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Saint Joseph: Back in Israel

Saint Joseph: Back in Israel

As is so often the case in Joseph’s life, he gets supernatural instruction when a decision must be made. After an indefinite period of time in Egypt, he was instructed by an angel to return to the land of Israel. Once again, he obeyed. Since the angel’s instructions weren’t precise, Joseph had to use his own wisdom and knowledge to decide exactly where to go. He apparently learned through normal means that Herod’s son Archelaus was ruling Judea, so he opted not to return to Bethlehem but instead to settle in Nazareth in Galilee.

Matthew tells us the reason Joseph chose Nazareth was “so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazorean’” (Matthew 2:23). That’s all well and good except that the town of Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and there are no prophecies about it. The best scholars can come up with is that the phrase “through the prophets” may refer to some tangential texts that call the Messiah as the nēser “bud” of the roots of Jesse or a nāzîr “consecrated one.” As with so many things, we just don’t know for sure.

What we do know is that by going to Nazareth, Mary and Joseph return home in a very real sense. At the time of the Annunciation, Mary was living in Nazareth and presumably so was her fiancé, Joseph: “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27). This means that by going to Nazareth, Joseph was returning to a place where he had had a business, where both he and Mary had family, and where they could raise Jesus as a devout Jew.

Once the Holy Family returned to Israel, we have no more information about their lives until Jesus is twelve and they made a trip to Jerusalem, the next topic we will examine.

Incidentally, in 2009, archaeologists uncovered a home from the time of Jesus in the village. A modest structure, it consists of two rooms and a courtyard with a rock-hewn cistern. Because it contained fragments of chalk pottery vessels, it is assumed a Jewish family lived there because chalk vessels could not become ritually impure. While there is no indication it was the home of Mary and Joseph, it does shed light on what their home most likely looked like.

Quotation

“When you invoke Saint Joseph, you don’t have to say much. Say, ‘If you were in my place, Saint Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this on my behalf.’” –Saint Andre’ Bessette

Prayer

Saint Joseph, be with me as I live out my ordinary, daily life. Help me to see God’s hand in all that surrounds me. Amen.

 Image credit: Renata Sedmakova/Shutterstock.com

One Response to “Saint Joseph: Back in Israel”


  • Sarah Viliniski / Reply

    I always found it interesting that Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament. I went to Israel and learned so much more about the Old Testament! Thanks for this post! 🙂


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