Joseph (husband of Mary)

Come on, boy, keep up! Jesus!

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Joseph, (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף, "Yosef") was the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus. Well, the dude who raised him, anyway.

## Contents

* 1 Biblical history
* 2 His life with Mary
* 3 Sainthood
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 References

## Biblical history[edit]

Joseph is not mentioned in any of Paul's letters, nor is he mentioned in the Gospel of Thomas or the Gospel of Mark, the two oldest gospels, giving support to the idea that Joseph was a toss in,[note 1] likely to add some kind of family name to Jesus and more importantly, to provide the all necessary link to King David (Despite Jesus' having been born by a virgin birth and therefore not related to David through Joseph).[note 2] Of course, like many things found in the Bible, the two lineages for Joseph himself disagree — not about some ancient ancestor 400 years ago, but they disagree about Joseph's own father. Matthew names Joseph's father as Ben Yakob and Luke claims Joseph is the son of Hile. Those who believe in an infallible Bible have two explanations for why there are "supposedly" these two "differences" in a Bible with no contradictions or errors: 1) that the real father was Yakob-Heil, and used his middle name (something that isn't done in 1st century CE Judaism if at all), or 2) that Heil is actually the mother of Mary, not Joseph.[note 3]

Just as there is no archaeological evidence for Jesus, there is also no actual evidence for a carpenter named Joseph living in or around either Bethlehem or Nazareth, married to a Mary with a child named Jesus.

## His life with Mary[edit]

If you buy into the Catholic tradition, Joseph would have been a very sexually frustrated man since the Virgin Mary not only gave birth to someone else's son, she remained a virgin all her life.[note 4] Catholics as such also manage to ignore references from the New Testament and non-canonical scriptures to the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Unfortunately for this particular urban legend, Judaism does not condone life-long celibacy, for the sex act is discussed in the Torah as part of a healthy (and procreative) marriage. A good Jew should try to have as many children as possible to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply but must avoid sex while his wife is pregnant. Matthew 1:25 suggests that the couple had a normal married relationship after the birth of Jesus.

The last time Joseph is mentioned in scripture is during the return trip from Jerusalem, when he and Mary lose the 12-year-old Jesus and later find him in a temple in the midst of the teachers. He was absent at the wedding of Cana, and during Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus made arrangements for his mother to be cared for by the Apostle John, not her husband Joseph. As a result of this, some assume that if Joseph really did live, he more than likely died before Jesus began his earthly ministry.[1]

As with most of the mythology surrounding Jesus (outside of his being a teacher, prophet and/or mystic), the story of Joseph as well as Mary and the virgin birth are likely made up.

## Sainthood[edit]

Joseph is the patron saint of Vietnam and anticommunists. For those who don't get the joke, Vietnam is an officially communist state and the majority of its population are Buddhists.

One memorable Catholic tradition suggests that burying a statue of Joseph in your yard (sometimes upside-down) will help you sell your house, presumably because he wants to get out of there.

## See also[edit]

Three other men called "Joseph" are relevant to Abrahamic religions:

* Joseph (Old Testament), who had family problems and a dream coat.
* Joseph of Arimathea, who offered up his own tomb in one of the 4 versions of The Burial.
* Josephus, a Romanised Jewish historian misquoted by Christians.

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ For scholars who accept the theory that Jesus was a teacher who was only turned into the Messiah or even God long after his death, throwing in such otherwise irrelevant claims adds to their theories. See Crossan and Funk[Who?], both of whom have written at length on this issue.
2. ↑ It is stated in the Siddur, and is "commonly known" in Jewish tradition that the Messiah must come from David's line to restore the Kingdom."
3. ↑ Luke 3:23 "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki…" — sure, Heli is listed because he's Mary's father, even though the name follows just after Joseph. Um hum…
4. ↑ This is the official Catholic, Russian and Greek Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Where Was Joseph when Jesus was an adult? Got Questions

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Articles about the Bible

Old Testament: |  Goliath • Tamar • Tower of Babel • Abel • Joseph (Old Testament) • Firmament • Baal • Noah • Isaac • Ishmael • Amalekites • Curse of Ham • Jacob • Sodom and Gomorrah • Ezekiel's wheel • Lot • Nephilim • G'Tach • Joseph was Imhotep • Moses • Global flood • Cain • Gibeah • Abraham • Old Testament • Incubus and succubus myths • King David • Serpent seed doctrine • Leviathan • Messiah • Mark of Cain • Asherah • Nimrod • Sirach • Jezebel • Adam and Eve • Moloch • Book of Joel • Garden of Eden • Satan • List of actions prohibited by the Bible •
| Torah: |  Torah • Book of Exodus • Book of Genesis • Book of Leviticus • Book of Numbers • Book of Zechariah • Book of Deuteronomy •
| Old Testament History: |  Book of Esther • Book of Ezra • Book of Judges • Book of Ruth • Books of Chronicles • Books of Kings • Books of Samuel • Book of Joshua •
| Old Testament Wisdom: |  Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Book of Job • Book of Proverbs • Book of Psalms •
| Major and Minor Prophets: |  Book of Daniel • Book of Ezekiel • Book of Isaiah • Book of Lamentations • Book of Jeremiah •
New Testament: |  Mary Magdalene • New Testament • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Joseph of Arimathea • Paul of Tarsus • Good Samaritan • Authorship of the New Testament • Magi • John the Baptist • Principalities and powers • Nag Hammadi library • Messiah • Jesus • Gospel of Barnabas • Peter the Apostle • Pontius Pilate • Judas Iscariot • Book of Revelation •
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| General Epistles: |  Epistle of Jude • Epistle of James • Epistle to the Hebrews • First Epistle of John • First Epistle of Peter • Second Epistle of John • Second Epistle of Peter • Third Epistle of John •
Bible analysis: |  Apocalyptic literature • Authorship of the New Testament • Bible interpolation • Biblical sexism • Bibliolatry • Documentary hypothesis • Evidence for the Exodus • Gospels • Horizontal reading • King James Only • Pesher • Q gospel • Septuagint • Skeptic's Annotated Bible • Ten Commandments • Torah • Bible translation • Word of God • Biblical literalism • Biblical contradictions • List of mistakes made by God • Abomination • Firmament • G'Tach • Arsenokoites • Genealogy of Jesus • Nag Hammadi library • Noah's Ark • Annotated Bible • Slavery in the Bible • Examples of God personally killing people • Herod • The Brick Testament • Evidence against a recent creation • EvilBible.com • List of actions prohibited by the Bible • Biblical scientific errors •
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| Apocrypha: |  Didache • Apocrypha • Nag Hammadi library • Book of Judith • 2 Maccabees • 3 Maccabees • 4 Maccabees • Books of Enoch • Books of the Maccabees • Gospel of Judas • Gospel of Mary • Gospel of Philip • Gospel of Thomas • Infancy Gospel of James • Infancy Gospel of Thomas • 1 Maccabees •
Biblical figures: |  Abel • Cain • Ishmael • Jacob • Joseph of Arimathea • Joseph (Old Testament) • Mary (mother of Jesus) • Noah • Paul of Tarsus • Mary Magdalene • Lot • Goliath • Nephilim • Moses • YHWH • Amalekites • Baal • King David • God • Jesus • Asherah • Nimrod • Habakkuk • Adam and Eve • Herod • Pontius Pilate • Jezebel • Tamar • Judas Iscariot • Satan •
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| Scientific foreknowledge: |  Gaps between Science and the Bible • Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin • Science Confirms the Bible • Eternal Productions: 101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge • Modern Science in the Bible • Biblical scientific foreknowledge •