I wrote this on another thread (and it displeased Thistle so its likely to do so again!):
Are Mary Magdalene and the Mary from Bethany separate individuals? Most scholars now say that there is no concrete evidence to link them, however I am not so sure.
Papias had access to many authentic Sacred Traditions of the Church. Papias was born before AD 70. Yes, the man was actually around at the time of the Apostles! and he died c. AD 155! Incredible.
The work of Papias was thus evidently written around the early second century or late first century. He is considered to be a very important witness to early Christian tradition, by scholars, if not the most important. Sadly his works have only remained in fragments, but this one particularly interests me. Papias preserves a list of ALL the Marys of the Early Church who were followers of Jesus in the Gospels, so as to avoid confusion. This is thu
the earliest and thus most authoritative list of Gospel “Marys”:
Quote:
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(1.) Mary the mother of the Lord; (2.) Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphæus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph; (3.) Mary Salome, wife of Zebedee, mother of John the evangelist and James; (4.) Mary Magdalene. These four are found in the Gospel. James and Judas and Joseph were sons of an aunt (2) of the Lord’s. James also and John were sons of another aunt (3) of the Lord’s. Mary (2), mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphæus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas, either from her father or from the family of the clan, or for some other reason. Mary Salome (3) is called Salome either from her husband or her village. Some affirm that she is the same as Mary of Cleophas, because she had two husbands
**
Now, who do you notice is missing from this most earliest and comprehensive list of “Gospel Marys”, by a man who had access to such an abudance of authentic oral traditions?
Yes, no mention of Mary of Bethany. Now how could Papias miss out such an important figure who has a prominent position in the Gospel of John and a lesser but still significant position in the Gospel of Luke?
She doesn’t seem to exist at this early stage. Papias lists 4 Gospel Marys, whereas modern scholars and Eastern Christians list 5 - including Mary of Bethany as separate from the Magdalene.
Now could Papias really have forgotten about or omitted such a prominent Christian as Mary of Bethany?
Now I’m not saying she is “Mary of Bethany”, I’m just saying I’m not definite that she isn’t.
There isn’t much evidence from the first century for a town called “Magdala”.
Magdala is a derivative of a Hebrew root word that means “tower”, “strong”, “fortress”. This insight was reiterated in a letter that St. Jerome wrote in the 5th century. He wrote:
“Mary Magdalene received the epithet “fortified with towers” because of her earnestness and strength of faith, and was privileged to see the rising of Christ first even before the apostles”.
So Magdala could refer to Mary’s physical and spiritual characteristics that she possessed. She could have been tall in stature, and was certainly a forthright, loyal friend and disciple of Jesus.
I find it interesting that everybody seems to just ‘assume’ that “Magdalene” means “from Magdala”, without taking into consideration the fact that the word in the New Testament is Greek whilst Mary Magdalene herself spoke Aramaic.
Aramaic was the language of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Her name “Magdalene” is an Aramaic name meaning “the Tower”. St. Jerome, who was fluent in Aramaic, believed she was called “the Tower” due to her ardent faith. In our Bibles Mary Magdalene is also quoted speaking in Aramaic when she addresses Jesus as “Rabbouni”, which is Aramaic for “Master”.
Here’s what St Jerome had to say on the matter (and I personally believe him).
The Aramaic Miriam D’ Magdala Nunayya is in English Miriam of Magdala or Mary Magdalene. In Aramaic Magdala means ‘tower’, "fortress, or “watch-tower”. St. Jerome, who was fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, commented on Mary from an Aramaic perspective on a different occassion writing,
Those unbelievers who read me may perhaps smile to find me lingering over the praises of weak woman. But if they recall how holy women attended our Lord and Savior and ministered to him of their own substance, and how the three Marys stood before the cross, and particularly how Mary of Magdala, called “of the tower” because of her earnestness and ardent faith, was privileged to see the rising Christ even before the apostles, they will convict themselves of pride rather than me of folly, who judge virtue not by the sex but by the mind.
In the Talmud she is called in Aramaic Miriam Megaddlela: “Miriam with the braided locks” and there is presented as a sexual loose woman and a sinner. Hairdressers were considered to be loose women in the first century. So the sexual immoral woman idea - which is completely false - originated not with Pope Gregory in the 7th century but significantly earlier in the Talmud, as a slur.
Saint Jerome said that the name Magdala, meaning Tower, denoted the steadfastness of her faith. Origen of Alexandria saw in her name the Aramaic word “gadal” meaning “to be great” and therefore a prophecy from Jesus of her spiritual greatness as having ministered to him and having been the first witness of the resurrection.
Read:
“…The term “Magdalene” is particularly suitable for this Mary, who was a benefactor of
the Jesus movement (Luke 8:2-3). It seems to have been particularly common for first
century Christian benefactors to be given new names, presumably in recognition of their
benefactions. Such cases include Joseph-Barnabas, Crispus-Sosthenes, Gaius Titius
Justus-Stephanas, and probably also Theophilus, Jason-Aristarchus and Epaenetus…”
