supernatural origin, and therefore, as a righteous man, it is appropriate to obtain a certificate of divorce because he thinks that she has committed adultery. Once Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, he experiences a personal dilemma. Divorce for adultery was not optional, but mandatory, among many groups in ancient Judaism, because adultery produced a state of impurity that, as a matter of legal fact, dissolved the marriage. He had in mind to divorce her quietly (1:19). Joseph cannot follow