Words Made Flesh

I wish I could read ancient Greek and Hebrew. It's not a skill I think I will ever possess, but it would be nice. In just the minuscule amount of Scripture I have studied, it seems almost every verse has some nuance that is lost in translation.

For instance, I was listening to a talk by Tim Staples about the Blessed Virgin Mary.  He pointed out that in Luke's narrative of the Annunciation there in an interesting word play going on. Mary asks "How can this be, since I do not know man?" Every translation I am aware of (including "literal" translations) has the angel's reply in Luke 1:37 as:

³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”

or very similar wording. But according to Tim, and I looked it up in a Greek interlinear Bible, the actual words written were

37   ὅτι οὐκ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πᾶν εἶπεν

or

37   for not will be impossible with God every word said.

or

37  for every word of God's is possible.

Similar meaning, but it gives quite a different emphasis to Mary's reply "Let it be done to me according to your word."

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And I will ask the Father and He will send you another parasite...

One of the most misunderstood aspects of Catholicism, even for (maybe especially for) Catholics is veneration of and devotion to Mary. I know for much of my life I have had an aversion to Marian devotion that I am still overcoming.

Many people see honoring Mary as taking glory and honor away from Jesus, but it is a false dichotomy to say that a mother and child are in opposition to one another.

Then again, we live in a society where we put mothers and their children in opposition to one another, and the result is abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Pro "choice" advocates claim that a child is at best a burden to a mother, one whose interests are contrary to those of the mother, and therefore she has no compelling reason in protecting its life. Some even claim that the child is a "parasite" which should rightfully be destroyed. Likewise, our parents should be killed lest they become a burden to us.

This is a false dichotomy and a gross distortion, used to justify abortion and infanticide, just as it was in pagan Rome and Greece. The Judeo-Christian view of motherhood is that there is a sacred bond between parents and children. "The two become one" is not only a metaphor for sexual union, it is a scientific description of conception.

In the Davidic kingdom of Israel the second highest position was that of "Giberah," or "Queen Mother." This underscores the understanding that the king's mother had his best interest at heart, and vice versa. In the Ten Commandments, we are told "honor your father and your mother" and the word used for "honor" (כַּבֵּ֥ד) can be interpreted to mean "give glory to" as well.

As the mother of Jesus, Mary is not opposed to Jesus or taking away from Jesus in any way. Conversely Jesus, as a good child who follows the commandments perfectly, gives honor and glory to his mother. As imitators of Christ should we not do the same? It has always been understood that on the cross Jesus entrusted his mother not only to St. John but by extension to all Christians. And so we should rightfully honor our mother, Mary.

This is not the blog post I set out to write, but the Spirit moved me and this is it. I will hopefully blog soon on the original topic...

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Gebirah

The other day as I was leaving the clinic, after having prayed the rosary aloud, one of my Protestant friends called out to me "Queen Mother isn't capitalized in the Bible, you know." I asked what he meant, and he indicated that the rosary was wrong (and giving too high an honor to Mary) because it called her the "Queen Mother" and that doesn't appear in the Bible.

N.B. The rosary doesn't actually call her "Queen Mother" that I know of. I think he was referring to "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy" which is actually two separate titles ("Hole Queen" and "Mother of Mercy"). Rather than get into defining those two titles I thought I would address the issue of "Queen Mother", which is also an acceptable title for Mary.

We had had a similar conversation before about calling Mary queen, and I had urged him to read about the "Gebirah" (Hebrew), or Queen Mother in the books of Kings. I take it he did, and that was what he found, hence our conversation.

I had to go, but I noted to him that the original Hebrew wouldn't have capitalized anything, a point which I think only confused matters. As I left I promised that next week I would come back armed with a bunch of scripture references to show my point. The rest of this blog post is my intended reply to this gentleman.

What I meant when I was talking about the Old Testament being written in Hebrew is that ancient Hebrew had no upper and lower case letters. So saying “queen mother” isn't capitalized in the Bible just means the translator didn't capitalize it – it says nothing about the original text. For that matter, although the Bible is the inerrant word of God, the translator was just a fallible man, and so your English Bible can have mistakes in the sense that it doesn't convey the correct meaning of the original perfect text. That's why when arguing about the authority of Scripture it is important to understand not only what King James says, but what the Sacred author actually wrote.

But on to the subject at hand – is Mary the “Queen Mother”?

