# Mary had a granddaughter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625 "2005-04-28T21:39:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/1 "2005-04-28T21:39:01Z")
It has been a long time since I had a religion class/bible study. Maybe I forgot, maybe I’ve never learned, but…Mary, the mother of God, had a granddaughter Sara? [A children’s book](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=279&item=7971222810&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) Ummmmmmm. am I being particularly dense tonight or what? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/2 "2005-04-28T21:44:20Z")
I think Sara is the invention of the author, but Jesus is apparently supposed to have had several brothers, who are mentioned in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/3 "2005-04-28T21:54:49Z")
Well, in some Christian traditions (mainly Protestant, I think), it is believed that Mary and Joseph went on to have other children, together. So I would guess that Mary might have had plenty of grandchildren, and that Sarah in the book would be one of Jesus’ nieces. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/4 "2005-04-28T22:01:25Z")
If I’m not mistaken, in the book _The DiVinci Code_, the Holy Grail was supposed to be a Holy Blood Line and Jesus had a daughter with Mary Magdeline named Sarah. Or maybe I heard that on the history channel. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/5 "2005-04-28T22:14:10Z")
> [@stargazer](#): > > Well, in some Christian traditions (mainly Protestant, I think), it is believed that Mary and Joseph went on to have other children, together. As far as I know, the existence of Jesus’ siblings is a singularly uncontroversial point amongst all Christian denominations, protestant or no: > [@](#): > > _As he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him._ > -Matthew 12:46, (Douay-Rheims version) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/6 "2005-04-28T23:18:58Z")
dragongirl, has it. there is the theory that there was a daughter named sarah. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/7 "2005-04-28T23:55:01Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > As far as I know, the existence of Jesus’ siblings is a singularly uncontroversial point amongst all Christian denominations, protestant or no: Well, that’s what I think, too, but I have been led to believe that some denominations (or maybe just some people, I’m not sure) believe that Mary remained a virgin her whole life. I don’t have a cite, and I don’t remember where I picked up that knowledge, because it seemed pretty silly to me – especially given the verse you quoted. Can anyone enlighten me, please? ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/8 "2005-04-29T00:07:21Z")
[The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990730a.html) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/9 "2005-04-29T00:11:30Z")
_Or to summarize:_ Catholic doctrine says Mary was a virgin her whole life, and thus any Biblical references to Jesus’s siblings must really be referring to step-brothers, cousins, etc. Other people think that after Jesus’s birth Mary went on to conceive children with Joseph in the usual manner. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/10 "2005-04-29T00:57:16Z")
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. From [a Catholic Answers article](http://www.catholic.com/library/brethren_of_the_lord.asp) on this subject: > [@](#): > > Fundamentalists say it would have been repugnant for Mary and Joseph to enter a marriage and remain celibate. They call such marriages “unnatural” arrangements. Certainly they were unusual, but not as unusual as having the Son of God in one’s family, and not nearly as unusual as having a virgin give birth to a child. Well, that’s a fair point. I can’t help but think that the author missed a great opportunity to bust out Matthew 23:24, though. _Zing!_ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/11 "2005-04-29T01:25:06Z")
And inventing an entire extrabiblical character _in the immediate Jesus family_ – the Gospel only names some of the “brothers” and _implies_ but does not _name_ sisters, makes NO mention whatsoever of nieces, nephews or in-laws – is quite a reach for ANY Christian author, specially in a children’s book (where pious authors would normally tend to be careful lest they mislead a child into thinking a bit of poetic license is a canonical teaching). Besides, what IS Mary keeping in that box? Leftover frankincense? Jesus’ first hammer? “This belonged to your uncle Jesus, who died before you were born. By the way, he was God, you know?” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/12 "2005-04-29T01:43:26Z")
> [@dragongirl](#): > > If I’m not mistaken, in the book _The DiVinci Code_, the Holy Grail was supposed to be a Holy Blood Line and Jesus had a daughter with Mary Magdeline named Sarah. > > Or maybe I heard that on the history channel. The available scriptural evidence is Jesus and Mary Magdalene never were married and had kids. There’s nothing in the Jewish scriptures that would rule out the possibility, such as the Messiah would never marry. And Jesus was proclaiming to be a rabbi, and it would actually have been typical for a rabbi to be married. However, wouldn’t it seem damn odd that if they had married that no NT writer would mention this fact? The only explanation would be a cover up. However, it would make no sense to cover this up unless this would discredit the claim that Jesus was the Messiah. But this wouldn’t discredit that claim. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/13 "2005-04-29T01:55:13Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > [The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990730a.html) Anyone here know Greek who can explain the full nuances of Matthew 13:55-56. On the theory that Joseph had children from a previous marriage before he married Mary, the way I would use English is to call these step-siblings “brothers” and “sisters” unless for some reason I needed to make clear they were really step-siblings. In Greek is it that a stepbrother would never be called a “brother”? