“Mary
Said to the angel.
‘How can this be?
As I am a virgin.’”
εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον Πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω;
According to Luke, Mary was a little put off. She asked this Angel Gabriel (εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον) how was all this going to happen, since she had not known any man sexually as a virgin (Πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω)? Was she questioning or confused? She was concerned about what was going to happen next.
“Is not this the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother
Called Mary?
Are not his brothers
James,
Joseph,
Simon,
And Judas?
Are not all his sisters with us?
Where then did he
Get all this?’”
οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Σίμων καὶ Ἰούδας;
καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσιν; πόθεν οὖν τούτῳ ταῦτα πάντα;
This story about the relatives of Jesus can be found in Mark, chapter 6:3. The local people asked, was he not this carpenter’s son (οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός)? Matthew did not use the carpenter’s name, when in the prologue Joseph played a major role. A carpenter could also mean a builder or artisan. However, Matthew explicitly mentioned the name of Jesus’ mother, Mary, who played a minor role in the prologue. Was not his mother called Mary (οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ)? Were not his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Σίμων καὶ Ἰούδας)? Were not all his sisters there with them also (καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσιν)? Where then did he get all this knowledge and power (πόθεν οὖν τούτῳ ταῦτα πάντα)? Once again there is the question of the brothers and sisters of Jesus as mentioned earlier in chapter 12:46. These brothers and sisters could be biological brothers or sisters, half-brothers and half-sisters from a first marriage of Joseph, or kissing cousins or other close cousins of the family. The Hebrew and Aramaic language did not have a distinctive word for cousins, so that the word “brother” and “sister” was often used to mean more than a biological brother. Just as today, people sometimes refers to others as brothers or sisters, when there is no biological link. Half-brothers often refer to themselves as brothers or sisters today also. The traditional belief of Christians, even though the Reformation period, has been that Mary was a virgin, so that Jesus was her only son. However, the Greek language did have a word for cousins. Here there are explicit names for the brothers of Jesus, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, who may have been leaders in the early Christian community but were never mentioned as disciples. They clearly were relatives of Jesus, exactly how is not clear
“While Jesus was still speaking
To the people,
His mother
And his brothers
Were standing outside.
They wanted to speak to him.
Someone told him.
‘Look!
Your mother
And your brothers
Are standing outside
Wanting to speak with you.’”
Ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος τοῖς ὄχλοις ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ εἱστήκεισαν ἔξω ζητοῦντες αὐτῷ λαλῆσαι.
εἶπεν δέ τις αὐτῷ Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου ἔξω ἑστήκασιν ζητοῦντές σοι λαλῆσαι.
Luke, chapter 8:19-20, and Mark, chapter 3:31-32, have something similar. While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds of people (Ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος τοῖς ὄχλοις), his mother and brothers were standing outside (ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ εἱστήκεισαν ἔξω). They wanted to speak to him (ζητοῦντες αὐτῷ λαλῆσαι). Someone then told him (εἶπεν δέ τις αὐτῷ) that his mother and brothers were outside (Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου ἔξω) wanting to talk to him (ἑστήκασιν ζητοῦντές σοι λαλῆσαι). This brings up all kinds of questions. Were they not allowed to come into where he was talking? Who are these brothers? To what extent was Jesus estranged from his family? According to Matthew, Jesus has been close to John the Baptist and his early apostles Peter, Andrew, John, James and Matthew. These brothers could be biological brothers, half-brothers from a first marriage of Joseph, or relative cousins. The Hebrew and Aramaic language did not have a distinctive word for cousins, so that the word “brother” was often used to mean more than a biological brother. Just as today, people sometimes refers to others as brothers or sisters, when there is no biological link. Half-brothers often refer to themselves as brothers or sisters today also. The traditional belief of Christians, even though the Reformation period, has been that Mary was a virgin, so that Jesus was her only son. However, the Greek language did have a word for cousins. In Mark, chapter 6:3, and Matthew, chapter 13:55–56, there are explicit names for the brothers of Jesus. Thus, here the unnamed mother and unnamed brothers of Jesus was outside wanting to speak to Jesus. They clearly were relatives of Jesus, exactly how close a relative is not clear.
