(Gospel of Mark 1:21 - 1:28)
Jesus and his disciples journeyed to Capernaum, and as soon as the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching there. The congregation was astonished by his teaching, for he spoke to them with real authority, not like one of the scribes.
Suddenly a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an unholy spirit accosted him, "What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- you're the Holy One of God!"
Jesus commanded the spirit, "Quiet! Be gone from this body!" The man went into convulsions and uttered a shriek as the unholy spirit departed from him. The people there were amazed and speculated among themselves, "What sort of new teaching is this? One with authority, to be sure! He commands the unholy spirits, and even they obey him." And so his fame spread quickly throughout Galilee and the surrounding region.
Notes
1. After his baptism and temptation in the desert, Jesus selects 4 disciples, Simon (who will be called Peter), Andrew, James and John, and then, without any period of study or mentoring, he begins to teach in the synagogue at Capernaum, probably the nearest large town. Apparently no credentials were necessary to teach at the synagogue. Did he even seek permission from the religious authorities?
2. Scribes, though originally those who merely copied manuscripts, had, by Jesus’ time, become an honored class of theologians who interpreted and taught religious law. They had become more important to Judaism than the priests or rabbis, but were notorious for their doctrinaire dogmatism.
3. In Mark the initial public appearance of Jesus as an evangelist is at the synagogue in Capernaum, and his first miraculous act is an exorcism, casting out a spirit from a possessed man. Jesus impresses the congregation with his authoritative teaching, but he creates an unforgettable sensation with the on-the-spot exorcism. This is the pattern of all religion. Teaching is insufficient in itself; it must be accompanied by miracles that credit the teaching as divinely inspired. Without miracles, a new religion can only be accepted as a philosophy.
4. Until recent times, mental illness, even emotional disturbance, was commonly attributed to possession by evil spirits. Cures would be worked by casting out the spirits. While mental illness is now recognized as having organic or psychological causes, there is a strong body of evidence that suggests this is not always so, that there may be spirit entities capable of taking possession of the mind and controlling the will of a living human. Whether they will exit the body they have possessed upon command or in response to some ritual is a moot question. But, it is not at all beyond the realm of possibility that the incident of exorcism recorded here is factually true -- and that its explanation requires no recourse to divine intervention.
5. The spirit possessing the man in the synagogue is not described as "evil" per se, only impure, unclean, meaning, one presumes, that it is both alien to the man and not of divine origin or sanction. The spirit recognizes Jesus, suggesting it possesses preternatural knowledge, and, by its words, presents itself as inimical to him: therefore, it can be assumed to be "evil."
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
Beginning of Jesus' Ministry
(Gospel of Mark 1:14 - 1:20)
After John was imprisoned, Jesus traveled through Galilee preaching the gospel of God. "The time is come," he declared, "when the reign of God on earth is imminent. Repent of your sins and receive the gospel!"
Walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus caught sight of Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea -- for they were fishermen. Jesus exhorted them, "Come along with me. I will have you fish for people." Immediately they put down their nets and followed him.
A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in a boat mending their nets. At once he called to them. Leaving their father Zebedee and the hired men in the boat, they, too, came along with Jesus.
Notes
1. Most translations refer to Jesus proclaiming the "kingdom of God." This means little. God is not a hereditary monarch. What it does mean is that he will reign and rule. Obviously, he already reigns in Heaven, so what Jesus is proclaiming is that God will soon reign on earth. Therefore, it is in the best interests of men to repent of their sins and get in his good graces before it happens.
2. Jesus selects his disciples in what would seem an impulsive manner, no job interviews, examination of resumes, background checks, nothing. The impression given is that he has some preternatural knowledge of the men he chooses and knows what he doing when he selects as his disciples simple fishermen with no religious training or experience in evangelizing. The disciples do not hesitate, ask no questions. They are apparently not given any choice in the matter: they are called and must go with Jesus. Does Jesus compel them with some hypnotic power? Why doesn't he give his disciples a chance to follow him freely, of their own volition, at least give them some time to think about what they are getting into? (It makes a better story this way!) So far the disciples seem a great deal like brainwashed cultists or zombies who wander off, leaving their jobs, to follow some stranger who merely calls to them.
3. So far Jesus has acquired 4 disciples, all Galilean fishermen, Simon (who would later be called Peter) and Andrew, brothers, and James and John, another pair of brothers, sons of Zebedee. There is no indication he knew them in the past or that he had any personal connection with them. A back story is totally absent.
4. There is no indication of the passage of time between the baptism of Jesus and the selection of his disciples, only what time necessary for John to get himself arrested and thrown into jail.
After John was imprisoned, Jesus traveled through Galilee preaching the gospel of God. "The time is come," he declared, "when the reign of God on earth is imminent. Repent of your sins and receive the gospel!"
Walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus caught sight of Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea -- for they were fishermen. Jesus exhorted them, "Come along with me. I will have you fish for people." Immediately they put down their nets and followed him.
A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in a boat mending their nets. At once he called to them. Leaving their father Zebedee and the hired men in the boat, they, too, came along with Jesus.
Notes
1. Most translations refer to Jesus proclaiming the "kingdom of God." This means little. God is not a hereditary monarch. What it does mean is that he will reign and rule. Obviously, he already reigns in Heaven, so what Jesus is proclaiming is that God will soon reign on earth. Therefore, it is in the best interests of men to repent of their sins and get in his good graces before it happens.
2. Jesus selects his disciples in what would seem an impulsive manner, no job interviews, examination of resumes, background checks, nothing. The impression given is that he has some preternatural knowledge of the men he chooses and knows what he doing when he selects as his disciples simple fishermen with no religious training or experience in evangelizing. The disciples do not hesitate, ask no questions. They are apparently not given any choice in the matter: they are called and must go with Jesus. Does Jesus compel them with some hypnotic power? Why doesn't he give his disciples a chance to follow him freely, of their own volition, at least give them some time to think about what they are getting into? (It makes a better story this way!) So far the disciples seem a great deal like brainwashed cultists or zombies who wander off, leaving their jobs, to follow some stranger who merely calls to them.
3. So far Jesus has acquired 4 disciples, all Galilean fishermen, Simon (who would later be called Peter) and Andrew, brothers, and James and John, another pair of brothers, sons of Zebedee. There is no indication he knew them in the past or that he had any personal connection with them. A back story is totally absent.
