Initial Comments on The Book of Mary, Second Edition, 2025. This is a reflection made after The Book of Mary, Second Edition, 2025, had gone to press.  It is an overview of some of the major issues discussed in the book and does not repeat much of the...

The Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark The book begins with a new discovery concerning the messianic secret in the Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four canonical gospels, dating from 65–70 CE. The gospel is designed to discuss the activities of Jesus during...

The Protevangelium in the Gospel of Mark To solve the quandary of the messianic secret, it may be shown that Mark had access to the Protevangelium and that it is the source of the messianic messages of the unclean spirits in his gospel. It is exciting that it can...

Anna and the Conception of Mary The parents of Mary, Joachim and Anna, had no children, and this caused them great sadness. They are discussed in the first 4 chapters of the Protevangelium. Eventually, each of them received an angelic visitation revealing that Anna...

Mary at the Age of 1 When Mary first began to walk, Anna created a sanctuary in her bedroom necessitated by the demands of the law of holiness of the temple, which applied to both priests and nazirites. It was up to Anna to arrange this for Mary because it was her...

Mary at the Age of 3 When Mary is three years old, she is brought to the Temple of the Lord and welcomed by the priests (Protevangelium 7). She will live there, with other selected young girls from Israel, for approximately 9 years. Mary at the age of 3. Artists,...

Mary at the Age of 12 When Mary reached the age of 12 (Protevangelium 8–9) she must retire from her work in the temple. This is necessitated because she is getting close to the age of puberty (averaging around 13.4 years). According to the holiness laws of the...

On a Veil for the Temple Mary is called upon to work on a veil for the temple and this is the moment when we realize that Mary is not the only young girl in the temple who is of the ‘tribe of David’. The terminology is in accord with the prophecy of Jeremiah...

Mary and the Conception of Jesus The annunciation to Mary and her conception of Jesus are detailed in Protevangelium 11. It begins with a courtship ritual that occurs with  a blessing of Mary by the Voice of God at a time when  Mary approaches a...

On the Birth of Jesus During the conception of Jesus, the angel responds to Mary’s questions pertaining to her conception and to delivering her child with a single response: ‘the power of the Lord shall overshadow you’ (Protevangelium 11.3). Yet, in describing the...

Doubting Salome The story of Salome (Protevangelium 20) begins with Salome’s attempt to discern Mary’s virginity by a physical examination. She fails and receives a dramatic suffering on her hand, inflicted by God, who is protecting Mary’s sanctity. Yet, her...