Session 7: Other possible references to Mary in the Bible

In the previous 6 sessions, we looked at every passage in the Bible that explicitly refers to Mary.  We will round out our study by looking at other Bible passages that some people have interpreted as references to Mary but that do not specifically reference her.   Most of these passages were written hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament; one is embedded in the apocalyptic imagery of the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 12:1-6 and 12:13-18 A dragon (Satan) wants to kill a woman and her baby

This passage is interpreted in a variety of ways.  Some say the woman represents Mary, but that raises a variety of questions; for example, the timeline of Revelation is set in the future, but Mary gave birth to Jesus in the past.  Is this passage really about her?  Many scholars, Catholic and Protestant, see the woman as representing something larger than just a single person.  They suggest that she might represent God’s people, either the nation of Israel from the Old Testament or the Church established in the New Testament –  that is, the People of God under the New Covenant, the Body of Christ, all believers in Jesus.  (The story could have multiple levels of meaning, in which case both interpretations might have value.)

What are some ways that Mary is a symbol for the whole Church in her relationship with Jesus?

How might this woman’s protection of the child be an echo of Mary’s protection of Jesus?

Verse 17 says the woman has many offspring.  How are those people described in verse 17?

Her offspring are the people who keep God’s commandments and hold onto the testimony of Jesus (or bear witness to Jesus).

Verse 17 is one reason scholars think the woman represents the Christian faithful (or also represents the faithful on a different level as well as representing Mary).

If verse 17 is about the Church, then it is about us.  What are we called to do?

Are there ways that you, by your words or deeds, could be a more effective witness to Jesus?

What is the big-picture point of this passage, and what does it tell us about God?

The rest of the passages we are going to explore come from the Old Testament, with prophecies that may refer to the mother of the Messiah.

Our first passage tells what happens right after Adam and Eve eat the fruit in the Garden.  God comes to them, and they have this dialogue with God.

Genesis 3:9-15 enmity between the snake and the woman; her seed will strike the snake

Verse 15 is considered the first verse in the Bible that promises a redeemer for humankind.  In the second-to-last phrase, most modern translations say: “They will strike your head” or “He will strike your head.”  The “you” is referring to the snake.  Although the snake could be interpreted literally to mean that humans and snakes will not get along, Church fathers beginning with Irenaeus of Lyons in the 2nd century and scholars all the way to the present have interpreted the snake as referring to the devil.

The “they” or “he” is referring to the woman’s “offspring” or “seed.”  The word “offspring” or “seed” could be understood as a singular or a plural word, which is why we see it translated both as a singular and as a plural.  It could be understood as referring literally to the descendants of Eve as a group (“they”) or to some particular descendant (“he”), but Church fathers back to Irenaeus and most scholars since then see the offspring/seed as referring to Christ.

Although the pronoun translated as “he”/”they” is masculine, when Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in the translation known as the Vulgate, he translated it as “she,” and that has led some people to interpret it as referring to Mary.  This is why we see artists from the Middle Ages on portraying Mary as stepping on a snake.  Some translations in our time still use “she” even though the pronoun is masculine. (New American Bible, revised edition, Gen. 3:15 fn.). 

Let’s start with the interpretation that this passage is a prediction of a Messiah or redeemer to come, and the “seed” is a reference to Jesus.  In that case, why is the passage significant?

If the “seed” is Jesus and the snake is the devil, what does it tell us about the relative power of Jesus and the devil in our world today?

How can you draw encouragement from the image of Jesus (the seed) striking at the devil (the snake)?

If the “seed” is a reference to Jesus, what does it tell us about Mary?

Now let’s look at the more questionable interpretation, based on Jerome’s translation, that the “seed” is referring to Mary.  The text doesn’t support this interpretation, since the pronoun is masculine, but why do you think artists and other people down through the ages have been attracted to this interpretation that the passage is referring to Mary?

People have also drawn comparisons between Eve and Mary.  How are they similar?  How  are they different?

What do you think Genesis 3:15 is saying, if anything, about Mary?  And what difference does it make to you?

What does this passage tell us about God?  In particular, if God prophesied a Messiah who would vanquish the devil, all the way back at the beginning, right after the first sin, what does that tell you about God and his concern for humans?

Isaiah 7:10-16 A young woman (virgin?) will bear a son who will be called Emmanuel

Verse 14 is the key verse here.  Some translations have used the word “virgin,” which makes us think of Mary, but the Hebrew word just means a young woman without specifying whether she is a virgin or not (New American Bible, revised edition, Is. 7:14 fn.).

