Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Apocrypha of the New Testament/The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary/Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

Now there was among the rest Joseph, of the house and family of David, a man of great age:&#160; and when all brought there rods, according to the order, he alone withheld his.&#160; Wherefore, when nothing in conformity with the divine voice appeared, the high priest thought it necessary to consult God a second time; and He answered, that of those who had been designated, he alone to whom the virgin ought to be espoused had not brought his rod.&#160; Joseph, therefore, was found out.&#160; For when he had brought his rod, and the dove came from heaven; and settled upon the top of it, it clearly appeared to all that he was the man to whom the virgin should be espoused.&#160; Therefore, the usual ceremonies of betrothal having been gone through, he went back to the city of Bethlehem to put his house in order, and to procure things necessary for the marriage.&#160; But Mary, the virgin of the Lord, with seven other virgins of her own age, and who had been weaned at the same time, whom she had received from the priest, returned to the house of her parents in Galilee.