4. There is no indication of the passage of time between the baptism of Jesus and the selection of his disciples, only what time necessary for John to get himself arrested and thrown into jail.
Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
(Gospel of Mark 1:9 - 1:13)
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the River Jordan. When Jesus emerged from the water, he saw the sky open up and the Divine Spirit fly down to him like a dove. A voice from the heavens spoke to him. "You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."
The Divine Spirit at once impelled Jesus to go out into the desert, where he would remain for 40 days. There he was tested by Satan and exposed to wild animals -- but extraterrestrial guardians attended him.
Notes
1. Jesus is from Nazareth, now a large city in northern Israel and regarded as the Arab capital of the country. In the 1st Century AD, though, it was only a small, unimportant town of a few hundred people. It was located in central Galilee, a separate country well to the north Judea, where most of John's converts were coming from. At that time Galilee, technically a part of the Roman province of Iudea, was semi-autonomous and was ruled by a son of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas. Mark makes no further comment upon Jesus' origin. That it was the first gospel to be written leads one to suspect that the Nativity stories recounted in Matthew and Luke (which are irreconcilably contradictory) are later embellishments and probably mythical.
2. After his baptism, Jesus looks up to the sky and sees the Divine Spirit fly down to him and then speak to him. The voice is that of God the Father expressing his approval of his son. It is unclear what he actually saw. Did he see with his eyes or was it in his mind? Was there a physical manifestation of some sort? If so, was it seen by John the Baptist, too? The Divine Spirit flies down to him like a dove, that is, like a bird; the text does not say that it took the physical form of a dove. Was this spirit a disembodied form of God, or some separate entity. The former seems most likely since the words spoken are from the Father. It should be mentioned that the opening up or splitting of the sky is perhaps not meant metaphorically. The authors of the Old Testament believed that a dome, the firmament, covered a flat earth and that above this dome was an ocean and, beyond that, Heaven, where Jehovah or Elohim lived. The dome, the sky, would thus have to open in order for it to rain, or for someone or something to come down from Heaven. The authors of the New Testament, probably not privy to the newfangled Greek notions of a spherical world, would have conceived of things similarly.
3. Some have believed that the descent of the dove-like spirit to Jesus after his baptism constituted possession by that divine spirit. Before that time he was an ordinary man and only subsequently was his body inhabited by the Son of God. This interesting and reasonably plausible theory is one of many suggested by early Christians and rejected by orthodoxy. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is one of the few events generally conceded to be almost certainly factual by those who credit an historical Jesus. There is no agreement, though, as to where exactly the event might have taken place.
4. Jesus is sent out into the desert for 40 days, the 40 days being analogous to the supposed 40 years the Israelites spent in the desert. Most text refer to "wilderness," but the contemporary impression of wilderness is boundless tracts of forests and perhaps mountains and streams. What is referred to here are the desert wastelands removed from human settlement. The apparent purpose of this desert exile is so that Jesus can be tested. There is the implication that one cannot be good unless one is tempted by evil and is successful in resisting that temptation. But if he is the Son of God, why should this be at all necessary? The Satan, literally "Opposer" or "Adversary" is not a figure of evil bent upon tempting Jesus away from goodness and subverting his mission. He is merely charged with testing Jesus, rather like a stern schoolmaster or drill instructor. Even if Satan tempts Jesus to evil, there is no implication, here, at least, that Satan himself is evil or that he is doing anything contrary to the will of God the Father. And it is not clear that Satan is even a specific individual or being. This follows a traditional Hebraic view of "Satan," who is mentioned only a few times in the Old Testament and always in this context. In the later Gospel of Matthew Satan is portrayed more familiarly, and as Christianity would develop, Satan would become an important figure, the author of evil, the tempter of mankind who would oppose Jesus Christ. All good stories, even religious narratives, need an antagonist as well as a protagonist. Jehovah and the Israelites had plenty of adversaries in the physical world, the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Amalekites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the who's who of the ancient Middle East. Until Christendom was established as a temporal power and could wage its campaigns of conversion against nonbelievers, it had to be content with an otherworldly adversary, Satan, or the Devil, who quickly evolved into a comic-book arch villain.
5. Jesus was among the wild animals of the desert. One wonders what animals would have posed a threat to him -- gray wolves, hyenas, Arabian leopards, maybe? Were there still lions in the Palestinian deserts? It seems rather wimpy that Jesus couldn't defend himself against them, whatever they might have been. Wasn't the Son of God man enough to hold his own against the animal kingdom. Wasn't he clever enough to fashion himself a weapon or two, a club, a staff, a spear to defend himself? But cheating on the test like a rich man's son, Jesus was being protected by guardians sent by his father. These guardians were presumably sent to ward off the wild animals. (If they were to protect him from the Satan, that would have defeated the whole purpose of Jesus' trial.) Unfortunately, nothing further is said of them. Were they spirit beings? Did they manifest a physical form? ("Angels" is the usual translation, but I have avoided the use of that highly ambiguous and misleading term.)
6. Jesus' time in the desert is similar to the periods of testing, fasting and deprivation that most prophets and shamans and inspirational leaders undergo or are expected to undergo. (It is almost a hazing rite.) Something special is supposed to occur during the experience; there may be communion with higher beings, the endowment of spiritual insights or cosmic awareness, or the conference of psychic powers. The nature of Jesus' experience is undocumented.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the River Jordan. When Jesus emerged from the water, he saw the sky open up and the Divine Spirit fly down to him like a dove. A voice from the heavens spoke to him. "You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."
The Divine Spirit at once impelled Jesus to go out into the desert, where he would remain for 40 days. There he was tested by Satan and exposed to wild animals -- but extraterrestrial guardians attended him.
Notes
1. Jesus is from Nazareth, now a large city in northern Israel and regarded as the Arab capital of the country. In the 1st Century AD, though, it was only a small, unimportant town of a few hundred people. It was located in central Galilee, a separate country well to the north Judea, where most of John's converts were coming from. At that time Galilee, technically a part of the Roman province of Iudea, was semi-autonomous and was ruled by a son of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas. Mark makes no further comment upon Jesus' origin. That it was the first gospel to be written leads one to suspect that the Nativity stories recounted in Matthew and Luke (which are irreconcilably contradictory) are later embellishments and probably mythical.
