Lucas 1:34

Mary, unlike Zechariah, did not ask for a sign that what the angel had predicted would happen. The idea that the Messiah would appear soon did not surprise her either. Instead she asked how it would happen. This was not an expression of weak faith but of confusion. Consequently Gabriel did not rebuke her as he had Zechariah. She was unmarried and a virgin. She had not had sexual relations with any man. [Note: Brown, The Birth . . ., p. 289.] Evidently Mary assumed that Gabriel meant she would conceive before she and Joseph consummated their marriage. [Note: Ellis, p. 71; G. H. P. Thompson, St. Luke, pp. 53-54; et al. Marshall, The Gospel . . ., pp. 69-70, listed several other explanations all of which I regard as inferior.] The euphemism of "knowing" someone sexually comes from the Old Testament (Genesis 4:1; Genesis 19:8; et al.).