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NASB | Luke 1:56 ¶ And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:56 ¶ And Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned to her home. |
Bible Question:
My question is concerning the timing of the events in Matt. 1.18-25 in relation to Mary's visit to Elizabeth in Luke 2.39-56. Is it reasonable Scripturally that Mary may have told her fiancé Joseph about the marvellous events of Luke 1.26-38 as soon as they had happened? That night Joseph's painful perplexity would have been turned to relief and joy, and the next day Joseph and Mary would have been together under one roof, a married couple (in the eyes of outsiders) nine months before the birth of Jesus. No scandal or suspicion would have arisen, and I find no suggestion in the Scripture that the people of Nazareth, Jerusalem or elsewhere ever suspected Joseph and Mary of misdemeanor regarding the conception of Jesus. Note: Two reasons why I had never considered this sequence of events until this past Christmas are: 1) the statement "she was found to be with child" in Mt. 1.18 seemed to suggest that Mary's pregnancy had been covered up and then discovered. Please correct me if I'm mistaken -- I'm no Greek expert -- but it seems that the Greek verb translated "found" is used similarly, for example, in Phil. 2.8 "being found in appearance as a man", where no discovery is suggested but rather a change of circumstances. Perhaps the NLT translation of Matt. 1.18 is accurate on this point: "But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit." 2) the phrase "at this time" in Luke 1.39 has in the past given me the impression that Mary left for Judea almost immediately after the events of the preceding verses. But it seems that the meaning of the Greek is fairly general, "in these/those days", which I suppose could allow Matt. 1.18-25 to occur between Luke 1.38 and v.39. |
Bible Answer: Dear Colby, John 8:41 would imply that Jesus' birth was deemed as illegitimate by those who knew the history of the family of Joseph and Mary. In Him, Doc |