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GLOSSARY
Miriam
Pronunciation: MIHR-ih-uhm
Occurrences: 14 (direct refs) 13 (indirect refs: ie, ‘mother’)
First Reference: Yeshua 3:7
Therefore, when it was eventide, Yeshua, being the eldest of his brethren, gathered to himself his mother Miriam and with her also were his brothers Judas Thomas, James, Joses and Simon, and of his sisters there were Judith, Esther, and Sarah.
See: Joseph, Pensius, Virgin Birth, Yeshua
Summary: Miriam, the mother of Yeshua, was born around 23 BCE and raised in Nazareth until her family moved to Jerusalem when she was twelve years old (AZC — Virgin Birth, included below). When Miriam was seventeen, she became the wife of Joseph, her childhood sweetheart from Nazareth. Miriam became the mother of eight children whom she and Joseph raised in Nazareth (Y:3:7). Her firstborn were twin boys: Yeshua and Thomas.
Miriam became a disciple of Yeshua soon after he began his public ministry (Y:13:41-44). She was a constant source of support and counsel for her son. Having gathered his disciples at Mount Tabor, Yeshua issued Miriam authority to appoint seven women to serve as apostles, to be ‘as ministers unto the Lord’ (Y:18:4). Miriam and the seven women were among those who ascended Mount Tabor to witness the transfiguration of Yeshua and the appearance of Moses and Elijah (Y:19:2-4). Miriam and the seven women were also present for the Passover meal preceding Yeshua’s arrest (Y:45:40).
When Yeshua was crucified, the three women that came to stand by the cross were his mother Miriam, his wife Mary, and Mary of Magdala. In the final moments before his death, Yeshua appointed John, the son of Levi, to be as a son unto Miriam (Y:47:50-52). She stayed with John at his home for some time, following the crucifixion.
Miriam was the second person Yeshua appeared to following his resurrection. Disguised as a beggar, Yeshua came to the house of John around the noon hour and petitioned Miriam for some food, which she graciously provided. When she knelt down to wash his feet, she noticed the nail marks and looking up, saw that the beggar was her son, Yeshua (Y:48:14-18). Miriam was among those who witnessed Yeshua’s post-resurrectional teachings (Y:51:1).
Azrael’s Commentary — Virgin Birth
Yeshua, unlike Christ, was conceived in the same manner as all other humans. His birth was a miraculous event just as all other births are miraculous events; but it was certainly no more than that. What is the true story behind the conception and birth of Yeshua? To answer this question, I must start at the beginning. I must tell you the true love story of Joseph and Miriam, the father and mother of Yeshua.
Miriam was born into a large family and raised in Nazareth. She spent the first twelve years of her life there. Her father was a disgruntled rabbi; he was petty, mean-spirited, grasping, vain and hypocritical in his dealings with others. He was eventually expelled from his synagogue for accepting bribes, and because of his dealing in stolen goods which he foolishly tried to sell back to the original owners. And so the people of Nazareth had had enough of Miriam’s father. His blatant dishonesty and pettiness had simply become too much for them, and they drove him and his family out of town. Miriam’s father went to Jerusalem where he had relatives. And although he was a disgraced rabbi, he could never see that he had done anything wrong. He blamed everyone but himself for his misfortunes. And he took out his hurt and anger on his family, especially on his youngest daughter Miriam.
Joseph was also born and raised in Nazareth, and from an early age, he worked in his father’s carpentry shop. Joseph was about ten years older than Miriam. And because Nazareth was such a small town, Joseph knew Miriam and her family quite well before they were expelled from the town.
By the time Miriam was twelve, Joseph was in love with her. But Miriam’s father proved an enormous obstacle. He did not think that Joseph was good enough to marry his youngest daughter. And so he demanded that Joseph pay an exorbitant price to initiate a marriage contract. For Joseph, the price was beyond his means. Miriam’s father did not like Joseph. Why? Because Joseph was just too happy about life. And although the people of the town liked Joseph, they tended to think of him as just some tall, gangly, young man who was just too dumb to know how miserable his life was. The one thing that annoyed the Jews of Nazareth about Joseph was his friendliness towards anyone and everyone. He was friendly and cheerful towards Greeks, Romans, Arabs, etc. Joseph simply made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles; he treated everyone the same.
Thus in the synagogue, Joseph was never taken seriously. His natural disposition was in contrast to most of the Jews in Nazareth. As a young man, Joseph was a happy, jovial, sometimes boisterous person. He was always laughing, singing, smiling and telling stories. Life was a wonder to him and that’s all there was to it. Joseph’s whole family seemed to be that way: his father, mother, brothers and sisters. So Joseph came by his happy disposition quite honestly. And while almost everyone liked Joseph, the Jews of Nazareth did not know if they could quite trust him. To his friends and neighbors, Joseph’s happy disposition seemed to imply that Joseph might be lacking in mental awareness.
As for Miriam herself, she was viewed by her Jewish neighbors as contrary and strange. As a young girl she did not seem to know her proper place in the social fabric of Jewish society. Miriam was great at cooking, cleaning, spinning and sewing; but she seemed to think that her opinion should carry as much weight as any boy her age. This attitude scandalized the Jews of the synagogue. For Miriam seemed to have an opinion on Jewish laws, customs and scriptures. She not only had large portions of scriptures memorized, Miriam could also read and write.
