He also used the passage to combat gnostic claims that the Messiah came through Mary “as water through a pipe” without taking any of the conduit into himself (Adv Haer. III, 22, 1), as did Tertullian (de carne Christi, 20). [12]   

Conclusion 

We have seen in ancient texts and in Old and New Testament passages that born of a woman is used as either a synonym for the birth of a human or as a poetic way to denote humanity in general. 

When Paul uses the phrase in Galatians 4:4, he does so to emphasize the reality of Jesus’ humanity, perhaps to combat docetic and gnostic beliefs. Paul is not pointing to a supposed incarnation or the fourth century doctrine of Christ’s dual natures.  

Note: Some readers may offer passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 and John 1:1, among others, as additional proof texts. These passages have been dealt with in detail here and here, respectively.  

[1] Augustine on Galatians, Patristic Bible Commentary 

[2] Galatians 4, Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible, StudyLight.org

[3] Galatians 4, Barnes’ Notes, Biblehub.com 

[4]  Plato’s Republic, Book 8, Section 553a

[5] Josephus Antiquities, 1.303; 7.154.

[6] The Dead Sea scrolls : Rule of the Community,  1QS, 11.20b-21, Internet Archive  

[7] The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Thanksgiving Hymn, 1QH 13.14, Internet Archive 

[8] The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Thanksgiving Hymn, 1QH 18.12-13, Internet Archive

[9] Philip Schaff: ANF08. The Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clement, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org) 

[10] The Gospel of Thomas, carm.org 

[11] Galatians 4, Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, StudyLight.org

[12]  Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, 1993, p. 239.