Texts in Conversation
The Protoevangelium of James reproduces Matthew’s account of Joseph’s dream almost word for word, but the Greek changes “your wife Mary” to “this maiden,” deliberately avoiding any hint that Joseph and Mary had a marital relationship.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 1:20
New Testament
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:
Protoevangelium of James 14
Gospel of James
Pseudepigrapha
14 Joseph was deeply afraid and withdrew from Mary, thinking about what he should do. He said to himself, “If I cover up her supposed sin, I will be going against the law of the Lord; but if I expose her to the people of Israel, I fear that what’s inside her might be from an angel, and I’ll be responsible for condemning innocent blood to death. What should I do? I’ll quietly divorce her.” As night fell, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what’s conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph woke from his dream, glorifying the God of Israel for the grace he had been given, and he stayed with Mary.
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Notes and References
“... In the Composer’s Trial story in Protoevangelium of James 13-16, only chapter 14 contains obvious evidence of redaction. Among these narratives Protoevangelium of James 14 alone contains canonical influences, displaying significant parallels with the account of the Nativity in the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25. Protoevangelium of James 14:04-08 contains texts that appear to have been taken directly, some verbatim, from the Matthean account. The critical question to be addressed is whether these Matthean elements were included in the text by the Composer or by the Redactor. It is at this point, Protoevangelium of James 14:04b, that the text begins to display close parallels with the Nativity story in Matthew 1:18-25. The similarities between the two passages, including a number of verbatim equivalents, warrant the conclusion that the text of Joseph’s angelic visitation in the Protoevangelium of James was derived directly from Matthew ...”
Zervos, George
The Protevangelium of James: Greek Text and English Translation with a Critical Introduction (Volume 1)
(pp. 60-62) T&T Clark, 2019
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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