Reference: Mary, The Virgin
Fausets
(See GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST.) Probably Matthan of Matthew is Matthat of Luke, and Jacob and Heli were brothers; and Heli's son Joseph, and Jacob's daughter Mary, were first cousins. Joseph, as male heir of his uncle Jacob who had one only child Mary, would marry her according to the law (Nu 36:8). Thus the genealogy of the inheritance or succession to David's throne (Matthew's) and that of natural descent (Luke's) would be primarily Joseph's, then Mary's also (Ps 132:11; Lu 1:32; Ro 1:3). She was sister or half-sister to Mary (Joh 19:25), and related to Elisabeth who was of the tribe of Levi (Lu 1:36). (See MARY OF CLEOPHAS; ELISABETH.) In 5 B.C. (Lu 1:24, etc.) Mary was living at Nazareth, by this time betrothed to Joseph, when the angel Gabriel came from God to her in the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy. (See GABRIEL.)
He came in no form of overwhelming majesty, but seemingly in human form, as is implied by the expression "he came in," also by the fact that what she was "troubled at" was not his presence but "his saying" (compare Da 10:18-19). "Hail thou that art highly favored" (kecharitomenee) cannot mean as Rome teaches in her prayer to the Virgin, "Hail Mary full of grace"; that would be pleerees charitos as in Joh 1:14; the passive of the verb implies, as usually in verbs in -oo, she was made the object of God's grace, not a fountain from whence grace flows to others; as Joh 1:30 explains it, "thou hast found favor (charin) with God"; so Eph 1:6, echaritoosen, "He hath graciously accepted us." "The Lord is (or, BE) with thee (Jg 6:12), blessed art thou among women"; not among gods and goddesses.
As Jael (Jg 5:24); "blessed" in "believing" (Lu 1:45), more than in conceiving Christ (Lu 8:19-21; 11:27-28); compare her own practice, Lu 2:51; Mt 12:49-50. "Her relationship as mother would not at all have profited Mary if she had not borne Christ more happily in the heart than in the flesh" (Augustine, Tom. 4, De Sanct. Virg.). In Lu 11:27-28, during His last journey, a month before His crucifixion (A.D. 30), upon a woman of the company exclaiming, "blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked," He said, "yea, rather (menounge) blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it"; the blessedness even of Mary is not her motherhood towards Him, but her hearing and obeying Him.
The Spirit's prescience of the abuse of the words Lu 1:28 appears in the precautions taken subsequently in the same Gospel to guard against such abuse. The Virgin's words (Lu 1:48) "all generations shall call me blessed" mean not, shall call me by that name, "the Blessed Virgin," but shall count me blessed, as in Jas 5:11 (the same Greek). The nations shall count JESUS, not the Virgin, the fountain of all blessedness (Ps 72:17). When in "fear she cast in her mind what might the meaning of the salutation be," the angel reassured her by the promise, "behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus.
He shall be great (not merely as John Baptist 'in the sight of the Lord,' Lu 1:15, but as the Lord Himself), and shall be called (i.e. shall be really what the name means) the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David (not merely His throne in heaven whereon David never sat, but on Zion, Jer 3:17), and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shi all be no end." She asked, not incredulously as Zacharias (Lu 1:18), but in the simplicity of faith which sought instruction, taking for granted it shall be, only asking as to the manner, "how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?"
The angel therefore explained, "the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee (as with a cloud, denoting the mildest, gentlest operation of the divine power, coveting, quickening, but not consuming: Mr 9:7), therefore also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (from whence our creed saith, "He was conceived by the Holy Spirit," etc.; compare Ge 1:2. "As the world was not created by the Holy Spirit, but by the Son, so the Son was not begotten by the Holy Spirit, but by the Father, and that before the worlds, Christ was made of the substance of the Virgin, not of the substance of the Holy Spirit, whose essence cannot be made. No more is attributed to the Spirit than what was necessary to cause the Virgin to perform the actions of a mother. And because the Holy Spirit did not beget Him by any communication of His essence, He is not the Father of Him." Pearson, Creed, 165-166.)
