Hello William. My understanding is that Joseph & Mary were married prior to Jesus' Birth. If I'm reading Matthew 1:24,25 correctly: "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS"; it seems that after Joseph had settled in his heart that Mary was not unfaithful during their betrothal period, he then married her ("took unto him his wife"), did not demand his conjugal rights ("knew her not"), but abstained until the promised Messiah Babe would be born. Of course, after this Divine Birth, Joseph & Mary went on to have other children ( Matthew 13:55,56).
After the one year separation, they had what is called the CHUPPAH which is the actual wedding ceremony. CHUPPAH is the Hebrew word for wedding, and KIDDUSHIM was the betrothal period.
Here's something else that is important to know. When the KIDDUSHIM takes place, they are married. The only way you can break the espousal, the engagement, is by divorce.
So this is how this whole thing plays out. Mary was his wife, even though the official wedding ceremony, the CHUPPAH had not yet taken place. They had already entered into the KIDDUSHIM, the engagement and time of purity.
Remember that is a one year period, but they are still married. Some of the more modern translations will say take Mary as your wife, and they will put "as" in italics to kind of give you something.
But they completely go against the whole KIDDUSHIM/CHUPPAH arrangement because as soon as you get engaged, their version of engagement, it took a divorce to break it.
But according to Jewish custom, once the KIDDUSHIM (1-year separation/time of purity) began, they were considered married, even though the marriage ceremony took place after the 1 year separation.
That is why Joseph was about to divorce her when he found out she was pregnant during the KIDDUSHIM period. They were considered married even before the CHUPPAH took place.
I am going to say yes, and here's why. In Matthew 1:18, we have the social circumstances surrounding Joseph and Mary.
It says when Mary his mother was espoused to Joseph, and in the Greek text, it is in the passive voice which means that you are receiving the action from somebody else.
This is very important and here's why.
Joseph and Mary were espoused, not because they were engaged or betrothed, or espoused to each other. The passive voice from the Greek means that they were brought together in an arrangement. They were the recipients of the betrothal.
Back in those days in Jewish tradition, contracts were made between two families for marriage. Girls were betrothed at the age of 12 and 13, and the boys were older. And they (Mary and Joseph) were betrothed together by the parents, not by their own choice.
It also says that "before they came together," which is a Greek word that means before their marriage was consummated. And the main verb is "she was found to be with child," again passive voice.
Here is how this worked back in traditional times, the time when all this was taking place:
They had what was called the KIDDUSHIM, which was the betrothal period. It's not exactly the same as our engagements. This is called KIDDUSHIM which means separate, or to separate.
And what happens is that when you became betrothed or espoused or engaged, you stayed separate for a whole year. This was called the time of purity to make sure that the woman wasn't pregnant.
Well, it was during this time of KIDDUSHIM that she was found to be pregnant.
During this whole year that they were separated, and even though they had not yet had a marriage ceremony, they were considered to be married.
I will continue in another post to further explain this.
I hope they thanked GOD every day,man can you imagen being ble to hear him,and be taught directly from our father,WOW,what an honor they surly did have,and to be a chosen servant and to have such a close relationship to him,Idk about you but it makes me smile,I know we don't get to see him like they did BUT we can have FAITH,which was required even when they did hear him or see him,I hopeALLISWELL
Here is Part 2:
After the one year separation, they had what is called the CHUPPAH which is the actual wedding ceremony. CHUPPAH is the Hebrew word for wedding, and KIDDUSHIM was the betrothal period.
Here's something else that is important to know. When the KIDDUSHIM takes place, they are married. The only way you can break the espousal, the engagement, is by divorce.
So this is how this whole thing plays out. Mary was his wife, even though the official wedding ceremony, the CHUPPAH had not yet taken place. They had already entered into the KIDDUSHIM, the engagement and time of purity.
Remember that is a one year period, but they are still married. Some of the more modern translations will say take Mary as your wife, and they will put "as" in italics to kind of give you something.
But they completely go against the whole KIDDUSHIM/CHUPPAH arrangement because as soon as you get engaged, their version of engagement, it took a divorce to break it.
But according to Jewish custom, once the KIDDUSHIM (1-year separation/time of purity) began, they were considered married, even though the marriage ceremony took place after the 1 year separation.
That is why Joseph was about to divorce her when he found out she was pregnant during the KIDDUSHIM period. They were considered married even before the CHUPPAH took place.
Hope this helps!
I am going to say yes, and here's why. In Matthew 1:18, we have the social circumstances surrounding Joseph and Mary.
It says when Mary his mother was espoused to Joseph, and in the Greek text, it is in the passive voice which means that you are receiving the action from somebody else.
This is very important and here's why.
Joseph and Mary were espoused, not because they were engaged or betrothed, or espoused to each other. The passive voice from the Greek means that they were brought together in an arrangement. They were the recipients of the betrothal.
Back in those days in Jewish tradition, contracts were made between two families for marriage. Girls were betrothed at the age of 12 and 13, and the boys were older. And they (Mary and Joseph) were betrothed together by the parents, not by their own choice.
It also says that "before they came together," which is a Greek word that means before their marriage was consummated. And the main verb is "she was found to be with child," again passive voice.
Here is how this worked back in traditional times, the time when all this was taking place:
They had what was called the KIDDUSHIM, which was the betrothal period. It's not exactly the same as our engagements. This is called KIDDUSHIM which means separate, or to separate.
And what happens is that when you became betrothed or espoused or engaged, you stayed separate for a whole year. This was called the time of purity to make sure that the woman wasn't pregnant.
Well, it was during this time of KIDDUSHIM that she was found to be pregnant.
During this whole year that they were separated, and even though they had not yet had a marriage ceremony, they were considered to be married.
I will continue in another post to further explain this.
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