Relationship between Mary/Elizabeth or Jesus/John?
score:0
Luke 1:36 describes Mary and Elizabeth as relatives (συγγενίς). The King James Version describes them as cousins, but most other translations simply say they were relatives. Given the ambiguity of the text, we can not say that Jesus and John were actually (second) cousins, but it appears from this that they were related and would have known each other.
In ancient Jewish society, priests had to be from the tribe of Levi,but any woman of the tribe of Judah could marry a priest. This means that Elizabeth need not have been a Levite. However, there is another explanation for the relationship that is only described in Luke's Gospel, which can be deduced from the views of some New Testament scholars.
Uta Ranke-Heinemann, in Putting Away Childish Things, finds much that is problematic about Luke's depiction of Elizabeth. On page 46, she concludes that Elizabeth was not a historical person, saying this is proved by the historically more credible report in John that Jesus and John the Baptist did not know each other. John Shelby Spong agrees with Ranke-Heinemann, saying in Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile, page 35, that what makes him suspicious is that Elizabeth in Hebrew would be Elisheba - a name that appears only once in the Old Testament (Exodus 6:23), where she is the wife of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Luke 1:5 introduced Elizabeth as the daughter of Aaron, so had Aaron and Moses in mind when he wrote his gospel.
According to Jewish law, there was no inconsistency in Elizabeth being a relative of Mary, as described in Luke's Gospel. In any case, some scholars and theologians such as Ranke-Heinemann and Spong, provide a clearer resolution based on Elizabeth's supposed legendary status.
Upvote:0
Just a thought, Mary's mother also can be from the line of Levi. Making her both from Kingly and Priestly line. Well the Lord Jesus is both King and Priest isn't it.
Upvote:1
The declaration in Luke 1:36 that Elizabeth is a relative of Mary comes from Gabriel.
From Gabriel's introduction of himself to Zacharias we know that he is God's messenger and stands in the presence of God .
Those who believe God's Word by faith will thus find a way to understand how Elizabeth is indeed an historical figure and is both a 'daughter of Aaron' as recorded by Luke, and a 'relative' of Mary, mother of Jesus, as declared by Garbriel.
A reasonable explanation is that Elizabeth and Mary were related through Elizabeth's mother and not through her father. If Elizabeth's mother was of the Tribe of Judah but her father was of the Tribe of Levi she could be called a daughter of Aaron. Mary's father was certainly of the Tribe of Judah, and so was her husband, Joseph. Mary's mother could also have been of the Tribe of Judah.
This gives three possible ways in which Mary could be a relative of Elizabeth's, either by blood or by marriage. The term 'relative' is most likely referring to a blood relationship, so it is reasonable to believe that they were related through Elizabeth's blood relationship to either Mary's father or mother in the Tribe of Judah.
More post
- 📝 How is Jesus not lying in John 7?
- 📝 What is the law during the time of Melchizedek?
- 📝 How do protestants understand Jesus' statement that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man we will have no life?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean by `being shrewd'?
- 📝 In light of Mark 10, how can Christians in good conscience purchase luxury items?
- 📝 What do Christians pay attention to in order to decide if a given piece of text or manuscript is divinely inspired?
- 📝 What is the "glory of God" in Romans 3:23?
- 📝 Ancient Western Christianity & Indian Christians
- 📝 Is it permissible for priests who normally celebrates the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to concelebrate Mass?
- 📝 Does the Catholic word Priest actually mean "Presbyter?" Or is it a conflation of roles?
- 📝 Is there any significance to the aside in Luke 23:12, regarding Pilate and Herod?
- 📝 Is blond hair unclean?
- 📝 Why did John the Baptist preach repentance through water baptism and specifically how is that different than repentance through ashes and sackcloth?
- 📝 Who wrote the book of Hebrews and is the book complete?
- 📝 Doing Good Deeds In the Sight of Others
- 📝 Are there instructions in OT , specifying guidelines on maintenance of tombs?
- 📝 Do any Christian denominations have any policies to prevent nepotism?
- 📝 Is moonlighting an offense against Ten Commandments?
- 📝 Hierarchy of Catholicism, government, and papal teaching
- 📝 Has the term "born again" always been synonymous with baptism with the Christians of the Early Church?
- 📝 What is the theological basis for distributism?
- 📝 Why are the same palms used on Palm Sunday used for Ash Wednesday services the next year?
- 📝 Are there any Saints that have miraculously overcome death (should have died, but did not)?
- 📝 What is the Biblical evidence against the day-age theory?
- 📝 What did Peter, James and John see on the Mount of Transfiguration?
- 📝 Do any major Christian traditions have documented ways of dealing with religious doubt?
- 📝 What soteriological doctrines are most prevalent within Protestantism throughout the world?
- 📝 Keep the Sabath
- 📝 What's the Mormon view of Freemasonry?
- 📝 What Bible passages do Jehovah’s Witnesses use to support their view on free will?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Dialog between Jesus and Peter in John 21: what's going on?
- 📝 According to LDS (Mormon) teaching, what is the relationship between Jesus and Lucifer?
- 📝 Relationships between God the Father, Mary and the two natures of Jesus Christ
- 📝 Did Mary stay with Elizabeth till the birth of John the Baptist?
- 📝 Does Catholicism or any church father make a connection between Eve and Mary in Genesis 2:18 and John 14:26?
- 📝 What was the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees?
- 📝 How is Jesus not lying in John 7?
- 📝 Why did the apostle John call himself, "the disciple whom Jesus loved"?
- 📝 What was the specific trap being set for Jesus by the Pharisees in John 8?
- 📝 Were the similarities between the miracles of Elisha and Jesus deliberate or simply coincidental?
- 📝 What is the relationship between the Book of Mormon and the Bible?
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 Why is Jesus occasionally referred to as "The Christ"? Is there a different definition between the two?
- 📝 Are there any conflicts between how Jesus is described in the Book of Mormon vs how He is described in the Bible?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic tradition that Mary did not have pain giving birth to Jesus come from?
- 📝 What is the basis for the idea that the Song of Solomon is about the relationship between God and the church?
- 📝 Why did the soldiers go backward and fall down when Jesus said "I am he" in John 18:6?
- 📝 Jesus and Mary / Joshua and Miriam
- 📝 Did Jesus know from the outset that He was the Son of God or did Mary tell Him?
- 📝 How can John the Baptist be the greatest man born of woman, when Jesus was also born of woman?
- 📝 Were John Baptist and Jesus really related?
- 📝 What is the relationship between the Catholic churches of various countries?
- 📝 Do Protestants accept the similarity between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant?
- 📝 Relationship between Mary/Elizabeth or Jesus/John?
- 📝 Do Catholics believe that Mary mother of Jesus is as holy as God?
- 📝 What is the relationship between international branches of the LDS Church?
- 📝 What evidence is there to show that John Wesley and John Calvin did not believe that Jesus is Michael?
- 📝 John 1:18 - "No one has ever seen God" - How do Trinitarians reconcile this scripture with the belief that the Lord Jesus Christ is God?
- 📝 How do Eastern Christians explain Jesus "sending" the Holy Spirit in John 15:26?
- 📝 Is there any historical record of Elizabeth the First's reaction to John Knox's tract on 'the monstruous regimen'?