the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Mary (2)
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or (Gr. Μαρία, Μαρίαμ, Heb. מִרְיָם)
Mary, one of the commonest Jewish names for women, was derived from Miriam the sister of Moses, and very frequently used in NT times because of the sympathy felt for the beautiful Hasmonaean princess, the ill-fated wife of Herod. As it was the name borne by the mother of Jesus, it became in its Greek form, which passed into all languages, the most familiar Christian name for women. Many and varied derivations have been suggested, but it is practically certain that the names Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are all of Egyptian origin. Miriam is probably mer Amon, ‘beloved of Amon’ (cf. Mereneptah, ‘beloved of Ptah’).
In the NT we find several distinct persons bearing the name, although in some cases it is rather difficult to be certain that the same person is not referred to under slightly varied descriptions by the different evangelists. In all, the name is found in eight connexions, which are as follows: (1) the Virgin Mary; (2) Mary the mother of James and Joses; (3) ‘the other Mary’; (4) Mary (wife) of Clopas; (5) Mary Magdalene; (6) Mary of Bethany; (7) Mary the mother of John Mark; (8) a Christian lady of Rome. It is almost certain that the same person is referred to in (2), (3), and (4). Some have identified (5) and (6), but this is extremely doubtful. Of the eight, only (7) and (8) belong properly to a Dictionary of the Apostolic Church. On the others see articles in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iii. and Dict. of Christ and the Gospels ii.
1. Mary the mother of John Mark.-In Acts 12:12 we read that St. Peter, after he had been released from prison by the angel, went to the house of Mary the mother of Mark, where several members of the Church of Jerusalem had assembled to pray for his deliverance. From this notice we gather that Mary was a Christian lady residing in Jerusalem in the early years of the Apostolic Church. As John Mark was a cousin (ἀνεψιός, Colossians 4:10) of Barnabas, the companion of St. Paul on his first missionary journey, Mary was thus the aunt of Barnabas. She seems to have been a woman possessed of considerable wealth, as she was able to entertain the members of the Jerusalem Church. We cannot tell how long she remained in Jerusalem or whether she died there or not. Later writers believed that her house was situated on Mt. Zion and that it was the meeting-place of the disciples from the Ascension to the Day of Pentecost. The house was also reported to have escaped the destruction of the city by Titus and to have been used as a church at a later period (Epiphanius, de Mens. et Pond. 14; Cyril Jerus. Catech. 16). It is, however, not impossible that this Mary is identical with-
2. The Christian lady of Rome to whom the Apostle sends greeting (Romans 16:6), and to whom he refers as ‘Mary who bestowed much labour on us.’ The fact that early tradition associates Mark with Rome and that his Gospel is undoubtedly intended for Roman Christians does not make at all impossible the idea that Mary the mother of Mark moved to Rome. Evidently the Mary of Romans 16:6 had not bestowed labour on the Apostle in Rome, which as yet he had not visited at the date of writing the Epistle. If the Apostle by the reference ‘who bestowed much labour on us’ alludes to personal service to himself, it must have been at some place already visited, and the conclusion is unavoidable that Mary had recently settled in Rome. But it is not safe to draw any conclusion from this reference, because the reading ‘you’ (ὑμᾶς) is much better supported than ‘us’ (ἡμᾶς). In this case the Apostle may have known Mary only by reputation as a benefactress of the Roman Church, probably a woman of the type of Lydia of Acts 16:14-15. The way in which the Apostle refers to her implies that she was well known to those he addressed. She may have held the position of a deaconess or a ‘widow’ at Rome.
W. F. Boyd.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Mary (2)'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/m/mary-2.html. 1906-1918.
