The Daring Life and Faith of the Wife of Joseph

A common fate of history’s notables is to have their true lives and personalities distorted by the legends that grow up around them. In time, the authentic identity of the person becomes submerged in the image and narrative associated with them. The great Roman conqueror, Julius Caesar, for example, was a balding man who suffered from seizures.1 Baldwin the 4th, the Crusader king of Jerusalem who defeated Saladin, was a sickly leper who concealed his disease behind a metal mask that he wore into battle. In modern times, President John Kennedy for all of his apparent vigor and good looks, wore a back brace under his shirt. He had Addison’s disease which gave his skin a tan that the public attributed to an active outdoor life.2

Of all the famous people of history, probably none has had their lives more obscured by legend and myth than Miriam, the wife of Joseph, more commonly known as Mary, or Miriam, the mother of Jesus. Miriam was Mary’s Hebrew name. In the Aramaic speaking town that she grew up in, she would have been called Maryam. This sounds strange to our ears because she probably has not been called by her Hebrew or Aramaic names in churches in a very long time. Most people’s image of her is as a praying figure in a stain glass window or as a statue with European features. Miriam was in fact a devout Jewess in every sense of the word and we cannot know her as she was unless we understand this.

The first picture that we see of her in scripture is as a young girl who had recently been betrothed to an older man as was the custom of the day. Miriam was probably no more than 13 or 14 years old at the time. This was typical of a time in which people died young by today’s standards. Her acceptance of the angel’s invitation to become the mother of the Christ (Messiah) was a daring act of faith because it entailed having a pregnancy from a source other than her husband to be, Joseph. The complications from such a matter could be endless in her hometown of Nazareth, but Miriam embraced her call with joy. The families of the time were typically large and it was common place to assist close relatives as part of a large extended family. She visited her cousin, Elizabeth, during her one year betrothal period.

Miriam’s life at this early period was directed by the personal prophecies that she received. Simeon and Anna’s prophecies to her heralding the mission of her Son were notable (Lk 2:29 -33, 36 -38). Elizabeth also greeted her calling her Miriam, the mother of her Lord, and by extension Israel’s Lord (Lk 1:43). Miriam’s inspired response to Elizabeth was a Hebrew prophetic word from beginning to end. Excerpts from no fewer than five psalms are a part of it and its message of hope and restoration of the downtrodden is very much in the spirit of other Hebrew prophets.3 A close examination of Miriam’s prophetic word teaches much about the prophetic gift and how it develops within a person.

Miriam’s word began with the exclamation, “My soul magnifies and extols the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46-47). Miriam’s soul and spirit joined together in seamless harmony to praise God for his grace and favor. She rejoiced at the core of her being and her mind and emotions eloquently added to the prophetic word. There was no dichotomy here between the human and spiritual side of Miriam. Like the incarnation of Messiah himself, they worked together synergistically to produce a timeless prophetic word that arose from her experiences and knowledge of scripture. Miriam’s family was of humble means and had seen the oppression by the rich and powerful in Galilee. She had an authentic prophetic burden for the plight of the poor.

When Miriam gave this word, she was an adolescent, yet already her mind was steeped in scripture. Jewish mothers of the time were expected to instruct their young children in Torah and Miriam had prepared herself for the task. The gospel of Luke describes her as a young woman who pondered these things in her heart (Lk 2:19). The word that she gave was a combination of appropriate scriptures coupled with her own words. This is what an authentic prophetic word looks like — the Spirit of God working through the totality of a person’s being and experiences. Miriam was a prophetic woman even at this young age because she had already received the Holy Spirit into her life. God was indeed her Savior.

It is remarkable that God would entrust the care and nurture of his Son into the hands of such a young woman. It is even more remarkable that Miriam and Joseph accomplished this great calling during the perilous times of the first century. When Jesus (Yeshua) was very young, the family had to flee through the Sinai desert to escape the genocidal paranoia of King Herod. The couple became refugees because of their son and were strangers in a strange land. During the flight to Egypt, I imagine that Miriam pondered and thought about the words of Psalm 107 which she must have known:

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; they did not find a way to an inhabited city. They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he delivered them of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way, to go to an inhabited city. (Ps 107:4-7)

They successfully found refuge in Egypt. Was this the story of their flight through the desert wastes of Sinai?

Miriam at this point in her life was anything but a gloriously adorned figure in a nativity display She had to be tough and resilient to ride on the backside of a pack animal through the Sinai desert caring for her child who was still a toddler. Obscurity and hard work were what her

life was about and this was to be her family’s lot for many years to come. Yet, she and Joseph also had the joy and wonder of seeing her Son grow up and mature into the Messiah of Israel.

Miriam was a woman of her culture, and very likely took part in ancient Hebrew dances to celebrate her marriage. This was the custom of the time and she had much for which to rejoice. Can we see her dancing arm in arm with her relatives and neighbors, kicking up her heels in the sunlight and breeze of Nazareth? This historical imagination is consistent with the reality of the times.

The gospels record that Yeshua had a number of brothers and sisters and this is completely consistent with supporting the needs of agrarian cultures of the time. Many hands were needed to do the work and since there was no social welfare, having a number of children insured someone would look after the elderly. Miriam and Joseph had a normal marital life with a number of children (Matt 13:55-56). Joseph chose not to know Miriam sexually until Yeshua was born (Matt 1:25). After that, the implication is that they had normal marital relations. It would not have been much of a marriage without this in their Jewish culture.

