Some Peculiar Births

Εἰπὲ τῷ Ἰουδαίῳ τῷ πρὸς σὲ διενεχθέντι περὶ τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως, καὶ λέγοντι, ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστι φύσει ἀνθρωπείᾳ δίχα συνουσίας καὶ σπέρματος τεκεῖν· ὅτι οὐδὲν ξένον, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖς, μετὰ πάντων τῶν τοῦ νόμου μυστηρίων καὶ δογμάτων. Ὁ γὰρ εὐθέως τὰ προοίμια τοῦ νόμου καταμαθεῖν μὴ δυνηθεὶς, ἐπίδηλα ὅντα καὶ σαπῆ, πῶς δύνασαι εἰς τὸν ἀπόκρυφον αὐτοῦ διιδεῖν, ἢ διακύψαι βυθόν; Γεγραπται γὰρ, ὁτι ' Ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ ὕπνωσε, καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ' αὐτῆς· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν πλευρὰν ἥν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ. Ἰδοὺ οὖν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἡ γυην ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἀμφότεροι τῆς συνουσίας χωρίς. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπώφειλεν ἡ γυνή χρέος τῷ ἀνδρὶ, ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτοῦ δίχα σπορᾶς ὑποστᾶσα, τοῦτο ἀπέτισε καὶ μήτηρ τοῦ Κυρίου, αὐτὸν δίχα σπέρματος ἀποδοῦσα σεσαρκωμένον. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν τῇ φύσει ἀδύνατον· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν πρωτοπλάστων ἤδη γεγένητο, ἐπὶ τῆς Δεσποτικῆς οἰκονομίας τετέλεστο· ἐι καὶ τὰ παράδοξα τῷ τόκῳ τούτῳ ὠφείλετο· ἀναγίνωσκε οὖν, ἵνα γινώσκῃς. Εἰ δὲ γινώσκειν οὐ βούλει, μὴ ἀναγίνωσκε, ἵνα μὴ καταγινώσκῃ ὡς ἀγνοῶν ἅ ἀναγινώσκεις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΜΑ', Ἀδαμαντιῳ

Say to the Hebrew who is in dispute with you concerning the Divine incarnation, who says that it is impossible in human nature that seed come to birth lacking sexual union, that it is not strange at all if this is considered with every other mystery and teaching of the law. For who studying the opening parts of the law is not instantly able, it being clear and open, to gaze on that revealed and look into the depths? For it is written: 'God placed Adam in a trance and with him sleeping he took one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh, and He worked on the rib he took from Adam.' 1 Behold then we have man from earth, and woman from man, and both lacking union. Since then the woman was to be an aid to man, from his rib she was made, a different type of generation, and so it was with the mother of the Lord that by another type of generation flesh was formed. It is not impossible in nature, but as was the fashioning of the first ones, so it was in the manner of the Lord. And if these births should still be amazing, read then that you might know, and if you are unwilling to read, so you shall not understand being ignorant of things to be read. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 141,  to Adamantios 1 Gen 2.21