We are told Jesus sits on the throne of David (Luke 1:32 - He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.) - so we should look at the kings of Israel to find out what is meant by that. One of the things characterizing the kingdom of Israel (and most ancient kingdoms) was the Gebirah (in Hebrew גְּבִירָה) , or Queen Mother (sometimes translated as “Great Lady”).

The Gebirah, the Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Judah, was an official position held by the mother of the Davidic kings. The Hebrew word gebirah is found 15 times in the Old Testament. In Genesis 16:4, 8, 9 it refers to Sarah (Abraham's wife, who is promised to be the mother of kings). In 1 Kings 11:19 it is used to refer to the queen of Egypt.

In 1 Kings 15:13 we see Asa, descendent of David, restoring God's rule to Judah after his father Abijam, had don evil. The Bible says “And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.” Well, he could hardly remove his mother as queen if she were not the queen. The same event is described in 2 Chronicals 15:16 “And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.”

In 2 Kings 10:13 the brethren of Ahaziah go to meet “the children of the King and the children of the queen” - they wouldn't have to meet the children of the queen if she were the king's wife – they would also be the children of the king. And it is important that they meet both, because their intention was to slay them all, and if they had only slain the children of the king then the children of the queen (the kings' brothers and sisters) would inherit the throne, and they wanted to eradicate the royal line.

In 1 Kings 2, Scripture says the Gebirah sat a throne alongside her son and had a role as counselor and intercessor to the king (see also 2 Chronicles 22:3):

19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.

20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.

In times of conquest, both the king and his mother both represented royal power (2 Kings 24:12 – 12 “And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.”). Note that his wife is not mentioned, but his mother is.

In Sacred Scripture the mother of the Davidic king is listed along with her son in the books of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles when he assumes the throne. The only queen mothers not listed are those of King Jehoram, who married wicked Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel (2 Kings 8:17-18); King Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2-3); and King Asa (1 Kings 15:10). In the case of Jehoram and Ahaz, their mothers may have died prior to their sons assuming the throne of David, and in the case of Asa, his grandmother is named as the Gebirah, his mother having died or perhaps his grandmother, the former Gebirah, did not relinquish her power and authority upon the succession of her grandson.

Note that when Israel splits into Israel (north) and Judah (south), the northern kings abandon the gebirah (and God – they eventually become the pagan Samaritans) while the Davidic line passes to Judah, who are the chosen of God (where we get the name Jews). Here are the kings of Israel/Judah:

1. Rehoboam 930-913 BC	Son of Solomon Mother: Naamah the Ammonite	1 Kings 11:42-14:31 2 Chronicles 9:31-12:16
2. Abijam (Abijah) 913-911	Son of Rehoboam Mother: Maacah (Micaiah) descendant of David's son Absalom	1 Kings 14:31-15:8 2 Chronicles 13:1-23
3. Asa 911-870	Son of Abijam Gebirah = grandmother Maacah	1 Kings 15:8-24 2 Chronicles 13:23-16:14
4. Jehoshaphat 870-848	Son of Asa Mother: Azubah	1 Kings 15:24' 22"41-51 2 Chronicles 17:1-21:1
5. Jehoram 848-841	Son of Jehoshaphat Mother: ?	2 Kings 8:16-24 2 Chronicles 21:1-20
6. Ahaziah 841	Son of Jehoram Mother: Athaliah	2 Kings 8:24-29; 9:14-26 2 Chronicles 22:1-12
7. Athaliah (Queen Mother) 841-835	Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel	2 Kings 11L1-20 2 Chronicles 22:1-15
8. Jehoash (Joash) 835-796	Grandson of Athaliah and son of Ahaziah; Mother: Zibiah (Beersheba)	1 Kings 11:1-12:21 2 Chronicles 22:10-23; 24:27
9. Amaziah 796-781	Son of Jehoash Mother: Jehoaddan	2 Kings 14:1-22 2 Chronicles 26:1-23
10. Uzziah 781-740	Son of Amaziah Mother: Jecoliah	2 Kings 15:1-7 2 Chronicles 26:23-27:9
11. Jotham 740-736	Son of Uzziah Mother: Jerushah	2 Kings 15:32-38 2 Chronicles 26:9-27:9
12. Ahaz 736-716	Son of Jotham Mother:?	2 Kings 15:38-16:20 2 Chronicles 27:9-28:27
13. Hezekiah 716-687	Son of Ahaz Mother: Abijah	2 Kings 16:20; 18:1-20:21 2 Chronicles 28:27-32:33
14. Manasseh 697-642	Son of Hezekiah Mother: Hephzibah	2 Kings 21:1-18 2 Chronicles 32:33-33:20
15. Amon 642-640	Son of Manasseh Mother: Meshullemeth	2 Kings 21:18-26 2 Chronicles 33:20-25
16. Josiah 640-609	Son of Amon Mother: Jedidiah	2 Kings 21:26-23:30 2 Chronicles 33:25-35:27
17. Eliakim/Jehoahaz 609	Son of Josiah Mother: Hamutal	2 Kings 23:30-34 2 Chronicles 36:5-8
18. Jehoiakim	Brother of Eliakim Mother: Zebidah	2 Kings 23:34-24:6 2 Chronicles 36:5-8
19. Jehoiachin 598-597	Son of Jehoiakim Mother: Nehusta	2 Kings 24:6-17 2 Chronicles 36:8-10
20. Mattaniah/Zedekiah 597-587/6	Parental uncle of Jehoiachin and son of Jehoiakim Mother: Hamital	2 Kings 24:17-25:30 2 Chronicles 36:10-13; Ezekiel 17:13-16

