Who is the “married Virgin girl”: biblical mariology

Below we share an excerpt from the book *”Maria, filha de Israel: O Antigo Testamento na Mariologia”* by Prof. Dr. Rita Torti, so that you can enjoy a glimpse of what will be the vast ocean of the *Biblical Mariology Course from the Old Testament*!

Who is Mary? The oldest testimony about her is undoubtedly Galatians 4:4-5: “Coming to the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman [a then current phrase meaning man], born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, and to bestow on all the dignity of children.”

“The concept of ‘fullness of time’ in the New Testament does not merely signify that God has come at a predetermined moment, but also that the history of revelation was internally urgent for its fulfillment,” (Romano Guardini, *La Madre del Signore*, 25).

The citation from Galatians introduces Chapter VIII of *Lumen Gentium* which invites us to see the greatness of Mary primarily in her dignity as Mother of the Redeemer: she is immediately placed in the historical position that belongs to her, in the realization of God’s plan of salvation, and presented as an essential element in its development. The expression underscores at the same time the reality of Jesus’ humanity: he was fully man of his time and milieu, and also the Messiah long expected. He himself states that the Scriptures bear witness to him (John 5:39).

However, we know nothing about Mary’s upbringing, her youth, until the moment of the Angel’s announcement. Her education and outer life were certainly no different from those of all girls in her social class. “Our only source, the Gospel, does not relate any miraculous event. […] Above all, we must keep the influence of writings in mind, and behind them, that of the apocryphal Gospels. Many deformations and flattening of the genuine image of Mary are due to these factors. The exhibition should show, not merely state, but make visible how the true reality is more pious, greater, and more mysterious than all legendary miracles” (Guardini, *La Madre del Signore*, 22).

The Gospel of Luke tells us that the Angel Gabriel was sent by God “to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, from the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26-27). At the time of the Angel’s announcement, she must have been around 12 or 13 years old.

In general, the virginity of Mary is rarely discussed, yet here Luke repeats twice in the same verse that she was a virgin, placing the noun in the culminant position, at the conclusion: “The name of the virgin was Mary.” He describes the legal situation with the Greek verb mnēsteúō, also found in Matthew 1:18 (“Mary, his mother, having been betrothed to Joseph”) and Luke 2:5 (“He had to be registered along with Mary, his wife, who was pregnant.”).

The expression in Luke 1:27 occurs in the Greek translation of the LXX in Deuteronomy 22:23 (parthénos memnēsteuménē), as a translation of the Hebrew text na’ărâ betûlâ me’ōrāśâ (root ‘rś): “a young girl who is not engaged”. A young woman (the na’ărâ is a girl between 12 years old and one day, and 12 years and a half) of whom it is specified that she was married to someone (‘iššâ) (Deuteronomy 22:24). Similarly, about Mary in Matthew 1:24, it is clearly stated that she was Joseph’s fiancée: “When he woke up, Joseph… took his bride with him.” (tēn gynaîka autoû. Vg: Accepit coniugem suam).

The LXX consistently translates the Hebrew root ‘rś with the verb mnēsteúō, which in Matthew 1:18 and Luke 2:5 is used to indicate Mary’s legal status. Only in Deuteronomy 28:30 (“You will take a wife, but another will take her from you”) and 2 Samuel 3:14 (“Take back my wife Michal, whom I took for a hundred Philistine foreskins”), they use the verb lambánō (“take”, “receive”).

The Hebrew root ‘rś indicates something that has no equivalent in our cultures:

– it certainly does not refer to engagement (Hebrew: šîddûkîn), a phase preceding marriage consisting of preliminary arrangements conducted by the couple or their parents or relatives (obligatory preliminaries concerning the date and place of celebration, as well as financial obligations, such as, for example, the size of the dowry).

– it does not even mean marriage, as we understand it today.

It is utterly misleading to translate the biblical term ‘rś (in its various forms) as “betrothal”, “engagement”: it instead indicates the essential act that constitutes the first phase of the marriage process. A legally binding and public act, which initiates marriage from a legal standpoint.

We find the root ‘rś in Hosea 2:21-22, where the prophet reveals to us the mystery of God’s love for his people, a love that leads him not only to forgiveness but to a new marriage forever. “I will be her husband” (YHWH repeats three times, speaking in the first person to his people, with whom he wants to establish a communion of life, a stable and exclusive relationship, typifying…

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