The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Mary of Bethany
fl. c. AD 30–33 · Disciple · Sister of Martha and Lazarus · Anointed Jesus at Bethany · Bethany, near Jerusalem
The Apostolic Age
_Vermeer_-_Christ_in_the_House_of_Martha_and_Mary_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg){kind=link}
Who Mary of Bethany was
The contemplative sister of the Bethany household: while Martha served, Mary ‘sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word,’ and was defended for choosing ‘that good part.’ John sets her at the raising of her brother Lazarus and, six days before the Passover, anointing Jesus's feet with costly spikenard and wiping them with her hair — an act Jesus bound to his own burial. [The Eastern churches — and modern scholarship — keep Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anonymous sinner of Luke 7 as three distinct women; the West traditionally fused the three into one penitent, following Gregory the Great's Homily 33 of AD 591.]
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When was Mary active?
Mary of Bethany is dated fl. c. AD 30–33 in the archive, which places Mary in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Mary?
Mary of Bethany is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke and John. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Mary from?
The archive associates Mary of Bethany with Bethany, near Jerusalem. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Mary’s contemporaries?
The archive links Mary of Bethany to 6 other figures, including Mary, the Mother of Jesus, John the Apostle, Mary Magdalene and The Sinful Woman (Luke 7). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Luke 10:39
c. AD 85And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.Luke · read ↗
John 12:3
c. AD 95Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.John · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
- Mary, the Mother of Jesus
- John the Apostle
- Mary Magdalene
- The Sinful Woman (Luke 7)
- Lazarus of Bethany
- Martha of Bethany
Events in this lifetime
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Mary, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.