Gabriel instanced Elisabeth's being six months advanced in pregnancy, who once was barren, to confirm the Virgin's faith that "nothing is impossible with God" (Ro 4:17-21); she evinced her faith in the reply, "behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word," Her expression of humble, believing acceptance of and concurrence in the divine will (Lu 1:38,45) was required, and may be with reverence supposed to be recorded to mark the date of our Lord's conception. Mary then went in joyous haste to the hill country of Judah, to a city where Zacharias and Elisabeth lived, whether Jutta, (Jos 21:13-16) a priests' city, or Hebron, S. of Jerusalem and much further S. of Nazareth in Galilee. On Mary's saluting Elisabeth the latter hailed her as "mother of her Lord," inasmuch as at her salutation "the babe leaped in her womb for joy," adding, in contrast to Zacharias whose unbelief had brought its own punishment," blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things told her from the Lord."
Mary then under the Spirit uttered the hymn known as the "Magnificat," based on Hannah's hymn (1Sa 2:2). In it we see a spirit that drank deeply at the wells of Scripture, a humility that "magnified the Lord" not self, that "rejoiced" as a sinner in "her Savior" (disproving Rome's dogma of the immaculate conception), a lively sense of gratitude at the mighty favor which the Mighty One conferred on one so low, a privilege which countless Jewish mothers had desired (Da 11:37, "the desire of women"), and for which all generations should count ("call") her happy (makariousin, compare Ge 30:13), and an exemplification of God's eternal principle of abusing "the proud and exalting them of low degree," and a realization of God's faithfulness to His promises "to Abraham of mercy and help to Israel forever." Mary stayed with her cousin three months, and just before John the Baptist's birth returned to her own house at Nazareth.
Then followed Joseph's discovery of the conception and his tender dealing with her, and reception of her by God's command (Matthew 1), as being the virgin foretold who should bring forth Immanuel (Isa 7:14; Jer 31:22). (See JOSEPH.) Augustus' decree (Luke 2) obliged them to go to Bethlehem, God thereby causing His prophecy (Mic 5:2) to be fulfilled, Mary there giving birth to the Savior. The shepherds' account of the angels caused wonder to others, "but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart"; so again Lu 2:51, not superficial, but reflective and thoughtfully devout. The law regarded her as unclean until the presentation 40 days after the birth (Leviticus 12). Then she was bound to offer a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or turtle dove for a sin offering, to make atonement for her poverty compelled her to substitute for the lamb a pigeon or turtle dove.
Simeon's hymn followed, at the close of which he foretold, "a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed"; the anguish of her Son should pierce the mother's heart, and be a testing probation of character to her as well as to all others (Joh 9:39; 19:25; Ps 42:10); that she had misgivings and doubts is implied in her accompanying His brethren afterward, as if enthusiasm was carrying Him too far (Mt 12:46; Mr 3:21,31-35; Joh 7:5). The flight to Egypt followed; then the return, at first designed to be back to Bethlehem, but through fear of Archelaus to Nazareth of Galilee, their former home.
Then the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The earth was without form and empty. Darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters.
Leah said: I am happy, for women will call me blessed. So she named him Asher.
Every woman who inherits property in an Israelite tribe must marry a man belonging to that tribe. In this way all Israelites will inherit the property of their ancestors,
In addition to Hebron, one of the cities of refuge, the following cities were assigned to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, read more. Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, with their pasturelands: nine cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, is the most blessed of women. The most blessed of women who live in tents.
Jehovah's angel appeared to him there and said: Jehovah is with you, mighty man of valor!
No one is as holy as Jehovah. There is none beside you. Neither is there any rock like our God.
Amaziah asked the man of God: What should I do about the seven thousand and five hundred pounds of silver I gave the troops from Israel? The man of God answered: Jehovah can give you much more than that.
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long: Where is your God?
His name will endure forever. His name will continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
Jehovah swore an oath to David: This is a truth he will not take back: I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.
Therefore Jehovah will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).
At that time, they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah. All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of Jehovah will be found there. They will no longer follow their own stubborn, evil ways.
How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For Jehovah has created a new thing in the earth. A woman will protect a man.
Then the one with the human appearance touched me and he strengthened me. He said, O man greatly beloved, do not fear, peace be to you, be strong, yes, be strong. And when he spoke to me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak for you have strengthened me.
Neither will he honor the gods of his father's, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god for he will magnify himself above them all.
