The Historical Mary: What We Know

 

Dr Alice C. Linsley

The biblical and historical data that helps us to understand Mary's social status is evident in the reaction of the first century Jews who hated her. They had to admit that she was a descendant of kings and governors. Concerning Mary, Sanhedrin 106a says: “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.”

The marriage of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth represents an endogamous marriage pattern. The Hebrew married only members of their caste. Their marriage represented the connection between the priestly order of Abijah in Bethlehem (the home of Mary's mother Anne) and the priestly order of ha·pi·TSETS (Happizzez) in Nazareth (the home of Mary's father Joachim).

Abijah was the eighth priestly division and Happizzez was the eighteenth division. During the time of Mary and Joseph, the twenty-four priestly divisions served in the Temple at Jerusalem in a rotation system. A list of priestly divisions is found in 1 Chronicles 24:7-18. However, this system was already in place among the early Hebrew priests of the Nile Valley. During the Predynastic period (c.4000-3000 BC) and the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-2130 BC), the Hebrew priests of the Nile Valley were organized into "phyles". Each phyle served a two-week duration before returning home. The later organization of priests in Israel appears to have developed from the phyle system.

When Joseph took Mary as his second wife, he was marrying a temple-dedicated virgin of high status. Her high status is depicted in some icons that show her holding a spindle.

The Virgin Mary holds a spindle, the symbol of a Rabitu, a Bronze Age title for a queen mother.

It is likely that Mary was dedicated to the Temple by her parents, as was Samuel dedicated by his parents Hannah and Elkanah. The duties of the Temple virgins included singing and playing musical instruments such as the sistrum and the tambourine. They ministered to women who came for ritual purification. The women performed practical tasks such as drawing water, baking bread, and brewing beer. They were skilled weavers who produced veils and vestments. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describes how Mary and the other Temple virgins were spinning purple thread in the Women's compound when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. 

Mary is designated almah in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word almah (עַלְמָה) is derived from a verb meaning “to conceal” or “to hide away”. Temple virgins were alamot because they were cloistered until they married. In Antiquitates judaicae, the historian Flavius Josephus (c.37-100 AD) refers to the cloisters in Book XV, Chapter 11. The King James Version refers to the alamot as “damsels”. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. (KJV, Psalm 68:25)

Some temple-dedicated virgins chose not to marry. Entering the service of the Temple made that choice possible. Some daughters were denied marriage for political reasons. Some were released from their vows and returned to their fathers' houses. Some who were released, married. Depending on the vow, some who married remained celibate. This was the case mainly with cousin brides who were not expected to produce an heir. As a righteous man, Joseph honored Mary’s vow of celibacy. He already had a proper heir by his first wife.

Mary's conception of Jesus was by divine overshadowing as the Angel Gabriel explained (Lk. 1:35). This is exactly what the early Hebrew anticipated concerning the Son of God, and it is a significant detail of the ancient Messianic mystery. The Magnificat expresses Mary's wonder at being appointed to this unique role, especially because her lineage was deemed unworthy of honor by the Jewish elites after the time of Herod the Great. One of Mary’s ancestors Matthias (Mattat), the 61st High Priest and a descendant of David, was deposed and had limited political influence with the House of Zadok. The ancestral family of Jacob ben Mattat, once a favorite of Herod the Great, appears to have been ostracized from Jewish political life.

That Jesus was the son of Mary is not doubted. He took his flesh from the Virgin Mary, the daughter of Anne and Joachim. As a descendant of the Hebrew ruler-priests who married only within their caste, Mary's bloodline is traceable to the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.) who expected one of their temple virgins to conceive the Son (HR) by divine overshadowing, exactly as the Angel Gabriel explained to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).

Mary's Perpetual Virginity

 
Mary is believed to have been a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. This belief, known as the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity, was officially declared at the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 553 AD.