2. After his baptism, Jesus looks up to the sky and sees the Divine Spirit fly down to him and then speak to him. The voice is that of God the Father expressing his approval of his son. It is unclear what he actually saw. Did he see with his eyes or was it in his mind? Was there a physical manifestation of some sort? If so, was it seen by John the Baptist, too? The Divine Spirit flies down to him like a dove, that is, like a bird; the text does not say that it took the physical form of a dove. Was this spirit a disembodied form of God, or some separate entity. The former seems most likely since the words spoken are from the Father. It should be mentioned that the opening up or splitting of the sky is perhaps not meant metaphorically. The authors of the Old Testament believed that a dome, the firmament, covered a flat earth and that above this dome was an ocean and, beyond that, Heaven, where Jehovah or Elohim lived. The dome, the sky, would thus have to open in order for it to rain, or for someone or something to come down from Heaven. The authors of the New Testament, probably not privy to the newfangled Greek notions of a spherical world, would have conceived of things similarly.
3. Some have believed that the descent of the dove-like spirit to Jesus after his baptism constituted possession by that divine spirit. Before that time he was an ordinary man and only subsequently was his body inhabited by the Son of God. This interesting and reasonably plausible theory is one of many suggested by early Christians and rejected by orthodoxy. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is one of the few events generally conceded to be almost certainly factual by those who credit an historical Jesus. There is no agreement, though, as to where exactly the event might have taken place.
4. Jesus is sent out into the desert for 40 days, the 40 days being analogous to the supposed 40 years the Israelites spent in the desert. Most text refer to "wilderness," but the contemporary impression of wilderness is boundless tracts of forests and perhaps mountains and streams. What is referred to here are the desert wastelands removed from human settlement. The apparent purpose of this desert exile is so that Jesus can be tested. There is the implication that one cannot be good unless one is tempted by evil and is successful in resisting that temptation. But if he is the Son of God, why should this be at all necessary? The Satan, literally "Opposer" or "Adversary" is not a figure of evil bent upon tempting Jesus away from goodness and subverting his mission. He is merely charged with testing Jesus, rather like a stern schoolmaster or drill instructor. Even if Satan tempts Jesus to evil, there is no implication, here, at least, that Satan himself is evil or that he is doing anything contrary to the will of God the Father. And it is not clear that Satan is even a specific individual or being. This follows a traditional Hebraic view of "Satan," who is mentioned only a few times in the Old Testament and always in this context. In the later Gospel of Matthew Satan is portrayed more familiarly, and as Christianity would develop, Satan would become an important figure, the author of evil, the tempter of mankind who would oppose Jesus Christ. All good stories, even religious narratives, need an antagonist as well as a protagonist. Jehovah and the Israelites had plenty of adversaries in the physical world, the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Amalekites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the who's who of the ancient Middle East. Until Christendom was established as a temporal power and could wage its campaigns of conversion against nonbelievers, it had to be content with an otherworldly adversary, Satan, or the Devil, who quickly evolved into a comic-book arch villain.
5. Jesus was among the wild animals of the desert. One wonders what animals would have posed a threat to him -- gray wolves, hyenas, Arabian leopards, maybe? Were there still lions in the Palestinian deserts? It seems rather wimpy that Jesus couldn't defend himself against them, whatever they might have been. Wasn't the Son of God man enough to hold his own against the animal kingdom. Wasn't he clever enough to fashion himself a weapon or two, a club, a staff, a spear to defend himself? But cheating on the test like a rich man's son, Jesus was being protected by guardians sent by his father. These guardians were presumably sent to ward off the wild animals. (If they were to protect him from the Satan, that would have defeated the whole purpose of Jesus' trial.) Unfortunately, nothing further is said of them. Were they spirit beings? Did they manifest a physical form? ("Angels" is the usual translation, but I have avoided the use of that highly ambiguous and misleading term.)
6. Jesus' time in the desert is similar to the periods of testing, fasting and deprivation that most prophets and shamans and inspirational leaders undergo or are expected to undergo. (It is almost a hazing rite.) Something special is supposed to occur during the experience; there may be communion with higher beings, the endowment of spiritual insights or cosmic awareness, or the conference of psychic powers. The nature of Jesus' experience is undocumented.
John the Baptist
(Gospel of Mark 1:1 - 1:8)
The Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, began just as it was written down by the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, ahead of your arrival I will be dispatching a messenger to herald your coming. He will be as a voice proclaiming from out of the desert, 'Prepare the way for the coming of the Master; clear a path for him!'"
And so appeared John, who performed baptisms in the desert and preached baptism and repentance as a means of achieving remission of sins. All those in Judea, even in Jerusalem went out to him to confess their sins and be baptized in the waters of the River Jordan. This John the Baptist wore garments of camel's hair and girded them round his waist with a leather belt. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and the honey of wild bees.
He announced, "After me will come someone far greater than I, the straps of whose sandals I am unworthy to stoop down and undo. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Divine Spirit."
Notes
1. A gospel, literally "Good News," can be either a narrative of Jesus' life, an account of his acts and miracles, or a summary of his teachings and utterances. Mark, like Matthew and Luke, is considered a synoptic gospel, that is, it provides a biographical synopsis. Mark, written in Greek, probably for a Christian Gentile audience, is believed to have been composed before any of other four canonical gospels, perhaps about 70 AD. There is no evidence that Mark was authored by the disciple Mark, but is generally believed to be the work of an unknown writer that drew from various sources. (The gospel can also refer to the message preached by Jesus.)
2. The first prophetic quote is actually Malachi 3:1, the second, though, is from Isaiah 40:3. (It is disturbing that one cannot get past the second sentence without an inaccuracy being found.) Needless to say, these prophecies, like all the Old Testament statements supposedly alluding to Jesus as the Messiah, are ambiguous and vague; there is nothing here that points specifically to John and Jesus.
3. While most of the basic elements of Christianity were developed after Jesus (by others), we see here Christian practices and beliefs appearing before Jesus. John the Baptist, a pre-Jesus Christian, advocates confession and repentance as a means of receiving forgiveness for one's sins. This and the practice of baptism are basic tenets of Christian belief and distinct from Judaic practice. In the Old Testament Jehovah rarely demanded confession or repentance, only that the proper animal sacrifices be made to him and tribute paid to his priests.
