The Life of Mary the Mother of Jesus 耶稣的母亲马利亚

文/克里斯琴·乔治 译/任东升 By Christian George

The Life of Mary the Mother of Jesus 耶稣的母亲马利亚

文/克里斯琴·乔治 译/任东升 By Christian George

Over the last two millennia, Mary has played an essential role in shaping Christianity. As the mother of Jesus and the wife of Joseph, she is praised by every tradition and prayed to in some. However, the details of Mary’s life are absent from the Gospel narratives. Who was this woman—this carpenter’s wife—who birthed a revolutionary who changed the course of history?

[2] When Mary turned 6 or 7 years old, she started learning skills she needed to be a productive wife—cooking, caring for children, feeding and washing animals, and using the loom to make clothes. It was essential that Mary become betrothed at an early age,for without a husband she had no right to possessions, revenue or inheritance.For this reason, and because women in antiquity experienced menopause at 30 and death at 40, Mary may have been just 12 or 13 when her marriage contract with Joseph was sealed.

过去的两千年间，马利亚

在基督教的形成过程中扮演了重要角色。作为耶稣的母亲、约瑟的妻子，她被基督教各传统所称颂，在某些传统中甚至成为祈祷的对象。然而，马利亚的生平细节在福音书的叙事中并未涉及。这位木匠之妻生下了一位改变历史进程的革命者，她究竟有怎样的身世？

[2]马利亚六七岁时，就开始学习成为一位贤妻所必备的技能——做饭、照顾孩子、喂养和清洗牲口、织布。重要的是，马利亚要早早订婚，因为如果没人娶她为妻，她就无权拥有个人财产、分得家庭收入，也无权继承家产。除此之外，还因为耶稣时代的妇女三十岁就绝经、四十岁就去世，马利亚与约瑟订立婚约之时或许也就十二三岁。

[3] One clause in the contract likely specified that a dowry be paid to Joseph’s family, consisting of clothing,portions of land and perhaps a goat or lamb. Because the married couple would move into the house of Joseph’s parents, Mary would be their responsibility. First-century courtships were prearranged and closely chaperoned.Mary’s father and brothers were entrusted to preserve her virginity before the ceremony. If her virginity was lost,the entire family would be shamed.

[4] Matthew 1:18 informs us that before Mary and Joseph “came together,”she became pregnant. Few scenarios could have been worse for Mary. Jewish law dictated that if Jesus were born a bastard, or mamzer, he would lose his Jewish identity and would not be permitted to marry a Jewish spouse. Not wanting to ruin her reputation or that of her family, Joseph attempted to back out quietly from the contract. Fortunately for both families, Joseph went forward with the marriage, aided in the delivery of her son in Bethlehem and raised Jesus as his very son.

[3]马利亚和约瑟的婚约中可能有一条详列了要给约瑟家的嫁妆，包括衣物、几块田地，或许还有一只山羊或羔羊。由于小两口婚后要搬入约瑟父母家住，养活马利亚就成为约瑟家的责任。公元一世纪的婚恋过程是预先商定好的，且女方有人贴身陪护。马利亚的父亲和兄弟们受委托，在马利亚订婚之前保证她的贞洁。如果马利亚失去童贞，整个家族都要蒙羞。

[4]《马太福音》第一章18节告诉我们，马利亚与约瑟“同房”之前就怀孕了，对她来说，再没有其他情况比这更糟糕。按照犹太律法，如果耶稣被认定是私生子或“野种”，那么他就要丧失犹太身份，且不能同犹太女子结婚成家。约瑟不想毁掉马利亚的名声和她全家的名誉，本打算悄悄解除婚约。于两家都好的是，约瑟维持了婚姻，并帮助马利亚在伯利恒生下耶稣，将其视如己出。

[5]耶稣是马利亚第一个孩子，不过《马太福音》第十三章55—56节告诉我们，她还有其他儿子——雅各、约瑟、西门和犹大——而且可能还有几个女儿。和其他受人尊敬的女性一样，马利亚离家出门时总是裹着白色头巾。她的凉鞋很简单，树皮当鞋帮，皮带或亚麻作鞋带。

[5] Although Jesus was Mary’s firstborn, Matthew 13:55-56 informs us that she has other sons—James, Joseph,Simon and Judas—and possibly several daughters. Like all respectable women,Mary never left her house without a white cloth wrapped over her head. Her sandals were made from bark wrapped with leather or flax.

[6] The end of Mary’s life is shrouded in shadow except for one significant detail:Before His death on the cross, Jesus instructed John, his most beloved disciple, to take care of His mother, “and from that time on this disciple took her to his home” (John 19:27). Where did John take Mary? The earliest theologians believed that John kept her in Jerusalem,here she spent her remaining years of her life. Others maintain that John took her to Ephesus, where a first-century house still stands, claimed by some to have been the place of her residence.

《圣母与圣子》拉斐尔

[6]在福音书叙事中，马利亚一生的最后时日几乎全被隐去了，只留下一个十分醒目的细节：耶稣被钉上十字架断气前，托付他最钟爱的门徒约翰照顾他的母亲，“之后，使徒约翰就把马利亚接到自己家去了”（《约翰福音》19∶27）。那么，约翰究竟把马利亚带到了哪里？最早的神学家认为，约翰把她带到了耶路撒冷，马利亚在那里度过了余生。其他神学家则宣称，约翰把马利亚带到了以弗所，那里至今还有一座一世纪时的房屋，有人声称那就是马利亚当时的住所。