The Protevangelium of James. Lily C. Vuong
and says she will be “blessed among all the generations of the earth” (12:2). Mary then visits her kinswoman, Elizabeth. Miraculously expecting a child herself (the future John the Baptist), Elizabeth, much like her depiction in Luke, acknowledges Mary’s present state as significant and remarkable so much so that the child inside her has sprung up to bless her (12:5). However, unlike Luke’s depiction, Elizabeth does not offer praise of Mary for believing in the divine word nor does Mary respond with a song of praise (cf. the Magnificat of Luke 1:46–56). Instead, and oddly enough, Mary has actually forgotten the exchange she had with the angel Gabriel and again questions why she is the recipient of all these blessings. This exchange is not commented on further; instead, Mary is said to have simply stayed with Elizabeth for three months while her belly grew. Frightened and still unclear of how her situation came to be, the visibly pregnant Mary, now sixteen years of age, decides to return home to hide her condition from the “children of Israel” (12:6–9).
Joseph Returns Home to Mary at Six Months Pregnant
After three months have passed, Joseph returns home to find Mary six months pregnant and unable to explain her condition (cf. Matt 1:18). Breaking into a despairing lament over Mary’s pregnancy and his own failure to keep her safe, Joseph evokes an Adam and Eve analogy: just as Eve was deceived and defiled while alone, the same too has happened to Mary. Assuming that Mary is guilty of adultery, Joseph’s initial reaction of fright turns into an aggressive and accusatory questioning of his wife: “You who have been cared for by God —why have you done this? Have you forgotten the Lord your God? Why have you shamed your soul . . . ?” (13:6–7). After weeping bitterly, Mary responds to Joseph’s questions confidently and directly: “I am pure and have not known a man [sexually],” but is still unable to explain how she is pregnant (13:8–10). Joseph’s anger subsides, but he returns to a state of fear as he contemplates what he should do with her. Afraid that keeping the situation secret will get him into trouble with the law, but also that revealing it will result in an innocent death, Joseph contemplates divorcing her quietly (14:2–4; cf. Matt 1:19). Resolution comes when an angel appears to Joseph in a dream explaining to him that the child inside Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that he will be responsible for “sav[ing] his people from their sins” (14:6 cf. Matt 1:20–23). After finding out the truth about Mary’s situation, Joseph glorifies God and recommits to his task of guarding the Virgin of the Lord.
Mary’s and Joseph’s Purity Tested
When Joseph’s absence at the council is noticed, Annas the scribe decides to inquire about his whereabouts only to find the temple virgin they put under his care is now pregnant (15:1–3). Joseph’s role as Mary’s protector or guardian is tested again. This time, however, the results are positive and Joseph stays loyal to Mary and stands trial for the accusations made by the temple priests (15:10–12, 14–15). Both Mary and Joseph are questioned harshly over the pregnancy and accused of humiliating themselves and lying—ironically, much in the same tone that Joseph used when he first questioned Mary. Both Mary and Joseph assert their innocence in the matter (15:13, 15). Unconvinced by their testimony, the high priest decides to leave it to God’s will to determine their fate by having them both undergo a test involving the drinking of bitter water and being sent into the wilderness (Num 5:11–31; and m. Sotah 5.1). After Mary and Joseph pass the test by returning safely, they are cleared of any charges and sent home.