4. John the Baptist is portrayed as an ascetic: he lives simply and austerely and aloof from society, save for those who come to him to be baptized. His camel hair clothes would have been rough and uncomfortable. Grasshoppers (or locusts), unappetizing surely, were sometimes consumed by the poor and were kosher, that is, acceptable to the dietary restrictions set down in Leviticus. Honey from wild bees is far less tasty than that from domesticated bees. No religious reason is given for his lifestyle, nor are any moral judgments offered about it. Perhaps the information is furnished merely as testimony to his character, letting us know what kind of guy he was.
5. Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew Messiah, the "Anointed One." I am using the Hebrew word in favor of the Greek, for Christ has lost its meaning and is regarded by most people as merely Jesus' last name, when it is not uttered as a swear word. (He should be referred to as Jesus the Christ.)
The Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, began just as it was written down by the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, ahead of your arrival I will be dispatching a messenger to herald your coming. He will be as a voice proclaiming from out of the desert, 'Prepare the way for the coming of the Master; clear a path for him!'"
And so appeared John, who performed baptisms in the desert and preached baptism and repentance as a means of achieving remission of sins. All those in Judea, even in Jerusalem went out to him to confess their sins and be baptized in the waters of the River Jordan. This John the Baptist wore garments of camel's hair and girded them round his waist with a leather belt. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and the honey of wild bees.
He announced, "After me will come someone far greater than I, the straps of whose sandals I am unworthy to stoop down and undo. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Divine Spirit."
Notes
1. A gospel, literally "Good News," can be either a narrative of Jesus' life, an account of his acts and miracles, or a summary of his teachings and utterances. Mark, like Matthew and Luke, is considered a synoptic gospel, that is, it provides a biographical synopsis. Mark, written in Greek, probably for a Christian Gentile audience, is believed to have been composed before any of other four canonical gospels, perhaps about 70 AD. There is no evidence that Mark was authored by the disciple Mark, but is generally believed to be the work of an unknown writer that drew from various sources. (The gospel can also refer to the message preached by Jesus.)
2. The first prophetic quote is actually Malachi 3:1, the second, though, is from Isaiah 40:3. (It is disturbing that one cannot get past the second sentence without an inaccuracy being found.) Needless to say, these prophecies, like all the Old Testament statements supposedly alluding to Jesus as the Messiah, are ambiguous and vague; there is nothing here that points specifically to John and Jesus.
3. While most of the basic elements of Christianity were developed after Jesus (by others), we see here Christian practices and beliefs appearing before Jesus. John the Baptist, a pre-Jesus Christian, advocates confession and repentance as a means of receiving forgiveness for one's sins. This and the practice of baptism are basic tenets of Christian belief and distinct from Judaic practice. In the Old Testament Jehovah rarely demanded confession or repentance, only that the proper animal sacrifices be made to him and tribute paid to his priests.
4. John the Baptist is portrayed as an ascetic: he lives simply and austerely and aloof from society, save for those who come to him to be baptized. His camel hair clothes would have been rough and uncomfortable. Grasshoppers (or locusts), unappetizing surely, were sometimes consumed by the poor and were kosher, that is, acceptable to the dietary restrictions set down in Leviticus. Honey from wild bees is far less tasty than that from domesticated bees. No religious reason is given for his lifestyle, nor are any moral judgments offered about it. Perhaps the information is furnished merely as testimony to his character, letting us know what kind of guy he was.
5. Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew Messiah, the "Anointed One." I am using the Hebrew word in favor of the Greek, for Christ has lost its meaning and is regarded by most people as merely Jesus' last name, when it is not uttered as a swear word. (He should be referred to as Jesus the Christ.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Mary Gives Birth to Jesus
(Gospel of the Birth of Mary 8:1 - 8:15)
Three months after his betrothal to Mary, Joseph made the trip from Judea to Galilee with the intention of marrying her. By this time Mary’s pregnancy had become so advanced that it could not be concealed. Joseph, calling upon her informally and chatting with her as a man would his betrothed, could not help noticing her condition. This made him very uncomfortable and uncertain; he knew not what course of action to take. Being a just man, he did not want to expose her, and being a pious man, he did not want to publicly defame her as a promiscuous woman. Therefore, he decided that he would privately retract his offer of marriage and, as discreetly, send her away.
While he was mulling over these things, a messenger of Jehovah appeared to him in a dream. He told him, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid. You mustn't have any suspicions that the Virgin has been guilt of fornication or think ill of her. Have no reluctance to take her as your wife. For what is growing within her, that so distresses you, is not the product of a man, but of the Spirit Divine. She, of all women, is the only virgin who will give birth to the Son of God, whom you will call Jesus the Savior -- for he will save his people from their sins.”
Following the commands of Jehovah's messenger, Joseph wed Mary, but refrained from having sexual relations with her, preserving her chastity. As the ninth month of her pregnancy neared, Joseph took his wife and whatever things they needed and journeyed to his home town of Bethlehem. While they were there, Mary's time came. And she did indeed give birth to her first-born son, the Master Jesus, the Christ of whom the evangelists teach us, the Son who, with the Father and the Spirit Divine, lives and will reign in the ages to come.
Notes
1. Jehovah's messengers are busy paying calls upon the characters in this narrative. Mary is quite used to their visits. However, since Joseph is not, they avoid freaking him out by coming to him only in a dream. This seems to be a recurring practice. Those who are in communion with the divine, or the supposed divine, are witness to physical manifestations and communications that occur when the subject is conscious. Conversations and interactions occur. However, with those who cannot aspire to be a Moses or a Mary, Jehovah's agents are more aloof, and perhaps more circumspect in conveying their messages. Even Joseph does not seem worthy of a personal visit.
2. It might have been more considerate, one would think, if Jehovah had arranged to warn Joseph about Mary's virginal pregnancy before, rather than after his visit to Mary. Joseph was naturally perturbed and distressed when he found his fiancee was going to have a baby. Was he expected to react otherwise? Why was he needlessly subjected to such mental anguish? Why didn't they let him know beforehand?
3. Joseph takes his wife to his hometown of Bethlehem so that Jesus can be born there, and the Old Testament prophecy can be conveniently fulfilled. It is never explained why Joseph, probably long established as a carpenter there, would eventually move his business to his wife's home in Nazareth, where Jesus would grow up. Nazareth and Bethlehem were at that time located in what could be regarded as separate countries, Galilee and Judea.