Writing in 210 A.D., Hippolytus of Rome believed, “But the pious confession of the believer is that . . . the Creator of all things incorporated with Himself a rational soul and a sensible body from the all-holy Mary, ever-virgin, by an undefiled conception, without conversion, and was made man in nature, but separate from wickedness. . .” (Against Beron and Helix: Fragment VIII)

Athanasius wrote in 360 A.D. against those “who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary” (Discourses Against the Arians 2:70).

Writing in 374 AD, Epiphanius of Salamis, affirmed the creedal faith: “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit” (The Man Well-Anchored 120).

Others who believed in Mary’s perpetual virginity include Ambrose of Milan (339-97 A.D.), John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.), Jerome (347-420 A.D.), and Augustine (354-430 A.D.). Many Protestant reformers affirmed their belief in the doctrine, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli. In England the belief was held by Hugh Latimer (1487-1555 A.D.), Thomas Cranmer, (1489-1556 A.D.), John Jewel (1522-1571 A.D.), and Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626 A.D.).

Related reading: Mary's Perpetual Virginity and Authority; Another Look at Genesis 3:13-15; The Virgin Mary's Ancestry; Cousin Brides Among the Hebrew; Denying Marriage: A Cunning Royal Strategy; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Temple Women

The Virgin Mary's Life in the Temple Cloister

 

The Virgin Mary with a spindle, a symbol of feminine authority.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley


Mary was Joseph’s cousin bride, and she was betrothed to Joseph as one dedicated to the Temple. That is why she is designated “almah” in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word almah (עַלְמָה) is derived from a verb meaning “to conceal” or “to hide away”. Temple virgins were “alamot” because they were cloistered until they married.

Their duties included weaving, sewing, drawing water, singing, brewing beer, and playing musical instruments such as the sistrum and the tambourine. In the King James Version, the "alamot" are called “damsels” – “The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.” (Ps. 68:25)

Mary and Joseph had common ancestors as is evident in the repetition of some names in the two New Testament genealogies. Their ancestors intermarried, as was the custom of the Hebrew from before the time of Abraham.

Hippolytus of Thebes records that Mary’s mother Ana was one of three daughters of a priest named Matthan. Variant spellings of Matthan include Matthew, Matthias, Mattha, Matthat, Mattathias, Mattaniah, and Mattai. The name and its variants appear six times in Luke’s list. The name derives from the word “gift” and can refer to the “giving” of Torah. The name Mattaniah is found among the priests in I Chronicles. According to Matthew 1:15, Mary’s husband Joseph was of the priestly line of Mattai.

If Joseph married according to the pattern of his Hebrew ancestors, Mary would be his second wife, the bride of his later years. The brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 are the children of Joseph by his first wife. Joseph had been betrothed to Mary for some time before he married her. Until that time, Mary remained a young woman dedicated to the Temple by her priest father, Joachim.

Hebrew sons and daughters were often dedicated to the service of the temple. Samuel, the son of the priest Elkanah and his wife Hannah was dedicated to the temple (1 Sam. 1:11). From a young age, Samuel served Eli, the Ephraimite priest of Shiloh. Samuel later married, and his sons, Joel and Abijah, served as judges in Beersheba (1 Sam. 8:1-9; 1 Chr. 6:28).

Hebrew daughters dedicated to the temple were free to marry. However, depending on the daughter’s initial vow to God, they might remain celibate. Abstinence from sexual relations did not pose a problem for a husband who already had an heir by his first wife. Joseph’s heir would have been one of Jesus’ half-brothers, probably James. In Jewish Antiquities (20.9.1), Josephus describes James as "the brother of Jesus who is called Christ."

According to tradition, the Annunciation took place when Mary was in the Temple spinning purple thread. Some icons and paintings of the Virgin Mary show her holding a spindle and spinning purple thread. Purple thread was used to make the Temple vestments and the garments of high priests.

As the cousin bride, it was Mary’s prerogative to name her only son after her father. However, as was anticipated by his Hebrew ancestors, Jesus was conceived by divine overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:35) and Mary was to name her son Yeshua, which means “salvation.” The name is related to the ancient Egyptian name Yesu.