Miriam and Joseph had a marriage to be admired, successfully bearing and raising a Jewish family. She became a living example of what a grace-filled motherhood could be as she raised other children who had yet to believe in her divine Son. She had to deal with family difficulties like anybody else. In this way her life gives hope and encouragement to all the mothers of faith who would follow after her. James and Jude were products of this family and they wrote two letters of the New Covenant. This should be celebrated and not denied.

The belief in Miriam’s perpetual virginity is one of the many myths that have grown up around her. She was obviously a family woman and not some sort of a nun. The first written record that we have of the perpetual virginity is in a mid-2nd century apocryphal book, Protoevangelium of James. This book was not written by James and contains a number of errors inconsistent with scripture.4

While Christians may differ over Miriam’s perpetual virginity, belief in the virgin birth of Yeshua is an essential of the faith. This doctrine protects his identify as the eternal divine Son of God Almighty. If Joseph or someone else were the biological father, then he is a mere man who could have been a prophet, but not God. Because of the virgin birth, Miriam is called the mother of God or the theotokos in Orthodox and Catholic churches. Martin Luther and John Calvin also called her theotokos. Scripture refers to her as the mother of the Lord,
and it was from her seed that the Messiah would come and crush the head of the serpent (Lk 1:43; Gen 3:15). This title does not make Miriam a demi-goddess or even a mediator between God and man. She was not the source of Yeshua’s divinity but only of his humanity as his mother. Only her Son could act as a mediator and a bridge between God and man because of him being true God and true man (1 Tim 2:15).

It is curious that evangelicals and protestants who staunchly defend the deity of Messiah have difficulty in bestowing this understanding upon Miriam. She was the human mother of the Messiah, whom all the major branches of Christianity affirm as God in the flesh. In that sense, she was the mother of God. We should all marvel and celebrate that God “selected an ordinary teenage girl this way.” What a great story of grace outpoured into someone’s life! As Miriam said:

For He has had regard for the humble state of his bondslave; for behold, from this time all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his Name. (Lk 1:48 – 49)

This should be a lesson to all of us about those whom God chooses to serve him. Miriam was of humble origins and considered herself a willing bondslave of God. She may have stood only five feet tall as was typical of women in the first century. She was a picture of weakness in her natural self, yet she gave birth to a Son who shook Israel, and in time impacted the world. This was a feat that great generals and vast armies could not do. Yes, in her life the weakness of God was proven to be greater than the strength of men (1 Cor 1:25).

When we look objectively at the life of Miriam, what stands out undeniably is that she was one of us. Much of her life was obscure and typical of Hebrew women of the period. Yet, she triumphed over her circumstances and successfully raised a large family. There were a few crucial times in her life when she was asked to play an important role as she did at the foot of the crucifixion stake and at the wedding feast in Cana. Miriam always showed up as a strong woman and she followed Yeshua to Jerusalem for the climax of his life and her mission as his mother. It was emotionally devastating for her to see her son in agony on the stake. She finally experienced the sword piercing her soul that Simeon had prophesied over her decades before in the temple. Yet, she hung on as she had hung on to the reins of the pack animal that carried her and her first born son into the Sinai wilderness with Joseph. She did not shrink from her calling and destiny.

Miraim’s life had a new beginning when she participated in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost) (Acts 1:13-14). What a great experience of inner healing and emotional release this must have been for her. Shavuot vindicated everything that she had experienced and suffered. Her son was “departed,” but all those around
her were now her spiritual family. She was a member of the infant kehilah (assembly) who shared in its community life.

Miriam was in fact the first person to accept Messiah into her life and she did so both physically and spiritually. She was also a prophetic woman who probably continued to exercise her gifts throughout her life. The assembly needed a figure and she lived out this role.

Like so many of the figures of history, legends and myths have grown up around Miriam which have hidden her true significance. She was not some sort of a divine mediator. She was not above the assembly of believers, but in it from the beginning. She did have a unique calling to be the mother of the Messiah. Her willing faith and obedience were essential in opening up the doors of the New Covenant Congregation. Miriam, wife of Joseph, was undoubtedly the greatest of Women of the Bible.

There is a strand of ancient church tradition that says that Miriam lived to an old age in the care of John the apostle. It also says that she finished her days in Ephesus where John had taken her to escape from the looming siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 ce. This would be in keeping with the story of her life to once again in her old age be in danger because of her Son. Once again she would embark on a perilous journey. According to the story, she and John did find their safe haven in Ephesus and there she entered into the pages of history.

What a life Miriam, the wife of Joseph lived! It extended from the time of Augustus to possibly the reign of the emperor Nero. Her life was a great human link between the Hebrew Bible and the New Covenant. She saw it all and left her indelible mark on history. She should be celebrated for who she was — a woman of her times who rose to be the mother of Messiah and Lord.

 

Tyrone Flanagan was discipled by Messianic Jews early in his Christian walk and has always had a great interest in the Hebrew and Aramaic origins of the Messianic faith. Among his other publications, he has produced an allegory using animals to tell the story of the early church. He presently lives on California’s beautiful central Coast and is retired from working in the allied health profession.

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• 1 Gaius Suetonius, The Life of Julius Caesar (Oxford University Press, 2025), chapter 45.

• 2 Howard Markel, MD., John F Kennedy kept these medical struggles private (PBS News, 2019).

• 3 The Open Bible Expanded Edition, NASV (Thomas Nelson, 1985), 1026.

• 4 For a good read on the issue, see, “Is the perpetual virginity of Miriam a biblical view?” by Bodie Hodge featured on Answers in Genesis.org.