4. Why Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth seems to be solely because Joseph lives in Bethlehem. There is no reference to a Roman census or, for that matter, any difficulties in finding a place to stay -- there would be none, since, one assumes, they would be staying in Joseph’s home. The birth simply occurs, with no reference to the familiar Nativity lore promulgated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Interesting that this later Gospel would not at least allude to events that one would regard as being already well established in Christian tradition.
Three months after his betrothal to Mary, Joseph made the trip from Judea to Galilee with the intention of marrying her. By this time Mary’s pregnancy had become so advanced that it could not be concealed. Joseph, calling upon her informally and chatting with her as a man would his betrothed, could not help noticing her condition. This made him very uncomfortable and uncertain; he knew not what course of action to take. Being a just man, he did not want to expose her, and being a pious man, he did not want to publicly defame her as a promiscuous woman. Therefore, he decided that he would privately retract his offer of marriage and, as discreetly, send her away.
While he was mulling over these things, a messenger of Jehovah appeared to him in a dream. He told him, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid. You mustn't have any suspicions that the Virgin has been guilt of fornication or think ill of her. Have no reluctance to take her as your wife. For what is growing within her, that so distresses you, is not the product of a man, but of the Spirit Divine. She, of all women, is the only virgin who will give birth to the Son of God, whom you will call Jesus the Savior -- for he will save his people from their sins.”
Following the commands of Jehovah's messenger, Joseph wed Mary, but refrained from having sexual relations with her, preserving her chastity. As the ninth month of her pregnancy neared, Joseph took his wife and whatever things they needed and journeyed to his home town of Bethlehem. While they were there, Mary's time came. And she did indeed give birth to her first-born son, the Master Jesus, the Christ of whom the evangelists teach us, the Son who, with the Father and the Spirit Divine, lives and will reign in the ages to come.
Notes
1. Jehovah's messengers are busy paying calls upon the characters in this narrative. Mary is quite used to their visits. However, since Joseph is not, they avoid freaking him out by coming to him only in a dream. This seems to be a recurring practice. Those who are in communion with the divine, or the supposed divine, are witness to physical manifestations and communications that occur when the subject is conscious. Conversations and interactions occur. However, with those who cannot aspire to be a Moses or a Mary, Jehovah's agents are more aloof, and perhaps more circumspect in conveying their messages. Even Joseph does not seem worthy of a personal visit.
2. It might have been more considerate, one would think, if Jehovah had arranged to warn Joseph about Mary's virginal pregnancy before, rather than after his visit to Mary. Joseph was naturally perturbed and distressed when he found his fiancee was going to have a baby. Was he expected to react otherwise? Why was he needlessly subjected to such mental anguish? Why didn't they let him know beforehand?
3. Joseph takes his wife to his hometown of Bethlehem so that Jesus can be born there, and the Old Testament prophecy can be conveniently fulfilled. It is never explained why Joseph, probably long established as a carpenter there, would eventually move his business to his wife's home in Nazareth, where Jesus would grow up. Nazareth and Bethlehem were at that time located in what could be regarded as separate countries, Galilee and Judea.
4. Why Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth seems to be solely because Joseph lives in Bethlehem. There is no reference to a Roman census or, for that matter, any difficulties in finding a place to stay -- there would be none, since, one assumes, they would be staying in Joseph’s home. The birth simply occurs, with no reference to the familiar Nativity lore promulgated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Interesting that this later Gospel would not at least allude to events that one would regard as being already well established in Christian tradition.
Gabriel Appears to Mary
(Gospel of the Birth of Mary 7:1 - 7:21)
Immediately after Mary returned to Galilee, Jehovah sent his agent Gabriel to announce that she would conceive our Savior and to explain to her the manner of conceiving him. When he appeared to her he filled the room with brilliant light. He greeted her in a courteous manner and addressed her, "Hail to you, O Mary, the well-received Virgin of Jehovah, O Virgin full of grace! Jehovah honors you! You are blessed above all women -- above all men who have been born up until this time."
The Virgin was familiar with the faces of Jehovah's emissaries and regarded the divine illumination as nothing unusual. Therefore, she was not all alarmed by the visitation nor surprised by the brilliance of the light. She was perturbed, though, by words of the divine messenger. What, she mused, was the meaning of so extravagant a greeting, what did it portend, what would it lead to?
Responding to her doubts, the emissary assured her, "Don't be afraid that my greeting suggests anything critical of your chastity. You have found favor with Jehovah because of your decision to remain a virgin. But while you will remain a virgin you will nevertheless conceive without carnal sin and give birth to a son. He will be of greatness, reigning from sea to sea, to the rivers that run round the edge of the world. He will be proclaimed the Son of the Most High. While he will be born on earth in humble circumstances, he reigns with exalted status in Heaven. Jehovah will grant him the throne of his ancestor David. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. For he is the King of Kings, the Master of Masters -- and his reign will be eternal."
The Virgin reacted to this announcement by Jehovah's emissary not with disbelief, but with curiosity as to how to it might be brought about. "How is this possible? According to my vow I have not had carnal knowledge of a man. How can I bear a child without there being the contribution of a man's seed?"
The answer Gabriel gave was this, "Do not think, Mary, that you will conceive in the normal way. Without having intercourse with a man and while remaining a virgin, you will still conceive. As a virgin you will give birth to a child. And as a virgin you will nurse it. For it will be the Spirit Divine that impregnates you and the Most High that holds you in his power, without there being any lustful passions. Thus your offspring will be holy because it has been conceived without sin, and after birth, he will be called the Son of God."
Mary, lifting her arms and raising her eyes to the heavens, proclaimed, "Behold the maid servant of Jehovah! May this happen to me as you have said it would."
Notes
1. Agents/emissaries sent by Jehovah usually remain nameless. Here, for this important task, an event that will later be called the Annunciation of the Virgin, the luminous being who appears is Gabriel, known popularly as the archangel who blows a horn. (He is without his horn here.) He greets Mary in a grand manner, mollifies her fears, and explains to her how she is going to give birth, without sexual intercourse, to the Son of God. Significantly, Mary is not alarmed or surprised by his appearance for she regularly has visits from such heavenly beings.