There are people who appear to make judgments about whole translations of the Bible based on whether they use the word “virgin” in this verse.  That excessive emphasis on this verse misses a crucial point.  Christians believe that Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin not because of anything Isaiah says, and not because of how we translate Isaiah, but because of the clear testimony of the Gospel of Matthew that Mary was a virgin.  So how we translate Isaiah 7:14 is a secondary issue, not a core issue of the faith.  (For further information on this debate, see the sidebar at the end of this section.)

Christians believe that the Old Testament often has stories that have two levels of meaning – one in the context in which it was written and one that can be seen in the light of the New Testament.  Why is this passage important from a New Testament perspective?

Regardless of whether the original meaning in Isaiah referred to a virgin, Christians see in Mary and Jesus a virgin and a child who is called Emmanuel, “God with us.”  What is Mary’s role in making “God with us” a reality?

In what ways is God still delivering on the claim that he is “God with us,” even in our day?

Our theme has been that what Mary did, we are called to do.  How can we make God’s presence with us more real for others?

Psalm 22:9-10 in the NRSV and most other translations (Psalm 22:10-11 in the NABRE) Jesus had a relationship with God while still in Mary’s womb

This is the prophetic psalm that begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”  Jesus prayed this psalm while hanging, dying, on the cross.  Many of the lines in the psalm describe Jesus prophetically.  For example, the psalmist says he is scorned, that they pierced his hands and feet, that they divided his garments.

In the two verses we are looking at, if we read them as being Jesus’s words, he is talking about the relationship he had with God when he was still in Mary’s womb.

In the first of those two verses, what does it say God did?

In the second of those two verses, how does it describe Jesus’s relationship with God?

What does this tell us about Mary’s role in Jesus’s relationship with God?

How can we, like Mary, provide a safe place for others to know God?

[The following Jeremiah passage is confusing and can be skipped.  It is included here only for the sake of completeness, as this study has included every passage that refers to Mary or that some scholars think may refer to Mary.]

Jeremiah 31:22 woman encompasses man.

This is an obscure passage, with a possible interpretation that might relate to Mary.

A footnote in the New American Bible, revised edition says, “No satisfactory explanation has been given for this text.  Jerome, for example, saw the image as a reference to the infant Jesus enclosed in Mary’s womb” (New American Bible, revised edition, Jer. 21:22 fn.).  Mary could not “encompass” Jesus forever.  However, it is a beautiful image.  To what extent, and for how long, do you think Mary “encompassed” Jesus?

How does Mary point us to a God who encompasses us?

How can we provide the encompassing love of God to others?

Micah 5:1-4a out of you shall come forth a ruler when she gives birth

What does Micah say a woman will do as God brings salvation to Judah (the nation of the Jews)?

How did Mary fulfill this prophecy?

What is the significance of the fact that this passage refers both to Bethlehem and to a shepherd who brings security and peace?

What does this passage tell us about God?

How can we help people return to their shepherd and find peace?

Concluding Questions for This Study on Mary, the Mother of Jesus

As you think back over what you have seen and learned in this study of Mary, what has stood out for you or touched your heart in a particular way?

What did you find most surprising?

What did you find most encouraging?

Our guiding principle in this study has been: What Mary was, we are called to be; what Mary did, we are called to do.  What is one trait or characteristic of Mary that you would like to grow in?

If you could name one thing that you think God might be calling you to do as a result of this study, what would that be?

How can we help each other be more like Mary?

Take a step back and consider this:

Mary, in the Bible, is in some ways a well-defined person and in some ways an enigma.  We rarely know what she is thinking.  And yet, we see that she is a person of deep faith, unwavering in her commitment to her son, and present in the most significant moments in his life  She consents to carry him in her womb and give him life; she is present in his childhood; she encourages him to perform his first big miracle or “sign”; she is visibly present to him throughout the agony of his crucifixion; and she is present when his Holy Spirit first comes upon his followers and the Church is born.

You could say that one of her biggest ways of being a role model and example for us was her dogged determination to remain faithful to Jesus and thereby fulfill the role to which God called her.

How can you imitate her unwavering commitment to remain faithful to Jesus in the roles you have been given in your life?

In her devotion to Jesus, Mary was an encouragement to her son even by standing by him at the cross.  Who might need you to stand by them, to help them stay faithful to their calling?  How might you encourage them in their faith?

