A Child Is Born: A Beginner's Guide to Nativity Stories

by Amy-Jill Levine

See Jesus’s birth through the lens of ancient Nativity stories.

Discover the fascinating connections between ancient birth stories and the Nativity of Jesus in this captivating four-week Advent study. The book discusses the births of Isaac and Ishmael, Samson, and Samuel to reveal how they foreshadow and enrich the timeless Christmas story in the final chapter. Author Amy-Jill Levine brings her expert knowledge of Scripture and careful consideration of the Christian story to show readers how Scripture's earlier birth stories anticipate the story of Jesus’s birth and how the birth resonates and gives new meaning to those earlier stories. Transform your Advent season with fresh insights and inspiration from A Child is Born.

In addition to the book, other study components include a Leader Guide and video available on DVD.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2025

About the author

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; four children's books (with Sandy Sasso); The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III); and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Z. Brettler). Her most recent books are The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (co-authored with Marc Z. Brettler), Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven; and The Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Devotionals. In 2019 she became the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Institutions granting her honorary degrees include Christian Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.

Reviews

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: My favorite writer about Christianity is an Orthodox Jew. Amy-Jill Levine is also a New Testament scholar who teaches Christian seminarians at Vanderbilt University. With this personal and professional pedigree, she writes with insight, knowledge, and a healthy dose of good humor. (It's impossible to read this book and not laugh occasionally.)

Divided into four sections, which makes it ideal for Advent reading, the book examines not only the most famous nativity story of all—Jesus's birth—but also three major Old Testament nativity stories that presaged Jesus's birth. Connecting these Old Testament dots with the New Testament is brilliant and eye-opening. As Levine writes, "These stories were the grounding, the bedrock, for Jesus and his immediate followers."

That is, we learn so much and gain a deeper insight into Jesus's nativity story by knowing the details of the Old Testament nativity stories. So while most Advent books begin with Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, this one ends with that. Instead, it begins with the conceptions and births of Isaac and Ishmael, Samson, and Samuel, as well as Moses in the introduction.

Each nativity story builds on the next one, echoing the text and the emotions they evoke. All of the nativity stories in the Bible follow one of two major conventions and often both: The first is a pregnancy of a woman who has suffered fertility problems. The second is an annunciation—a message often delivered by an angel about a child (always a boy) whose fate is then predicted.

Levine not only delves into the historical context—that is, what was going on at the time politically and culturally—but also on literary connections, such as the symbolic meaning of names (a favorite of hers—and it's fascinating!).

This book, like others she has written, not only challenged me to think about these old and familiar Bible stories, but also to view them with a bit of wonder. And that is perfect for Advent.

P.S. Do not be put off by the subtitle indicating it's a "beginner's guide." It truly has something to offer to everyone!

[Patty Corwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Led this for our Tuesday group at church. It’s a very rich book, and some might say way too many details. But AJ researches like no one else. I learned a great deal. My favorite thing to glean was that it really helps to see the New Testament more clearly and to tie the Old Testament more closely to the NT. She’s a brilliant woman, funny and so real.

[C. Moschopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating peer into biblical history /stories of miraculous and annunciations and births. Information on how they are similar, dissimilar and how they predict certain each of subsequent outcomes. Written by a Jewish scholar steeped in her tradition while shining new light on the birth of Jesus. Well worth the read!!

[Jordan Lahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting. I was looking for something more focused on The Nativity for this season, and didn't realize this book was looking more broadly at Nativity stories throughout the Bible. Nevertheless it was an interesting exploration of the connections and similarities between these seemingly unrelated texts.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, in-depth book that depicts the history of Jesus’s birth through the lens of other stories in Scripture (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)that share some elements of that narrative. Amy-Jill examines the conceptions and births of Isaac, Ishmael, Samson, Samuel and Jesus.

[Jan Bufkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nativity stories include John the Baptist, Ishmael, Issac, Moses, Samuel, and Jesus. Looking at the echoes between old and new testaments was thought provoking. I learned a lot though agree with other reviewers that it was heavy on details and also kind of rambled.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite the classic Amy-Jill that I love. I got lost in the genealogy and it was missing a common tread between each chapter, so it just never quite came together for me.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the Advent devotional study.

[Bren L Feutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Author! Recommend highly for a different take on Annunciations and Births

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birth stories of the Bible. Good for group discussions. The videos on Amplify media were also good. She is very knowledgeable.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that draws stories from the old testament into the story of the birth of Jesus.

[Nathan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Amy Jill Levine, and her accompanying videos were great. The book itself was dense and matter-of-factual, would have loved some of the commentary from the videos incorporated.