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/14 "2005-04-29T06:00:28Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > The available scriptural evidence is Jesus and Mary Magdalene never were married and had kids. There’s nothing in the Jewish scriptures that would rule out the possibility, such as the Messiah would never marry. And Jesus was proclaiming to be a rabbi, and it would actually have been typical for a rabbi to be married. However, wouldn’t it seem damn odd that if they had married that no NT writer would mention this fact? The only explanation would be a cover up. However, it would make no sense to cover this up unless this would discredit the claim that Jesus was the Messiah. But this wouldn’t discredit that claim. The available scriptural evidence? I’d like to know what that is. I’ve been in the church my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything that would support that. She’s barely mentioned! > **[BibleGateway.com - Keyword Search](https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=magdalene&searchtype=any&displayas=long&sort=bookorder&version=31%3B)** ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/15 "2005-04-29T10:38:20Z")
> [@dragongirl](#): > > If I’m not mistaken, in the book _The DiVinci Code_, the Holy Grail was supposed to be a Holy Blood Line and Jesus had a daughter with Mary Magdeline named Sarah. Well, yes… Dan Brown adapted this particular idea from the theories of Margaret Starbird, who based them on the traditions associated with Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue in the south of France. But those traditions say nothing about Sarah being a daughter of Jesus and/or Mary Magdalene; she is instead described only as having been a servant with the party of saints who supposedly landed there. Nor was she part of the original traditions, having been added to the legend as late as the sixteenth century. [Moreover, Starbird herself has stressed that her account was ‘fiction’, adding, 'I deliberately wrote fiction because I have no hard evidence about the existence of “Sarah” '.](http://www.magdalene.org/beloved_essay.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/16 "2005-04-29T12:41:50Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > The available scriptural evidence is Jesus and Mary Magdalene never were married and had kids. > [@Cardinal](#): > > The available scriptural evidence? I’d like to know what that is. I’ve been in the church my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything that would support that. She’s barely mentioned! I think you’re misunderstanding. I’m pretty sure **rfgdxm** is trying to say “Jesus and Mary Magdalene never were married and _never_ had kids.” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/17 "2005-04-29T13:14:25Z")
The Greek word the Gospels use to describe Jesus’ brothers is _adelphos_, which usually refers to a blood brother. The Greek word for male cousin is _anepsios_. Catholic apologist [Jimmy Akin](http://www.catholic.com/library/Bad_Aramaic_Made_Easy.asp) argues for the ambiguity coming from the translation of Aramaic to Greek: > [@](#): > > In fact, there was no word for “cousin” in Aramaic. If one wanted to refer to the cousin relationship, one has to use a circumlocution such as “the son of his uncle” (_brona d-`ammeh_). This often is too much trouble, so broader kinship terms are used that don’t mean “cousin” in particular; e.g., _ahyana_ (“kinsman”), _qariwa_ (“close relation”), or _nasha_ (“relative”). One such term is _aha_, which literally means “brother” but is also frequently used in the sense of “relative, kinsman.” > > The first Christians in Palestine, not having a word for cousin, would normally have referred to whatever cousins Jesus had with such a general term and, in translating their writing or speech into Greek, it is quite likely that the Aramaic word _aha_ would have been rendered literally with the Greek word for brother (_adelphos_). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/18 "2005-04-29T13:25:54Z")
[Dave Miller](http://www.apologeticspress.org/modules.php?name=Read&itemid=2318&cat=9) on the use of the Greek word _adelphos_ in scripture. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/19 "2005-04-30T01:40:54Z")
In any case… Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians would tell you that is is impossible for Mary to have a granddaughter Sara since her only child was Jesus, who himself died childless. Fundamentalists would have no trouble with Mary having a granddaughter, but they would likely have reservations about telling children there was a specific granddaughter named Sara, because it doesn’t say so in the actual text of the Bible. And they too would insist JC died childless. Middle-of-the-road Protestants may have no trouble speculating about what would Jesus’ niece be named, but they would likely wonder what’s the point. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625/20 "2005-04-30T04:05:34Z")
The primary definitions along with the context of the way _adelphoi_ and _adelphai_ are used in the Gospels pretty clearly indicate literal brothers and sisters. That is the plain reading of the Greek, there is no indication anywhere in the New Testament that Mary remained a virgin all her life (in fact, Mt. 1:25 seems to imply that Jospeph _did_ have normal relations with Mary after the birth of Jesus) and any attempt to interpret those passages as indicating something other than blood siblings to Jesus involves an _a priori_ article of faith in something which is not stated either explicitly or implicitly in the Gospels. There are, of course, figurative meanings for the use of _adelphos/adelphe_ (“bother/sister”) in Greek just as there are in English. But just as in English, context matters and primary definitions apply primarily if there is no indication to the contrary. If someone says, “Hey. isn’t that Joe’s mom, and aren’t those his brothers, Bob and Dave? Don’t his sisters work at the gap” You aren’t ging to think they’re talking about lodge brothers or cousins (there was a word for cousin), or nuns, or even step siblings without a specific indication of such. So when reading Matthew 13:55-56, it should be pretty much exactly at face value. There is at least, no contextual reason not to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-had-a-granddaughter/301625.md?page=2)