2. Mary is understandably skeptical about a virgin giving birth, but Gabriel explains how it is possible through the Spirit Divine -- only he doesn't really explain it. The seed of a man is necessary for conception, as Mary points out. (Apparently, despite her cloistered upbringing, someone did tell her a little bit about the birds and the bees.) While God may finds a means of artificial insemination, does he, a spirit being, possess the DNA of a man? Gabriel is not very specific.
3. Sexual intercourse, not just that done for pleasure, but for propagation, is regarded here as sinful. Life, the ultimate good, one would think, is thus produced by an act that is sinful. But if human beings did not sin and have sex once in a while, there would be no people for whom Jehovah could be god. Is there no perception of this inconsistency?
4. Jesus, the Son of God, will reign over the house of Jacob and will succeed to the throne of King David. But he will also reign over the whole world and his reign will last forever. When and how this will come to pass is not explained, and this claim is not one that arouses Mary's curiosity.
5. In describing the world, Gabriel alludes to rivers surrounding it. Apparently the emissaries of Jehovah who supposedly created the world have as little knowledge about the nature of the earth as the common, ignorant people of the 1st century BC. Before it was realized (firstly by ancient Greek philosophers) that the earth was a globe, it was widely believed that the earth was flat and that its lands were surrounded by a river or an ocean. (Eventually one would fall off the edge -- to where, who knew?)
Immediately after Mary returned to Galilee, Jehovah sent his agent Gabriel to announce that she would conceive our Savior and to explain to her the manner of conceiving him. When he appeared to her he filled the room with brilliant light. He greeted her in a courteous manner and addressed her, "Hail to you, O Mary, the well-received Virgin of Jehovah, O Virgin full of grace! Jehovah honors you! You are blessed above all women -- above all men who have been born up until this time."
The Virgin was familiar with the faces of Jehovah's emissaries and regarded the divine illumination as nothing unusual. Therefore, she was not all alarmed by the visitation nor surprised by the brilliance of the light. She was perturbed, though, by words of the divine messenger. What, she mused, was the meaning of so extravagant a greeting, what did it portend, what would it lead to?
Responding to her doubts, the emissary assured her, "Don't be afraid that my greeting suggests anything critical of your chastity. You have found favor with Jehovah because of your decision to remain a virgin. But while you will remain a virgin you will nevertheless conceive without carnal sin and give birth to a son. He will be of greatness, reigning from sea to sea, to the rivers that run round the edge of the world. He will be proclaimed the Son of the Most High. While he will be born on earth in humble circumstances, he reigns with exalted status in Heaven. Jehovah will grant him the throne of his ancestor David. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. For he is the King of Kings, the Master of Masters -- and his reign will be eternal."
The Virgin reacted to this announcement by Jehovah's emissary not with disbelief, but with curiosity as to how to it might be brought about. "How is this possible? According to my vow I have not had carnal knowledge of a man. How can I bear a child without there being the contribution of a man's seed?"
The answer Gabriel gave was this, "Do not think, Mary, that you will conceive in the normal way. Without having intercourse with a man and while remaining a virgin, you will still conceive. As a virgin you will give birth to a child. And as a virgin you will nurse it. For it will be the Spirit Divine that impregnates you and the Most High that holds you in his power, without there being any lustful passions. Thus your offspring will be holy because it has been conceived without sin, and after birth, he will be called the Son of God."
Mary, lifting her arms and raising her eyes to the heavens, proclaimed, "Behold the maid servant of Jehovah! May this happen to me as you have said it would."
Notes
1. Agents/emissaries sent by Jehovah usually remain nameless. Here, for this important task, an event that will later be called the Annunciation of the Virgin, the luminous being who appears is Gabriel, known popularly as the archangel who blows a horn. (He is without his horn here.) He greets Mary in a grand manner, mollifies her fears, and explains to her how she is going to give birth, without sexual intercourse, to the Son of God. Significantly, Mary is not alarmed or surprised by his appearance for she regularly has visits from such heavenly beings.
2. Mary is understandably skeptical about a virgin giving birth, but Gabriel explains how it is possible through the Spirit Divine -- only he doesn't really explain it. The seed of a man is necessary for conception, as Mary points out. (Apparently, despite her cloistered upbringing, someone did tell her a little bit about the birds and the bees.) While God may finds a means of artificial insemination, does he, a spirit being, possess the DNA of a man? Gabriel is not very specific.
3. Sexual intercourse, not just that done for pleasure, but for propagation, is regarded here as sinful. Life, the ultimate good, one would think, is thus produced by an act that is sinful. But if human beings did not sin and have sex once in a while, there would be no people for whom Jehovah could be god. Is there no perception of this inconsistency?
4. Jesus, the Son of God, will reign over the house of Jacob and will succeed to the throne of King David. But he will also reign over the whole world and his reign will last forever. When and how this will come to pass is not explained, and this claim is not one that arouses Mary's curiosity.
5. In describing the world, Gabriel alludes to rivers surrounding it. Apparently the emissaries of Jehovah who supposedly created the world have as little knowledge about the nature of the earth as the common, ignorant people of the 1st century BC. Before it was realized (firstly by ancient Greek philosophers) that the earth was a globe, it was widely believed that the earth was flat and that its lands were surrounded by a river or an ocean. (Eventually one would fall off the edge -- to where, who knew?)
Betrothal of Mary
(Gospel of the Birth of Mary 5:1 - 6:7)
As the Virgin of Jehovah grew older, she developed in character and virtue. She was, as the author of the Psalms wrote, abandoned by her mother and father, but taken care of by Jehovah -- for every day she communed with the divine and was visited by emissaries from God who protected her from a variety of evil influences and filled her with goodness.
By the time she had reached her 14th year no evil-minded person could find anything to say against her and every good person who was acquainted with her spoke highly of her character and her company. The high priest of the temple publicly declared that all young women who were wards of the temple and who had arrived at this age should return to their homes and since they were now sufficiently mature, they should seek to marry, in accordance with the custom of the country. All the maidens residing the temple expressed a willingness to obey the order, but, alone among them, Mary, the Virgin of Jehovah, responded that she would not comply with such an command. She presented these two arguments, that she and her parents had dedicated her to the service of Jehovah and, furthermore, she herself had sworn to Jehovah that she would remain a virgin, a vow she was determined never to break by having sexual relations with a man.
