Matthew 1:18

Was espoused] BV 'had been betrothed.' Betrothal was almost equivalent to marriage, and could not be broken off without a formal divorce: cp. on John 8:3 and Deuteronomy 22:23; Deuteronomy 22:24. she was found] viz. by her husband. Of the Holy Ghost] Both here and in Luke 1:35 the miracle of the conception is ascribed emphatically to the 'Holy' Spirit, to mark the fact that Jesus was conceived sinless, and in a manner the most sacred imaginable. 'The Holy Spirit sanctifled the flesh which it united with the Word. Not only was the “new departure in human life” which began with the birth of the Second Adam fitly preceded by a directly creative act, but the new humanity was consecrated at the moment of its conception by the overshadowing of the Divine Spirit' (Swete). The expression 'Holy Ghost' is especially characteristic of the NT., where it occurs over 80 times. In the Gk. OT. (LXX) it occurs only twice. The Jews did not regard the Spirit as personal, hence Mary must have understood the words of the angel, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,' as identical in meaning with, 'The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.' Not so the evangelists, to whom 'the Holy Ghost' had become practically a proper name, and as such was used without the article.