You Bethlehem Ephrathah who are little to be among the thousands of Judah. Out of you one will come to me who is to be ruler in Israel! His origin is from of old, from everlasting (days of antiquity) (ancient times).
They screamed at him, saying: What have we to do with you, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?
While Jesus was yet speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers stood nearby. They wanted to speak to him.
He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said: Behold, my mother and my brothers! For everyone who does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.
For everyone who does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.
What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!
When his own people heard of this they went to apprehend him. They said: He has lost his senses.
When his own people heard of this they went to apprehend him. They said: He has lost his senses.
His mother and his brother were standing nearby. They sent for him.
His mother and his brother were standing nearby. They sent for him. A crowd was sitting around him. They said to him: Look your mother and you brother are outside looking for you.
A crowd was sitting around him. They said to him: Look your mother and you brother are outside looking for you. He answered them: Who is my mother and who is my brother?
He answered them: Who is my mother and who is my brother? Looking at the people who sat around him he said: Behold, my mother and my brother!
Looking at the people who sat around him he said: Behold, my mother and my brother! For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
A cloud hovered over them and a voice came out of the cloud: This is my Son the beloved listen to him!
He will be great in the eyes of God. He will not drink wine or strong drink and he will be full of Holy Spirit from the time of his birth.
Zechariah asked: How might I be certain of this for my wife and I are old?
His wife Elisabeth became pregnant. She remained in seclusion for five months.
Gabriel appeared to her and said: Greetings highly favored one. God is with you.
He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. Jehovah God will give him the throne of his father David. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Your relative Elisabeth has also conceived a son even in her old age. This so-called barren woman is in her sixth month.
Mary said: Look, Jehovah's servant. Let it happen to me as you spoke. The angel departed from her. (1 Samuel 1:11)
Mary said: Look, Jehovah's servant. Let it happen to me as you spoke. The angel departed from her. (1 Samuel 1:11) Mary traveled with haste to the city of Judah in the hill country.
Blessed is she that believes. That which God spoke will be fulfilled.
Blessed is she that believes. That which God spoke will be fulfilled. Mary said: My life magnifies Jehovah my God. (1 Samuel 2:1)
He has looked on the low position of his servant. All generations from now on will call me blessed.
He has looked on the low position of his servant. All generations from now on will call me blessed.
Mary remembered all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
He went with them to Nazareth. He remained subject to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
He went with them to Nazareth. He remained subject to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
He went with them to Nazareth. He remained subject to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
His mother and brother tried to come to him but could not because of the crowd. They told him: Your mother and your brothers are near. They wish to see you. read more. He answered, My mother and my brother are these who hear the word of God, and do it.
As he was talking a woman out of the crowd shouted: Blessed is the woman who bore you and nursed you.
As he was talking a woman out of the crowd shouted: Blessed is the woman who bore you and nursed you. He replied: More blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
He replied: More blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
The Word [Jesus] became flesh (a human being) and lived with us. We saw the glory of the only begotten son from the Father. He was full of loving-kindness and truth.
This is he whom I said would come after me. He is greater than I am because he came before me.
His mother told the servants to do whatever he says.
He, his mother, brothers and disciples traveled to Capernaum. They stayed there many days.
For his brothers did not express active faith in him.
Jesus said: I came into the world for this judgment that those not seeing may see and those seeing may become blind.
His mother stood by the stake of Jesus, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
His mother stood by the stake of Jesus, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved. He said to his mother, Woman, look, your son! read more. Then he said to the disciple, Look, your mother! That hour forward the disciple took her to his home.
They all continued united in earnest prayer. The women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers were also there.
This is about his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who came from the seed of David according to the flesh.
It is written: I have made you a father of many nations. [This was] in the presence of God, the one in whom he believed. He gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: So your descendants will be. read more. Not being weak in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Yet, he looked to the promise of God. He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith. He gave the glory to God! He was fully assured that what he had promised, he was able to perform.
This is to the praise of the glory of his kindness, with which he freely honored us, the loved ones.
As you know, those who have endured are called blessed. You have heard of the patience (perseverance) (endurance) of Job, and have seen the outcome Jehovah provided, how he was very tender with his affection and mercy. (Psalm 103:8)