The Life of Mary the Mother of Jesus 耶穌的母親馬利亞

文/克里斯琴·喬治 譯/任東升 By Christian George

The Life of Mary the Mother of Jesus 耶穌的母親馬利亞

文/克里斯琴·喬治 譯/任東升 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.

過去的兩千年間，馬利亞

在基督教的形成過程中扮演了重要角色。作為耶穌的母親、約瑟的妻子，她被基督教各傳統所稱頌，在某些傳統中甚至成為祈禱的對象。然而，馬利亞的生平細節在福音書的敘事中并未涉及。這位木匠之妻生下了一位改變歷史進程的革命者，她究竟有怎樣的身世？

[2]馬利亞六七歲時，就開始學習成為一位賢妻所必備的技能——做飯、照顧孩子、喂養和清洗牲口、織布。重要的是，馬利亞要早早訂婚，因為如果沒人娶她為妻，她就無權擁有個人財產、分得家庭收入，也無權繼承家產。除此之外，還因為耶穌時代的婦女三十歲就絕經、四十歲就去世，馬利亞與約瑟訂立婚約之時或許也就十二三歲。

[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]馬利亞和約瑟的婚約中可能有一條詳列了要給約瑟家的嫁妝，包括衣物、幾塊田地，或許還有一只山羊或羔羊。由于小兩口婚后要搬入約瑟父母家住，養活馬利亞就成為約瑟家的責任。公元一世紀的婚戀過程是預先商定好的，且女方有人貼身陪護。馬利亞的父親和兄弟們受委托，在馬利亞訂婚之前保證她的貞潔。如果馬利亞失去童貞，整個家族都要蒙羞。

[4]《馬太福音》第一章18節告訴我們，馬利亞與約瑟“同房”之前就懷孕了，對她來說，再沒有其他情況比這更糟糕。按照猶太律法，如果耶穌被認定是私生子或“野種”，那么他就要喪失猶太身份，且不能同猶太女子結婚成家。約瑟不想毀掉馬利亞的名聲和她全家的名譽，本打算悄悄解除婚約。于兩家都好的是，約瑟維持了婚姻，并幫助馬利亞在伯利恒生下耶穌，將其視如己出。

[5]耶穌是馬利亞第一個孩子，不過《馬太福音》第十三章55—56節告訴我們，她還有其他兒子——雅各、約瑟、西門和猶大——而且可能還有幾個女兒。和其他受人尊敬的女性一樣，馬利亞離家出門時總是裹著白色頭巾。她的涼鞋很簡單，樹皮當鞋幫，皮帶或亞麻作鞋帶。

[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.

《圣母與圣子》拉斐爾

[6]在福音書敘事中，馬利亞一生的最后時日幾乎全被隱去了，只留下一個十分醒目的細節：耶穌被釘上十字架斷氣前，托付他最鐘愛的門徒約翰照顧他的母親，“之后，使徒約翰就把馬利亞接到自己家去了”（《約翰福音》19∶27）。那么，約翰究竟把馬利亞帶到了哪里？最早的神學家認為，約翰把她帶到了耶路撒冷，馬利亞在那里度過了余生。其他神學家則宣稱，約翰把馬利亞帶到了以弗所，那里至今還有一座一世紀時的房屋，有人聲稱那就是馬利亞當時的住所。