The high priest was thus placed in a quandary. He could not have her break a vow to Jehovah, a transgression of scriptural law that demands one must keep a vow. On the other hand, he was loathed to introduce a custom that was alien to his people. To help him handle such a difficult case, he decided that at an upcoming feast he would seek the council of several prominent religious leaders who were coming from Jerusalem and the surrounding area.
When these leaders were assembled, they unanimously decided to seek an oracle from Jehovah. While they were all absorbed in prayer, the high priest, in the accepted manner, consulted Jehovah. From the Judgment Seat, the cover of the Chest of Sacred Records, there immediately sounded a voice that was heard by all. It told them that they should refer to the Prophet Isaiah to determine to whom the Virgin should be betrothed. (Isaiah had declared, "there will appear from the stock of Jesse a staff, and a flower will bloom from its root. The spirit of Jehovah will reside within him and he will be filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, judgment and authority, knowledge and piety, and reverence for the divine.")
Following the prophecy, the high priest decreed that all men of the tribe of David who were marriageable but not yet betrothed should each bring their staffs to the altar. If, after their staffs were presented, any of them should bud with a flower and on top of it should sit, manifested as a dove, the spirit of Jehovah, then the one to whom that staff belonged would be the man to whom the Virgin should be given and betrothed.
Among those that appeared from the tribe of David there was of his family a man named Joseph. Because he was of advanced years he held on to his staff when everyone else presented theirs.
When nothing drew a favorable response from the divine oracle, the high priest deemed it proper to consult Jehovah again. The reply was that the Virgin was to be betrothed to the one man of those assembled who had not presented his staff.
Joseph was thus found out. And so when he presented his staff a dove flew down from the sky and perched upon the top of it. As this was witnessed by all there, it was evident that he was the one to whom the Virgin should be betrothed.
After the customary betrothal ceremonies were over, Joseph returned to his hometown of Bethlehem to ready his house and make all the necessary arrangements for the wedding.
Mary, the Virgin of Jehovah, returned to her parent's home in Galilee along with seven other virgins appointed by the priest to attend her. These were all maidens her own age who had been weaned at the same time as she had.
Notes
1. Mary, during her childhood and youth, had regular if not constant communication with Jehovah's emissaries. One wonders what the nature of these contacts might have been. Did these supposedly divine representatives manifest themselves as normal looking men, as luminous beings, as disembodied voices, or as presences with whom she communed telepathically?
2. The divine emissaries guarded and protected her, but from what, in the cloistered environment of the temple? They enlightened her and nurtured in her proper, pious values. She became a good girl. But while goodness itself may flower in a desert, it is hard to see how the character can be developed without life experiences. Goodness may rightly eschew the evils one has never been exposed to, but character can only be formed by an acquaintance with evil and a rejection of it, by making correct choices, resisting temptation, even by making mistakes and learning from them. Mary seemed to have been sheltered entirely from real life, with an innocence derived from ignorance.
3. In Exodus the Judgment Seat, the cover to the Chest of Sacred Records (often called the Ark of the Covenant) is described as being the place upon which Jehovah sits to make pronouncements, pass judgments, and perform as an oracle. It was never made clear if Jehovah physically assumed his seat as a man would, if he materialized upon the seat, hovered in a cloud above it, or merely used it as a speaker for his disembodied voice. More than a thousand years later, we read of the Jehovan priests consulting their god in this traditional manner, here at what would have been the Temple built (or, more accurately, remodeled) by King Herod. The procedure of consultation is different from the Greek oracles such as that of Delphi, but the idea behind it is the same. At Delphi the entranced priestess was possessed by the god Apollo and made utterances that required interpretation. Jehovah, a very straight forward sort of god, answers directly in a voice everyone can hear with words that are unambiguous. There is no record of anyone seeing anything, so one assumes the voice of Jehovah is disembodied.
4. One would think that the number of marriageable men, even restricted to those of the tribe of David, would comprise a huge assembly, many thousands at least, but the impression given is that we are talking about several dozen or a few score men that bring their staffs to the Temple.
5. One assumes the staffs were much like shepherds crooks, but used as walking sticks and customarily carried by most men, that is, most men would have one that they could present. The word “rod” is often used here, but would be misleading. Rods were carried by shepherds along with their crooks to be used as clubs. It’s unlikely that that is what is referred to here. Obviously reference in the prophecy of Isaiah to budding flowers, roots, and rods (branches or stems) is symbolic, but the priests seem to take it as being literal. We find that all through history biblical passages meant to be metaphoric are interpreted literally (and vice versa).
6. Joseph is described as being a man of advanced years. It seems odd the old codger, who pointedly did not want to be considered as a potential husband, was regarded as an eligible bachelor and obliged to attend the ceremony of the staffs. He himself felt he shouldn't be there and refused to present his staff for consideration. But, for some reason, he was the chosen one of Jehovah. This incident conforms to the recurring biblical theme of the unlikely/unwilling/aged parent. The birth of every significant person must seem miraculous, or at least unusual. This is true of many ancient and medieval personages who are not necessarily connected with religion.
7. A dove lights atop of Joseph's staff, but the prophecy also stipulates that a flower should bud from the end of it. This is not reported to have happened. But apparently the dove was sufficiently convincing. Jehovah was not unlike the Greek gods in his habit of turning himself into an animal once in a while, although he seemed to have preferred manifesting himself as a dove. The whiteness of the dove has always suggested purity and its docility, benevolence, but it would certainly not convey the power one associates with a god. A hawk or an eagle would seem a better choice, but, in the present instance, one cannot quarrel with the suitability of a dove.
8. It is established that Mary is from Galilee and that Joseph is a Judean from Bethlehem. It is important for the story to have Jesus born in Bethlehem in order to conform to Old Testament prophecy assumed to refer to the Messiah.
As the Virgin of Jehovah grew older, she developed in character and virtue. She was, as the author of the Psalms wrote, abandoned by her mother and father, but taken care of by Jehovah -- for every day she communed with the divine and was visited by emissaries from God who protected her from a variety of evil influences and filled her with goodness.