And who taught her to read and write? Joseph did! When Miriam was only five years old, she wandered into Joseph’s shop. The young girl proved precocious, curious and delightful. Over succeeding years Joseph taught her what he knew. By the time Miriam was twelve, she would engage Joseph and his brothers in lively theological debate. This knowledge of scripture troubled the Jews of Nazareth and they began to wonder if Miriam might not be a witch. This view would have taken a dark and dangerous turn if Miriam’s father hadn’t been driven out of Nazareth first.
When Miriam’s family left Nazareth in disgrace, they settled in the city of David, Jerusalem. Joseph did not see Miriam for five years. In Jerusalem, Miriam’s father became more and more embittered; for he was forced to live in much poorer circumstances, and he blamed Miriam for this. He convinced himself that it was Miriam’s strange ways which got him kicked out of his synagogue, and that he was just an innocent victim of his daughter’s witchery. At the tender age of fourteen, Miriam was thrown into the streets and back alley ways of Jerusalem to fend for herself.
So at the age of fourteen, Miriam was forced by necessity to take up the only profession allowed to the women of her day, prostitution. And her father took every opportunity to denounce her as a whore. And every time her father saw her, he would demand a part of her earnings to pay him back for all the trouble she caused her family. By the time Miriam was seventeen, she had gotten pregnant, and the father was a Roman soldier named Pensius, a decturian at the Fortress Antonia in Jerusalem.
It is here that Joseph re-enters the life of Miriam. Joseph had gone to Jerusalem to do some carpentry for a very rich merchant. Jerusalem was a small city, and one day as Joseph was walking through the market, he saw Miriam sitting nearby. He was delighted to see her. But Miriam seemed terribly despondent. She was happy to see Joseph, but she was pregnant with the child of a Roman soldier. Finally, after some gentle prodding from Joseph, Miriam told him everything. Joseph proved compassionate and understanding, for all he really knew was that he loved her and was glad to be near her again. At seventeen, Miriam was very beautiful.
For days thereafter, they would walk separately to the Garden of Gethsemane and there they would meet in the shadow of the olive trees. After several weeks, Joseph took his cloak and wrapped it around her, saying: “From this day forth you shall be to me as a dear and loving wife, and I shall be to you a husband and protector.” So Joseph took Miriam to his small house in Jerusalem and they lived there as husband and wife. Miriam came to know the love and devotion of a strong and gentle man.
The seasons passed and Miriam delivered, giving birth to twin sons. The first son was named Yeshua, and the second son was named Judas Thomas. The young family lived in Jerusalem for a year after the birth of the twins. When Joseph finished his work in Jerusalem, he took his family to Nazareth. No one in Nazareth ever knew that Miriam was the daughter of their most infamous rabbi. No one ever knew about the prostitution, or of anything else. One day Joseph simply returned with his young family in tow.
Joseph and Miriam were a very happy and loving couple. At the ages of ten, Joseph began teaching his sons the trade of carpentry. Yeshua was a natural born carpenter. But Thomas was not. The twins were as different from each other as night and day. As a child, Yeshua was always bright and cheerful. He was always anxious to please his parents. And he loved to talk scriptures and the law with his mother.
But Thomas was a dark and brooding child. He was always causing trouble in Nazareth. The relationship between Yeshua and Thomas was always difficult. Thomas seemed to have a mean streak, Yeshua did not. They grew up together in Nazareth, and Joseph and Miriam had many more children. Yeshua seemed to possess his mother’s gentle nature, while Thomas possessed the nature of his natural father, the Roman soldier named Pensius.
Yeshua’s birth was not heralded by angels. There was no virgin birth, no shepherds tending their flocks, no star of Bethlehem, no three wise men, and no stable because there was no room at the inn. None of these things actually happened. Yeshua was born just as we are born. And it is in that fact, that you will find the greatest miracle of all.
As for the natural father of Yeshua, Pensius the Roman decturian, he died in a cholera epidemic around 12 CE, in the city of Ostia in Italy. Yeshua never met his natural father; he never knew his name.
Azrael’s Commentary — Joseph
[...] Joseph was the father of eight children, and he worked hard at trying to be a firm disciplinarian. But his soft heart and easy ways made it difficult. This left the disciplining of the children to his wife, Miriam. Yet Miriam could never really fault him for it. Her love for Joseph was always tender and all encompassing. The relationship between Joseph and Miriam was a truly touching thing to watch. [...]
Notes/References:
[...] “After the resurrection, Mary Magdala lived with Miriam. She spent the rest of her life in helping the poor, comforting the sick and looking after Miriam the mother of Yeshua.”
Azrael’s Commentary — Mary Magdala
14. Now when it was about the noon hour, there came unto the house of John, a beggar which was sorely afflicted; and seeing the Lord’s mother making ready the noon meal, he petitioned her for mercy’s sake to feed him.
15. And she, being filled with compassion, took the man into the house, and setting before him some food to eat, she knelt down to wash his feet.
16. And, behold, there appeared in the feet of the beggar the marks of the nail, and looking upon the man, she beheld Yeshua, and she wept with many tears, being overcome with joy and gladness.
17. And the Lord drew near his mother to comfort her, and he commanded that she go unto the brethren and tell them concerning the coming forth of the Lord unto them.
18. But when she went forth to tell the disciples, they would not believe her, but said instead: “She is but a woman, and her grief has deluded her.”
Yeshua 48:14-18