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Sidebar: In Isaiah 7:14, did Isaiah refer to “the young woman” or “the virgin,” and how much does it matter?

(This is for people who like to dig into the nitty-gritty of scholarly debates.)

This is not a debate over whether Mary was a virgin.  That is decisively stated in Luke 1:27, 34 and Matthew 1:18, 20, 25.  The question here is only whether Isaiah prophesied a virgin birth.

In Isaiah 7:14, King Ahaz is told that “the young woman” or “the virgin” (depending on how the word is translated) – will have a child who will be called Emmanuel (“God with us”).  This makes people think of Mary.  The Masoretic text, which is our oldest surviving copy of the text in Hebrew, says “the young woman,” and the word used there is a word used to describe a young woman who is old enough to get married.  The word does not specific whether the woman is a virgin or not.

Scholars note that the phrasing in Hebrew indicates that the woman was already pregnant at the time the words were spoken, which means that the “sign” was not that she would become pregnant but that the child would be called Emmanuel (“God with us”).  That is why the NABRE translates this verse with these words: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel” (Is. 7:14, NABRE), and the NRSV uses these words: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Is. 7:14, NRSV).  Those translations make clear that the Hebrew indicates that the woman was already pregnant.

The scholars who produced the translation for the Catholic New American Bible, revised edition explain why they concluded that Isaiah 7:14 should be translated as “the young woman” in this footnote:

7:14 Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Sm 7:12–16).  The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Gn 16:11; Jgs 13:3).  The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity.  The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Mt 1:23. (New American Bible, revised edition, Is. 7:14 fn.)

Many evangelical Protestants also agree that the Isaiah passage refers to a young woman, not a virgin.  For example, David F. Payne, the then-Registrar of the evangelical London Bible College, now called the London School of Theology, in writing the Isaiah section of the International Bible Commentary, edited by evangelical leader F. F. Bruce, concludes:

(c) Despite several attempts to demonstrate otherwise, it remains very doubtful whether the Hebrew word ‘almāh signified only a ‘virgin’.  Certainly it was a term which included virgins; but it cannot be restricted to them.

(d) In a context where names clearly functioned as signs (Shear-Jashub in 7:3, and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz in 8:1-4), it is highly probable that it was the name ‘Immanuel’ rather than the child’s conception or birth, which was to be the sign.

(e) It seems probable, though not certain, that the Hebrew construction suggests that Isaiah was referring primarily to a young woman already pregnant; virtually the same construction occurs in Gen. 16:11. (Payne, pp. 726-727).

Some conservative scholars, Catholic and evangelical, argue that the word “virgin” would more accurately reflect what Isaiah wrote and intended.  They argue that what made this birth a “sign” – something extraordinary – was that it was a birth to a virgin.  They argue that the Masoretic text of the Hebrew that we have today may not accurately reflect what the original Hebrew said, and that the Septuagint, with its Greek word for virgin, may better reflect the original Hebrew.  They note that Matthew was familiar with both the Hebrew and Greek versions of Isaiah, and he chose to use the Greek Septuagint translation, which uses the Greek word for “virgin.”

However, these scholars have not provided evidence that the Masoretic text here is a garbled version of what Isaiah originally wrote.  And Matthew’s decision to use the Septuagint translation does not tell us what the original Hebrew said or meant.  He might have chosen the Septuagint version simply because it better fit the actual circumstances of Jesus’s birth, not because he had an opinion on whether the original word in the Hebrew text was “young woman” or “virgin.”

In summary, we do not have enough information to be sure what word Isaiah originally used and what he meant by it, but the wording in the oldest Hebrew text we have (the Masoretic text) is “the young woman,” and in order to adopt the alternate reading of “the virgin” we would have to accept, without strong evidence, that the text became garbled between its original writing and the earliest version we have today (the Masoretic text) and that somehow the Septuagint preserved a more accurate reading.

In the end though, it doesn’t matter.  Whether Isaiah meant “young woman” or “virgin” has no bearing on the faith of Christians.  We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus not because of anything Isaiah said but because the Gospels of both Matthew and Luke tell us that Mary was a virgin.  What we know for sure from Isaiah 7:14 is that Isaiah prophesied that there would be a child who would be called “God with us,” and that is what we have in Jesus.  And this Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit and delivered by a virgin.  All of this is true regardless of whether Isaiah refers to “the young woman” or “the virgin.”

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