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According to the Gospel, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jews man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus.
Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglicanism and Lutheranism. In Catholic traditions, Joseph is regarded as the patron saint of workers and is associated with various . The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph. Pope Pius IX declared him to be both the patron and the protector of the Catholic Church, in addition to his patronages of the sick and of a holy death, due to the belief that he died in the presence of Jesus and Mary. Joseph has become patron of various and places. Being a patron saint of virgins, he is venerated as "most chaste". The veneration of the pure and most Chaste Heart of Joseph has, in contrast to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, no liturgical cultus, but is a private devotion.
Several venerated images of Saint Joseph have been granted a decree of canonical coronation by a pontiff. Religious iconography often depicts him with Lilium or spikenard. With the present-day growth of Mariology, the theological field of Josephology has also grown and since the 1950s centers for studying it have been formed.P. de Letter, "The Theology of Saint Joseph", The Clergy Monthly, March 1955, For the use of the term, see: James J. Davis, A Thomistic Josephology, 1967, University of Montreal,
Like the two differing genealogies, the infancy narratives appear only in Matthew and Luke and take different approaches to reconciling the requirement that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem with the tradition that Jesus in fact came from Nazareth. In Matthew, Joseph obeys the direction of an angel to marry Mary. Following the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Joseph is told by an angel in a dream to take the family to Egypt to escape the massacre of the children of Bethlehem planned by Herod, the ruler of the Roman province of Judea. Once Herod has died, an angel tells Joseph to return but to avoid Herod's son, and he takes his wife and the child to Nazareth in Galilee and settles there. Thus in Matthew, the infant Jesus, like Moses, is in peril from a cruel king, like Moses he has a (fore)father named Joseph who goes down to Egypt, like the Old Testament Joseph this Joseph has a father named Jacob, and both Josephs receive important dreams foretelling their future.Spong, John Shelby. Jesus for the non-religious. HarperCollins. 2007. .
In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph already lives in Nazareth, and Jesus is born in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary have to travel there to be counted in a census. Subsequently, Jesus was born there. Luke's account makes no mention of him being visited by angels (Mary and various others instead receive similar visitations), the Massacre of the Innocents, or of the flight into Egypt.
The last time Joseph appears in person in any of the canonical Gospels is in the narrative of the Passover visit to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus is 12 years old, which is found only in Luke. No mention is made of him thereafter. The story emphasizes Jesus' awareness of his coming mission: here Jesus speaks to both Mary and Joseph of "my father," meaning God, but they fail to understand.
Joseph is not mentioned as being present at the Wedding at Cana at the beginning of Jesus' mission, nor at the Passion at the end. If he had been present at the Crucifixion, he would under Jewish custom have been expected to take charge of Jesus' body, but this role is instead performed by Joseph of Arimathea. Nor would Jesus have entrusted his mother to the care of John the Apostle if her husband had been alive.
While none of the Gospels mentions Joseph as present at any event during Jesus' adult ministry, the synoptic Gospels share a scene in which the people of Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, doubt Jesus' status as a prophet because they know his family. In Mark 6:3, they call Jesus "Mary's son" instead of naming his father. In Matthew, the townspeople call Jesus "the Carpentry son," again without naming his father. In Luke 3:23 NIV: "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,"; or alternatively punctuated: "(ὡς ἐνομ. τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ) τοῦ Ἡλί, 'the son (as supposed of Joseph, but in reality) of Heli'".Henry Alford: Greek Testament, on Luke 3:23. Alford records that many have thus punctuated the verse, though Alford does not endorse it. In Luke the tone of the contemporary people is positive, whereas in Mark and Matthew it is disparaging. This incident does not appear in John, but in a parallel story, the disbelieving neighbors refer to "Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know".)
The Pauline epistles are the oldest extant Christian writings. These mention Jesus' mother (without naming her), but do not refer to his father. The Gospel of Mark, believed to be the first gospel to be written and with a date about two decades after Paul, also does not mention Jesus' father.
