Abstract

The author examines the evidence of biblical, esp. Old Testamenttexts referring to the beginning and the early stages of human life. The biblical evidence suggests a multidimensional view: Biologically human life starts within the womb; socially human life is already in its earliest stages part of the family; theologically the womb is seen as the place where god shapes the personality of human beings. From a biblical point of view the beginning of human life in a full sense should not be exclusively restricted to the act and moment of procreation or fertilization.