The Gebirah was clearly the most important woman in the Kingdom of Judah; a king had many wives, but only one mother. The Gebirah of the eternal Davidic Kingdom of Jesus Christ is Mary of Nazareth. She appears in this role in Revelation 12:1 - “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” - this is clearly a reference to Mary because we see in verse 5 “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” which is clearly Jesus.

Thus according to the Bible it is correct to use the title Gebirah, or Queen Mother, for Mary.

[Table and some material are from http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/Institution%20of%20the%20Gebirah.htm]

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Reflections on Mary

Several of my friends on plurk have decided to write about Mary in this, the month of Mary. Some of them have already written some interesting blog posts about her. I will link to them below, as I find them. So far I have

Cuaguy Reflects on Mary
Snupnjake's Reflections on Mary
Pennyante's Our Lady of Grace
Andychrism's There's just something about Mary...
Joy's Mary’s Virginity during Childbirth is a Type of the Church

I decided I wanted to "join the club" as well, but I have a problem. I don't have a degree in theology or any deep religious insights. I'm not well versed in the scripture or theology of Mariology. I don't have the close personal relationship with Our Blessed Mother, nor am I a clever writer, who can make an interesting post out of anything. So what can I possibly say?

Mary was big with the women of my family. Almost every woman had Mary as a first or middle name. The Memorare would fly from my mother's lips at the slightest provocation. And yet I have never been comfortable with Mary. As a boy, especially one named Michael, I was too "manly" to think about the "sissy" side of religion. Beating the crap out of the devil was more to my liking. As I got a little older, the whole "virgin" thing put me off. It all sounded kind of dirty, obsessing over a saint's sex life (or absence thereof). Not something I felt comfortable talking about. Why should that be dogma? Why should it even matter? Would Jesus have been less of a savior if He had no been born of a virgin? If he had brothers and sisters?

As I reached "manhood" I found I had developed an almost protestant view of Mary. Not to the point where I would eschew the "Hail Mary" (after all, it's just quoting scripture and asking her to pray for us) but to the point where I was uncomfortable with the whole "Queen of Heaven" thing (after all, it's not in the bible) and some of the Marian devotions and apparitions just seemed weird.

I don't know if my aversion to thing Marian was one of the symptoms or causes, but I was a "bad" Catholic in a lot of ways during that time. Certainly I had a bad attitude towards women. Perhaps it is fitting then that my long (and ongoing) journey back to the faith began with my friendship with a woman named LaSalette. Even then, it would take another 15 years or so before I revisited my relationship with Mary.

Despite having Catholic parents, and twelve years of Catholic schooling, I was woefully uncatechized, but by this point in my life I had found out how to look things up for myself. I learned about Mary's foreshadowing in the Old Testament, and how the bible actually does indicate that she remained a virgin. I learned that things I thought didn't matter mattered a great deal. I learned that there's more to Mary than just the names "LaSalette", "Guadalupe" and "Fatima" (who, it turns out, is the patron of my state). I learned that my prejudices were just that, prejudices, and that there were answers to them - answers that made sense. Most of all I prayed.

I'm still praying, and I'm still learning. So I guess I'm still on "the road to Mary", but at least I found the road.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.
Has risen, as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

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