Mary Gives Birth to Jesus
After some unspecified time has passed, but while Mary is still pregnant, a census ordered by King Augustus for all of Judea (cf. Luke 2:1, where the census is for the entire world) requires Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem to register (17:1). The basic story line proceeds with other scenes from canonical Gospel accounts, including the birth of Jesus, the visit from the Magi, and King Herod’s attempt to locate and kill Jesus who has been prophesied to unseat him. The Protevangelium’s repackaging of the account, however, sets the scenes on a new and more vivid stage. While preparing for their travels Joseph contemplates how he should enroll Mary, underscoring their untraditional relationship: “How shall I register her? As my wife? I’m too ashamed to do that. As my daughter? The children of Israel know that she is not my daughter” (17:2–3). With both the appearance of his son Samuel (17:5) as a reminder that Joseph already has children and the repeated references to Mary as a child (17:2), Joseph’s role as guardian rather than husband is again highlighted. While en route to Bethlehem, Mary undergoes a prophetic experience in which she sees two peoples, one lamenting and the other rejoicing, most likely representing those who will not accept Jesus’ role in salvation history (i.e., the Jews) and those who will (i.e., “Christians”) (17:9). Whereas Luke’s infancy narrative has Mary give birth in Bethlehem, in the Protevangelium Mary starts experiencing contractions before they reach the town, thus forcing her to give birth in a cave outside of Bethlehem. After leaving his sons to guard and care for her, Joseph ventures out to locate a Hebrew midwife to help with the delivery. At this point in the narrative a major shift occurs not only in content, but also in writing style: Joseph experiences and relays in the first person a vision in which everything is suspended in time: “I . . . was walking, and yet I was not walking” (18:3); “the ones chewing were not chewing; and the ones lifting up something to eat were not lifting it up” (18:6). This interruption in time signifies the exact moment Jesus enters into the world.
When the suspension of time breaks, the narrative returns to Joseph’s search for a midwife. Upon finding one, Joseph engages in an awkward exchange with her over the status and relationship he has with Mary: “Then who is the one who has given birth in a cave? My betrothed . . . Is she not your wife? . . . She is Mary, the one who was brought up in the temple of the Lord . . . I received her by lot as my wife . . . she has conceived by the Holy Spirit . . . ” (19:5–9). The two finally make it back just in time to see a cloud overshadowing the cave, and an intense, bright light within the cave that recedes to reveal Mary with Jesus already nursing at her breast (cf. 5:9 when Anna waits the prescribed days). While the midwife is too late to help with the delivery, she does, however, help with attesting to the miraculous events that unfolded: “My soul has been magnified today because my eyes have seen an incredible sign . . . a virgin has given birth” (19:14–18). When a second midwife named Salome appears on the scene, the first unnamed midwife confesses to all that has transpired, but her testimony does not convince Salome. Requiring physical proof, Salome instructs Mary to position herself for a gynecological examination, in which Salome literally attempts to insert her fingers into Mary (20:2–4). The incompatibility of the sacred (Mary’s genitals) and the profane (Salome’s hand) results in the combustion of Salome’s hand (20:4). Immediately recognizing that this is punishment for her transgression and disbelief in the virgin birth, Salome calls out to the God of her fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and begs for forgiveness (20:5–7). Salome finds relief when an angel appears instructing her to hold the child if she wants to seek not just forgiveness, but also salvation and joy (20:9). After she is healed, Salome leaves the cave a believer, but is told not to report on any of what happened until the child goes to Jerusalem (20:12).
The Magi Pay Homage to Mary and Jesus
One of the last sections of the narrative follows the Magi who cause a commotion in Judea with their inquiry about the identity and whereabouts of the new king of the Jews (Matt 2:1–18). Like Matthew’s account, the Protevangelium attests to the Magi seeing a star in the East and following it because they seek the identity of the messiah as prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures (21:2). However, while Matthew reports that the star stopped at a house in Bethlehem “over the place where the child was” (Matt 2:9), the Protevangelium relates that the star from the East led them to the cave (21:10–11). In both accounts, the Magi approach and offer pouches of gold, frankincense-tree, and myrrh before Mary, who is identified in the Protevangelium for the first time as a mother (21:11). Both accounts include advice to Joseph and Mary not to go home via Judea since they will encounter Herod’s wrath; however, this message is sent by dream in Matt 2:12, but delivered by an angel in the Protevangelium (21:12). Herod responds to being tricked by the Magi by sending out his henchmen to kill all children two years old and younger. This element of Matthew’s story is expanded and given a colorful new life in the Protevangelium, where Jesus’ life is saved not by Joseph’s flight into Egypt (Matt 2:13–15), but through Mary’s quick wit and courage to wrap her child in swaddling clothes and