Joseph (Joseph_Mat.1.16)

Joseph was the husband of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ. He was a descendant of David (Matthew 1:16, 20; Luke 1:27; 2:4) and lived in Nazareth (Luke 2:4). Joseph was betrothed to Mary when she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:27). Being a righteous man, he planned to divorce her quietly, but an angel appeared to him in a dream, telling him to take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus (Matthew 1:19-21, 24-25). Joseph obeyed and took care of Mary and Jesus. He was present at Jesus' birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7, 16) and later took his family to Egypt to escape Herod's persecution (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23). Joseph is last mentioned in the Gospels when Jesus was 12 years old, and the family visited Jerusalem for the Passover (Luke 2:41-51). He is referred to as Jesus' father (Luke 2:33, 48; 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42) and was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:55). Joseph is not mentioned during Jesus' adult ministry, suggesting he may have died before that time. (source: TIPNR)

Patristic Textarchive. An open access archive of ancient Christian texts

published by Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The Academy research project „The Late Antique Biblical Exegesis of Alexandria and Antioch“ is part of the Academies Programme, a research funding programme co-financed by the German federal government and individual federal states. Coordinated by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, the Programme intends to retrieve and explore our cultural heritage, to make it accessible and highlight its relevance to the present, as well as to preserve it for future.