The hieroglyphs for Yesu indicate royal authority and show the falcon, the totem of HR (Horus in Greek) who was called the "son" of God.

Related reading: Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive; The Virgin Mary's Ancestry

Hebrew Names and Titles

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

Names and titles of biblical persons have various etymologies. Some names of individuals refer to places or regions (toponyms) with which the persons are associated. Some examples include Elam (Gen. 10; Ezek. 32:24), Seir (Gen. 36; Is. 21:11; Ezek. 25:8 and 35:10), Uz (Gen. 10, 36:28), and Timna (Gen. 36:12; Josh. 15:10). 

Some names are royal titles, some are Horus names, and some identify ancestors, both paternal and maternal. The name Shelah/Salah is a Hebrew name. It first appears in the lists of early Hebrew rulers as the son of King Arpachshad/Har-Pa-Shed, and the father of Eber (Gen. 10:24; Gen. 11:12-14). In ancient Egyptian, Shed (šd) refers to "one who saves" or "the savior." Ar or Har is a Horus name. Judah's son born to his cousin wife was named Shelah (Gen. 38).

As with Jewish names today, most biblical names fall into these categories:

1.      Toponymics

2.      Occupation: One of Abraham's nephews was named Tahash, meaning tanner.

3.      Patronymics

4.      Matronymics

5.      Physical appearance: Adam means "Red Human," formed from red earth.

6.      Economic and/or social status

7.      Plant and animal (totems): The name Shobal (Gen. 36) refers to a young lion.

8.      Allegiance or affiliation

Royal Names

When reading the Bible, it helps to be aware of names and titles. Some of the early Hebrew held royal titles such as Enoch and Lamech. Enoch refers to the ruler's proper heir, the ascendant son. Lamech is related to the word melek, meaning king. La-melech appears on several thousand Egyptian and Hebrew seals (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 95). Achimelech means “brother of the king." The royal titles Enoch and Lamech are found in the king lists of Genesis 4 (the line of Cain) and Genesis 5 (the line of Seth).

The affix Ar designates a royal person or a venerable figure. Many rulers of history have such names, including Artaxerxes, Archelaos, Ar-Shem, Artix, Areli, Araxes, Arviragus, a Jebusite named Araunah, and Arishen, a Horite Hebrew who ruled a territory in the central Zagros between 2400-2301 BC. Ariaramnes was the great uncle of Cyrus the Great. The "Ar" may be a shortened Horus name as is suggested by the Nabataean King Harithath IV who bears the Horus name. However, King Harithath is called King Aretas in 2 Corinthians 11:32. 

In the ancient world, Horus was regarded as the patron of kings and priests. One of Jesus' uncles, Joseph Ar-Matthea, was a high-ranking ruler-priest. Joseph had sufficient political clout to petition Pilate for the release of Jesus’ body so he could be buried in the sepulcher that Joseph had excavated for himself.

Horus Names

Many early Hebrew rulers had Horus names. Hur is an example. According to Midrash, Hur was Moses’ brother-in-law, the husband of Miriam. Hur’s grandson was one of the builders of the Tabernacle. 1 Chronicles 4:4 lists Hur as the "father of Bethlehem," an early Horite Hebrew settlement.

A chief of the tribe of Asher holds the Horus name Harnepher (1 Chronicles 7:36). 

Another Horus name is Na-Hor, the name of Abraham's older brother. Nahor ruled over his father's territory in Paddan Aram when Terah died. In ancient Akkadian, Na is a modal prefix indicating service to, affirmation, or affiliation. Na-Hor indicates that this man was a devotee of HR, which in ancient Egyptian refers to the Most-High God. 

HR also refers to the Son of God who the Greeks called Horus. His Horus name suggests that Nahor was a Horite Hebrew. A prayer addressed to Horus says, "For you are he who oversees the gods, there is no god who oversees you!" (Ancient Pyramid Texts, Utterance 573)

A Horite priest (Sangu sa huru - priest of Horus) is mentioned among five priests in an Assyrian document (SAAB 9 127) from the city of Assur. The document is dated to 639 B.C. The Horite priest is named Qibit-Assur.