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The variances between the genealogies given in Matthew and Luke are explained in a number of ways. One possibility is that Matthew's genealogy traces Jesus' legal descent, according to Halakha, through Joseph; while Luke's genealogy traces his actual physical descent through Mary. Another possibility proposed by Julius Africanus is that both Joseph and his father were the sons of Levirate marriages. A third explanation proposed by Augustine of Hippo is that Joseph was adopted, and his two genealogies trace Joseph's lineage through his biological and adopted families.
Joseph's description as a " tekton" (τέκτων) has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but is a rather general word (from the same root that gives us "technical", "technology") that could cover makers of objects in various materials.Dickson, 47 The Greek term evokes an artisan with wood in general, or an artisan in iron or stone. But the specific association with woodworking is a constant in Early Christian tradition; Justin Martyr (died c. 165) wrote that Jesus made and , and there are similar early references.Fiensy, 68–69
Other scholars have argued that tekton could equally mean a highly skilled craftsman in wood or the more prestigious metal, perhaps running a workshop with several employees, and noted sources recording the shortage of skilled artisans at the time.Fiensy, 75–77 Géza Vermes has stated that the terms 'carpenter' and 'son of a carpenter' are used in the Jewish Talmud to signify a very learned man, and he suggests that a description of Joseph as 'naggar' (a carpenter) could indicate that he was considered wise and highly literate in the Torah. At the time of Joseph, Nazareth was an obscure village in Galilee, about from the Holy City of Jerusalem, and is barely mentioned in surviving non-Christian texts and documents.Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998. "Contexts," pp 1–24.Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition)Sanders terms it a "minor village." Sanders, E. P. The historical figure of Jesus. Penguin, 1993. p. 104 Archaeology over most of the site is made impossible by subsequent building, but from what has been excavated and tombs in the area around the village, it is estimated that the population was at most about 400.Laughlin, 192–194. See also Reed's Chapter 3, pp. 131–134. It was, however, only about 6 kilometers from the city of Sepphoris, which was destroyed and depopulated by the Romans in 4 BC, and thereafter was expensively rebuilt. Analysis of the landscape and other evidence suggest that in Joseph's lifetime Nazareth was "oriented toward" the nearby city,Reed, 114–117, quotation p. 115 which had an overwhelmingly Jewish population although with many signs of Hellenization,Reed, Chapter 4 in general, pp. 125–131 on the Jewish nature of Sepphoris, and pp. 131–134 and historians have speculated that Joseph and later Jesus too might have traveled daily to work on the rebuilding. Specifically the large theatre in the city has been suggested, although this has aroused much controversy over dating and other issues. Other scholars see Joseph and Jesus as the general village craftsmen, working in wood, stone, and metal on a wide variety of jobs.For example, Dickson, 47
The canonical gospels created a problem: they stated clearly that Mary conceives Jesus virginally, and Joseph is not his father; however, Jesus was described unambiguously by John and Matthew as "Joseph's son" and "the carpenter's son", and Joseph's paternity was essential to establish Jesus' Davidic line. The theological situation was complicated by the gospel references to "brothers and sisters" of Jesus,Everett Ferguson, Michael P. McHugh, Frederick W. Norris, article "Joseph" in Encyclopedia of early Christianity, Volume 1, p. 629 who may have been: (1) the sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph; (2) sons of Mary, the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary the mother of Jesus; or (3) sons of Joseph by a former marriage.
