Posted on 05/19/2011 6:07:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The great-grandmother of Jesus was a woman named Ismeria, according to Florentine medieval manuscripts analyzed by a historian.
The legend of St. Ismeria, presented in the current Journal of Medieval History, sheds light on both the Biblical Virgin Mary's family and also on religious and cultural values of 14th-century Florence.
"I don't think any other woman is mentioned" as Mary's grandmother in the Bible, Catherine Lawless, author of the paper, told Discovery News. "Mary's patrilineal lineage is the only one given."
"Mary herself is mentioned very little in the Bible," added Lawless, a lecturer in history at the University of Limerick. "The huge Marian cult that has evolved over centuries has very few scriptural sources."
Lawless studied the St. Ismeria story, which she said has been "ignored by scholars," in two manuscripts: the 14th century "MS Panciatichiano 40" of Florence's National Central Library and the 15th century "MS 1052" of the Riccardiana Library, also in Florence.
"According to the legend, Ismeria is the daughter of Nabon of the people of Judea, and of the tribe of King David," wrote Lawless. She married "Santo Liseo," who is described as "a patriarch of the people of God." The legend continues that the couple had a daughter named Anne who married Joachim. After 12 years, Liseo died. Relatives then left Ismeria penniless.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
As are the Psalmist, King, and Propet David... And Solomon...
I cuold go on, but you get the picture.
Theology isnt my strong suit, but as I understand it, Roman Catholic doctrine holds that prior to Christ sacrificing himself for our sins, mankind was denied heaven. All were tainted with Original sin, so the best they could hope for was limbo. Of course, the story of the transfiguration of Christ when Moses and Elijah appeared with him would indicate otherwise, doubtful he plucked them out of limbo.
Thanks, Civ
Great article! Beautiful picture. A keeper for my files.
Oh Please....
Cheers!
>> “Mary herself is mentioned very little in the Bible,” added Lawless, a lecturer in history at the University of Limerick. “The huge Marian cult that has evolved over centuries has very few scriptural sources.” <<
That’s a very weird statement. She gets more coverage in the bible than any other New Testament figure, besides Christ himself, St. Peter and St. Paul. Luke writes his entire 3-chapter infancy narrative centered around her; there’s Matthew’s infancy narrative; The symbolic figure of Revelations 12 is modelled on her; there’s the wedding at Cana, the foot of the cross, the witnessing of the Resurrection...
Whereas 9 of the 11 apostles get no more than one passage about them; and the majority of those get scarcely more than a name message.
If you read the article, it makes plain that she supposedly lived long enough to have known an adult Jesus, and therefore able to be saved by him. Further, ancient prophets whose inspiration from the Holy Spirit can be assured are, in fact, called saints. I’ve seen “Saint Isaiah,” “Saint Jeremiah,” “Saint Elijah,” “Saint Daniel,” etc., on cathedrals and basilicas (balisicae?). Nonetheless, she is almost certainly a pious literary device, not a real person. Calling her “Saint Ismeria,” however, is confusing, however. She is NOT a canonical saint, as the Church probably never formally declared that she even existed, let alone attributed to her saintliness.
>> “Revelations 12 is modelled on her” <<
.
Revelation 12 is totally about the remnant of Israel.
Thanks and thanks!
My pleasure! Thanks Cincinna.
Saint John the Baptist is recognized by that title pretty universally in the Christian churches that use the term. I believe he was born a few months BC.
RC and EO doctrine differs on several points.
To your point, though, about the Transfiguration, look at Orthodox Icons of the Ressurection as well. They will differ from iconographer to iconographer as to how many people appear in the background off of Christ’s shoulders, but six people are ALWAYS there. Off of his right shoulder will be King David, King Solomon, and St. John the Forerunner and Baptizer. Off of his left shoulder will be Moses, Elias, and Daniel.
I am Orthodox, not Catholic, but I was taught that the reason that Jesus was dead three days between Crucifixion and Resurrection was that it took him that long to get the Righteous out of Hell. (I was also taught that it was kind of a one-time deal. He's not going back there.)
I’m not a religious scholar, but in the ancient Jewish tradition, I believe one of the base criteria for the coming Messiah was that he would come from the House of David, eg. be descended from a royal bloodline. For a person to be credible Messiah to the masses of Jews of the day, it would have to have been a known and provable fact.
To me, the most interesting part of Dr. James Tabor’s remarkable book, “The Jesus Dynasty” is his exposition of the necessity of the Messiah to have descended from the House of David and how Mary fulfilled that requirement.
Perhaps the story of Ismeria, real or not, was simply more of the ‘vetting’ of Jesus as the Messiah by proving his mother Mary was of the House of David bloodline.
This is totally separate from the theories that a royal bloodline continued after Jesus through a child from a relationship with Mary Magdalene.
I wrote that it’s MODELLED on her. Geesh. Who gave birth to the Messiah? Mary. Who fled into Egypt? Mary. Who was protected from the dragon (sin)? Mary.
Ah, and just to be clear: “the Remnant of her seed” refers not to those Jews which practice the Jewish religion, but to those which converted to Christianity; Paul states clearly, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin... Even so, AT THIS PRESENT TIME, also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:1,5)
I wrote that it’s MODELLED on her. Geesh. Who gave birth to the Messiah? Mary. Who fled into Egypt? Mary. Who was protected from the dragon (sin)? Mary.
Ah, and just to be clear: “the Remnant of her seed” refers not to those Jews which practice the Jewish religion, but to those which converted to Christianity; Paul states clearly, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin... Even so, AT THIS PRESENT TIME, also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:1,5)
>> “, and just to be clear: “the Remnant of her seed” refers not to those Jews which practice the Jewish religion, but to those which converted to Christianity” <<
.
That would be nonsense!
It refers to the remnant of those that were “blinded.”
Uh, no.
“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the remnant of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”
Those who are blinded do not hold fast their testimony about Jesus. I presume you’re talking about those Paul says will be restored to the olive tree? That passage is not related to Revelation 12.
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