Texts in Conversation
The Protoevangelium of James follows Luke’s visitation scene, with Elizabeth calling Mary the mother of the Lord and the baby leaping in her womb. It adds the detail that Mary had forgotten the angel’s message entirely to harmonize a discrepancy.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Luke 1:43
New Testament
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! 43 And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? 44 For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Protoevangelium of James 12
Gospel of James
Pseudepigrapha
12 Mary finished making the purple and scarlet cloths and took them to the priest. The priest blessed her, saying, “Mary, the Lord God has exalted your name, and you will be blessed by all the generations of the earth.” Filled with joy, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and knocked on the door. When Elizabeth heard her, she dropped the scarlet she was holding, rushed to the door, and opened it. Seeing Mary, she blessed her and said, “How is it that the mother of my Lord has come to visit me? For as soon as I heard your voice, the child within me leaped and blessed you.” But Mary, having forgotten the mysteries the angel Gabriel had revealed, looked up to heaven and asked, “Who am I, Lord, that all generations of the earth should bless me?” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, and day by day she grew larger. Fearing what might happen, Mary returned to her own home and hid herself from the people of Israel. She was sixteen years old when these events took place.
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Notes and References
“... In Luke’s Annunciation story the appearance of the archangel Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1:26-38 was followed immediately by Mary’s visit to her relative Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:39-56. The Redactor follows Luke’s pattern by dividing his interpolation into two sections, the double angelic appearance to Mary in Protoevangelium of James 11:06-12 and Mary’s visit to Elizabeth in Protoevangelium of James 12:03-09a. The Redactor inserted Protoevangelium of James 11:06-12 into the GenMar Annunciation narrative, which begins with Mary spinning the red thread in the temple and concludes in Protoevangelium of James 12:01-02 with Mary returning her completed work of spun threads to the priest and receiving his blessing ...”
Zervos, George
The Protevangelium of James: Greek Text and English Translation with a Critical Introduction (Volume 1)
(pp. 49-53) 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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