Another priest with a Horus name is Haruninapirru whose name appears on a seal found at Susa in ancient Persia. Har refers to Horus. Unina is a variant spelling of Inanna, Innana or Innin, a goddess resembling Hathor, the mother of Horus. The word piru or biru refers to a temple or shrine.

Words for Priests

Some names indicate that the person was a priest. Examples include Terah and Korah. Terah/Tera is a very ancient word for priest. This image found by Flinders Petrie shows a Sethite Hebrew priest. He is a priest (tera) devoted to God (Neter/Netjer).

The word Korah refers to a priest who shaved his body as an act of ritual purification before his time of service at the temple or shrine. One of Esau's sons was named Korah (Gen. 36:5), as was Moses' brother who challenged his leadership (Num. 16).

Korah's descendants are praised in 1 Chronicles 26, where they are grouped with the gatekeepers of Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom is a connection to Ruth, who named her first-born son Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, the father of David. This picks up the Messianic thread, pointing us back to the early Hebrew expectation of the Son of God who was coming into the world.

Another word for priest is the Hebrew ‘Kohen’, equivalent to the Arabic Khouri or Kahin and the Persian Kaahen or Kaahenaat which is translated "timeless being". Kahenat means priest in the Ethiopian Church.

Other ancient words for priests include harwa, sem, wabau, kalu (lamentation priest), hekau, and šangû. The Akkadian term šangû is the likely origin of the Latin word saguis and the English word sanguine, both referring to blood. The šangû probably offered animal sacrifice at royal sanctuaries.

According to Umberto Cassuto, the name Lamech is related to the Akkadian word lumakku, meaning “priest” (Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1, p. 233). It also is related to the Hebrew word melek, meaning “king”. Further, Lamech is related to the Akkadian words maklu (burnt offering) and malku (ruler-priest). The Lamech of Genesis 4 was a Hebrew ruler-priest.

Patronymics

A patronymic is a personal name based on the given name of one's father or a famous male ancestor. These are identified by the Hebrew word bar and the Aramaic word ben. Both mean son or male descendant. In Numbers 13, Caleb is designated Kalev ben Jephunneh. 1 Chronicles 2:19 refers to Hur ben Kalev. Simon bar Jonah is the Hebrew patronymic for the Peter (Matt.16). Patronymics are common in the Bible. 

In some cases, high ranking women are also identified with a famous male ancestor. One example is Bath-Sheba, Solomon's mother. She was of the royal house of Sheba. This is why one of the entrance pillars of the Temple commemorates Jachin, a name associated with the clan of Sheba.

Patronymics are also found in the New Testament. An example is the name Bartholomew, the Aramaic patronymic Bar-Talmai.

Matronymics

A matronymic is a personal name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. Matronymics are not as common among the Hebrew as patronymics, but they do appear in the cases of Hebrew women of social influence, prestige, and wealth. An example is found with the Virgin Mary's full name: "Miriam Daughter of Joachim, Son of Pntjr". Some editions of the Talmud name Jesus as the son of a Roman soldier named Pantera, discrediting his miraculous conception as the Son of God. However, Pntjr refers to Joachim's mother, the maternal great grandmother of Jesus Messiah.

From pre-dynastic times among the Nilotic Hebrew, ntjr designated God or the divine. The name Pntjr is Pa-Netjer, the name of Joachim’s mother. She must have been of high social status for a matronymic to be employed. That Panetjer is a matronymic is evident from a limestone stela (1539-1291 B.C.) at the Brooklyn Museum bearing the names of Pekhty-nisu and his wife Panetjer. It is certain that Mary’s ancestors were high ranking ruler-priests because even those who hated her admit this in Sanhedrin 106a which claims: “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.”

Related reading: Horite and Sethite Mounds; Belief in the High God; The Hebrew Were a Caste; The Sethites and the Red Hippo; Ancient Words for Priests; Royal Names in Genesis