By the time she had reached her 14th year no evil-minded person could find anything to say against her and every good person who was acquainted with her spoke highly of her character and her company. The high priest of the temple publicly declared that all young women who were wards of the temple and who had arrived at this age should return to their homes and since they were now sufficiently mature, they should seek to marry, in accordance with the custom of the country. All the maidens residing the temple expressed a willingness to obey the order, but, alone among them, Mary, the Virgin of Jehovah, responded that she would not comply with such an command. She presented these two arguments, that she and her parents had dedicated her to the service of Jehovah and, furthermore, she herself had sworn to Jehovah that she would remain a virgin, a vow she was determined never to break by having sexual relations with a man.
The high priest was thus placed in a quandary. He could not have her break a vow to Jehovah, a transgression of scriptural law that demands one must keep a vow. On the other hand, he was loathed to introduce a custom that was alien to his people. To help him handle such a difficult case, he decided that at an upcoming feast he would seek the council of several prominent religious leaders who were coming from Jerusalem and the surrounding area.
When these leaders were assembled, they unanimously decided to seek an oracle from Jehovah. While they were all absorbed in prayer, the high priest, in the accepted manner, consulted Jehovah. From the Judgment Seat, the cover of the Chest of Sacred Records, there immediately sounded a voice that was heard by all. It told them that they should refer to the Prophet Isaiah to determine to whom the Virgin should be betrothed. (Isaiah had declared, "there will appear from the stock of Jesse a staff, and a flower will bloom from its root. The spirit of Jehovah will reside within him and he will be filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, judgment and authority, knowledge and piety, and reverence for the divine.")
Following the prophecy, the high priest decreed that all men of the tribe of David who were marriageable but not yet betrothed should each bring their staffs to the altar. If, after their staffs were presented, any of them should bud with a flower and on top of it should sit, manifested as a dove, the spirit of Jehovah, then the one to whom that staff belonged would be the man to whom the Virgin should be given and betrothed.
Among those that appeared from the tribe of David there was of his family a man named Joseph. Because he was of advanced years he held on to his staff when everyone else presented theirs.
When nothing drew a favorable response from the divine oracle, the high priest deemed it proper to consult Jehovah again. The reply was that the Virgin was to be betrothed to the one man of those assembled who had not presented his staff.
Joseph was thus found out. And so when he presented his staff a dove flew down from the sky and perched upon the top of it. As this was witnessed by all there, it was evident that he was the one to whom the Virgin should be betrothed.
After the customary betrothal ceremonies were over, Joseph returned to his hometown of Bethlehem to ready his house and make all the necessary arrangements for the wedding.
Mary, the Virgin of Jehovah, returned to her parent's home in Galilee along with seven other virgins appointed by the priest to attend her. These were all maidens her own age who had been weaned at the same time as she had.
Notes
1. Mary, during her childhood and youth, had regular if not constant communication with Jehovah's emissaries. One wonders what the nature of these contacts might have been. Did these supposedly divine representatives manifest themselves as normal looking men, as luminous beings, as disembodied voices, or as presences with whom she communed telepathically?
2. The divine emissaries guarded and protected her, but from what, in the cloistered environment of the temple? They enlightened her and nurtured in her proper, pious values. She became a good girl. But while goodness itself may flower in a desert, it is hard to see how the character can be developed without life experiences. Goodness may rightly eschew the evils one has never been exposed to, but character can only be formed by an acquaintance with evil and a rejection of it, by making correct choices, resisting temptation, even by making mistakes and learning from them. Mary seemed to have been sheltered entirely from real life, with an innocence derived from ignorance.
3. In Exodus the Judgment Seat, the cover to the Chest of Sacred Records (often called the Ark of the Covenant) is described as being the place upon which Jehovah sits to make pronouncements, pass judgments, and perform as an oracle. It was never made clear if Jehovah physically assumed his seat as a man would, if he materialized upon the seat, hovered in a cloud above it, or merely used it as a speaker for his disembodied voice. More than a thousand years later, we read of the Jehovan priests consulting their god in this traditional manner, here at what would have been the Temple built (or, more accurately, remodeled) by King Herod. The procedure of consultation is different from the Greek oracles such as that of Delphi, but the idea behind it is the same. At Delphi the entranced priestess was possessed by the god Apollo and made utterances that required interpretation. Jehovah, a very straight forward sort of god, answers directly in a voice everyone can hear with words that are unambiguous. There is no record of anyone seeing anything, so one assumes the voice of Jehovah is disembodied.
4. One would think that the number of marriageable men, even restricted to those of the tribe of David, would comprise a huge assembly, many thousands at least, but the impression given is that we are talking about several dozen or a few score men that bring their staffs to the Temple.
5. One assumes the staffs were much like shepherds crooks, but used as walking sticks and customarily carried by most men, that is, most men would have one that they could present. The word “rod” is often used here, but would be misleading. Rods were carried by shepherds along with their crooks to be used as clubs. It’s unlikely that that is what is referred to here. Obviously reference in the prophecy of Isaiah to budding flowers, roots, and rods (branches or stems) is symbolic, but the priests seem to take it as being literal. We find that all through history biblical passages meant to be metaphoric are interpreted literally (and vice versa).
6. Joseph is described as being a man of advanced years. It seems odd the old codger, who pointedly did not want to be considered as a potential husband, was regarded as an eligible bachelor and obliged to attend the ceremony of the staffs. He himself felt he shouldn't be there and refused to present his staff for consideration. But, for some reason, he was the chosen one of Jehovah. This incident conforms to the recurring biblical theme of the unlikely/unwilling/aged parent. The birth of every significant person must seem miraculous, or at least unusual. This is true of many ancient and medieval personages who are not necessarily connected with religion.
7. A dove lights atop of Joseph's staff, but the prophecy also stipulates that a flower should bud from the end of it. This is not reported to have happened. But apparently the dove was sufficiently convincing. Jehovah was not unlike the Greek gods in his habit of turning himself into an animal once in a while, although he seemed to have preferred manifesting himself as a dove. The whiteness of the dove has always suggested purity and its docility, benevolence, but it would certainly not convey the power one associates with a god. A hawk or an eagle would seem a better choice, but, in the present instance, one cannot quarrel with the suitability of a dove.
8. It is established that Mary is from Galilee and that Joseph is a Judean from Bethlehem. It is important for the story to have Jesus born in Bethlehem in order to conform to Old Testament prophecy assumed to refer to the Messiah.
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