“All this took place
To fulfil
What had been spoken
By the Lord
Through the prophet.
‘Look!
The virgin young woman
Shall conceive.
She shall bear a son.
They shall name him
Emmanuel.’
This translated means.
‘God with us.’”
Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος
Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.
This dream with the angelic message took place (Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν), so that the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 7, would be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ). Matthew said that these were the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet (τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος), without explicitly naming Isaiah. When you look at the context of this saying in Isaiah, he was talking to King Ahaz and the whole house of David. He said that Yahweh was going to give them a sign that a young woman, who is presumed to be a virgin, would have a child. This child would be called Emmanuel that meant “God is with us.” Christians have used this passage as a prophecy about the virgin birth of Jesus, as here in Matthew. However, the original context in Isaiah seems to indicate that King Ahaz would have a son to carry on his royal name. That son of Ahaz turned out to be the great holy King Hezekiah who ruled Judah from 716-687 BCE. A key to understanding this interpretation of Isaiah is the Greek word ἡ παρθένος. Does this mean a young woman or a virgin? The assumption was that all young women who were not married were virgins, without explicitly saying that this Greek word meant virgin. This young virgin girl had a child in her womb (ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει). She was going to have a son (καὶ τέξεται υἱόν). They were going to name this son Emmanuel (καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ,). Matthew seems to imply that this Hebrew word Emmanuel needed to be translated (ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον) into Greek for his readers. Thus, he explained that it meant “God is with us.” This actually was in the original Isaiah statement, but Isaiah never used the word translated (μεθερμηνευόμενον). Thus, God will be with us in the person of Jesus, the Savior, Emmanuel. There is no mention of an anointed one or Christ here.
“Lament!
Like a virgin
Dressed in sackcloth
For the husband
Of her youth!
The grain offering,
The drink offering,
Are cut off
From the house
Of Yahweh.
The priests mourn.
The ministers of Yahweh
Mourn.
The fields are devastated.
The ground mourns.
The grain is destroyed.
The wine dries up.
The oil fails.”
The people should go into mourning. They should lament like a virgin who had lost the husband of her youth, dressed in sackcloth. There was not going to be any grain or drink offerings in the house of Yahweh. The priests and the ministers should mourn because the fields were devastated. The ground itself mourned because the grain was destroyed. The wine had dried up. The oil had failed. There was good reason to go into mourning.
“They shall not shave
Their heads.
They shall not
Let their locks
Grow long.
They shall only
Trim the hair
Of their heads.
No priest shall
Drink wine,
When he enters
The inner court.
They shall not marry
A widow,
Or a divorced woman.
They shall marry
Only a virgin
Of the stock
Of the house of Israel,
Or a widow
Who is the widow
Of a priest.”
These Zadok Levitical priests had a look and life style that set them apart. They were not to shave their heads, but they had to trim their hair. They were not allowed to drink wine when they were in the inner court. They could not marry a widow or a divorced woman. However, there was an exception for the widow of a priest. They could only marry a virgin in good standing from the house of Israel.
“Then Isaiah said.
‘Hear then!
O house of David!
Is it too little for you to weary mortals?
Do you weary my God also?
Therefore Yahweh himself
Will give you a sign.
Look!
The virgin young woman
Is with child.
She shall bear a son.
You shall name him Immanuel.
God is with us.
He shall eat curds.
He shall eat honey,
By the time
He knows how to refuse the evil
And choose the good.
Before the child knows
How to refuse the evil,
Before the child knows
How to choose the good,
The land before whose two kings
You are in dread
Will be deserted.”
This time it is Isaiah who is speaking to King Ahaz and the whole house of David, not Yahweh. They should not weary each other or God. Yahweh was going to give them a sign. The young woman, who is presumed to be a virgin, will have a child. He will be called Immanuel that means God is with us. Quite often Christians have used this passage as a prophecy about the birth of Jesus. However, the context seems to indicate that King Ahaz will have a son to carry on his royal name. That son of Ahaz will be the great holy King Hezekiah who ruled Judah from 716-687 BCE. This young child would do good and refuse evil by the time he was able to eat the basic foods of curds and honey. Even before he learns how to choose good over evil, the 2 invading countries of these 2 kings will lay desolate and deserted.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 