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Fact Check: Talmud Says Virgin Mary Was a Whore
The controversy stems from a few specific sections of the Babylonian Talmud (notably Shabbat 104b and Sanhedrin 67a), which mention a figure named Ben Stada or Ben Pandera.
These texts describe a woman named Miriam (the Hebrew name for Mary) who was a “dresser of women’s hair.” The Talmud suggests she was unfaithful to her husband (Pappos ben Yehudah) with a lover named Pandera.
Because she was a married woman, the text implies that her son (Ben Stada/Pandera) was illegitimate (mamzer).
In Sanhedrin 106a, there is a discussion about a woman (sometimes linked by critics to Mary) of whom it is said: “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.”
Some scholars believe “Pantera” was a Roman soldier’s name, while others suggest it is a pun on the Greek word parthenos (virgin), mocking the Virgin Birth by claiming Jesus was actually the “son of a Panther.”
The description of Miriam as a “hairdresser” (megaddela) is seen by some as a pun on “Magdalene,” suggesting the Talmudic authors may have conflated Mary the mother of Jesus with Mary Magdalene.
The Verdict
The Talmud does not use the specific phrase “The Virgin Mary was a whore.” However, it contains polemical stories about a “Miriam” (often interpreted as Mary) that characterize her as an adulteress and her son as illegitimate. Whether these passages were actually intended to be about the mother of Jesus remains a point of intense academic and religious disagreement.