Modern positions on the question of the relationship between Joseph and the Virgin Mary vary. The Eastern Orthodox Church, which names Joseph's first wife as , holds that Joseph was a widower and betrothed to Mary,Holy Apostles Convent (1989). 9780944359037, Holy Apostles Convent and Dormition Skete. ISBN 9780944359037 and that references to Jesus' "brothers" were children of Joseph from a previous marriage. A popular position held by many Catholics, derived from the writings of Jerome, is that Joseph was the husband of Mary, but that references to Jesus' "brothers" should be understood to mean cousins. Such usage is prevalent throughout history, and occurs elsewhere in the Bible. Abraham's nephew Lot (Genesis 11:26-28) was referred to as his brother (Genesis 14:14), as was Jacob's uncle Laban (Genesis 29:15). Jesus himself frequently used the word "brother" as a generic term for one's fellow man. This custom has continued into modern times, with close friends, colleagues, and fellow churchgoers often called "brothers and sisters." Generally, most Protestants read "brothers and sisters" of Jesus as referring specifically to children born of Mary.
The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ, which means that Joseph and Mary never had sexual relations. The Catholic Church adheres to this doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Anglicans, Reformed, and other Protestants.
The term Erusin, which refers to the first part of a two-part marriage, is frequently translated as "betrothal". Couples who fulfill the requirements of the kiddushin are married, until death or divorce.
Mauro Gagliardi presents a hypothesis that Joseph was assumed into Heaven with body and soul because he belongs to the few saints who left no bodily relics.
The History of Joseph the Carpenter, written in the 5th century and framed as a biography of Joseph dictated by Jesus, describes how Joseph, aged 90, a widower with four sons and two daughters, is given charge of the twelve-year-old Mary, who then lives in his household raising his youngest son James the Less (the supposed author of the Protoevangelium) until she is ready to be married at age 14½. Joseph's death aged 111, attended by angels and asserting the perpetual virginity of Mary, takes up approximately half the story.
Eusebius of Caesarea relates in his Church History (Book III, ch. 11) that "Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph and an uncle of Jesus." Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, Book III, ch. 11. Epiphanius adds that Joseph and Cleopas were brothers, sons of "Jacob, surnamed Panther."
Origen quotes the Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity Celsus (from his work On the True Doctrine, c. 178 AD) as controversially asserting that Joseph left Mary upon learning of her pregnancy: "...when she was pregnant she was turned out of doors by the carpenter to whom she had been betrothed, as having been guilty of adultery, and that she bore a child to a certain soldier named Pantera." Origen, however, argues that Celsus's claim was a fabricated story.Contra Celsum, trans Henry Chadwick, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
In the 15th century, major steps were taken by Bernardine of Siena, Pierre d'Ailly, and Jean Gerson. Gerson wrote Consideration sur Saint Joseph and preached sermons on Saint Joseph at the Council of Constance. Medieval mothering by John Carmi Parsons, Bonnie Wheeler 1999 page 107 In 1889 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Quamquam pluries in which he urged Catholics to pray to Saint Joseph, as the patron of the church in view of the challenges facing the church. Likewise, Leo stated that Saint Joseph "set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing"
Josephology, the theology study of Saint Joseph, is one of the most recent theological disciplines. In 1989, on the occasion of the centenary of Quamquam pluries Pope John Paul II issued Redemptoris Custos ( Guardian of the Redeemer), which presented Saint Joseph's role in the plan of redemption, as part of the "redemption documents" issued by John Paul II such as Redemptoris Mater to which it refers. Foundations of the Christian way of life by Jacob Prasad 2001 page 404 Cradle of redeeming love: the theology of the Christmas mystery by John Saward 2002 page 230 Divine likeness: toward a Trinitarian anthropology of the family by Marc Ouellet page 102
Together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, Joseph is one of the three members of the Holy Family; since he only appears in the birth narratives of the Gospels, Jesus is depicted as a child when with him. The formal veneration of the Holy Family began in the 17th century by François de Laval.
In 1962, Pope John XXIII inserted the name of Joseph in the Canon of the Mass, immediately after that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 2013, Pope Francis had his name added to the three other Eucharistic Prayers. Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
Joseph is remembered in the Church of England and the Episcopal Church on 19 March.
Popular customs among Christians of various liturgical traditions observing Saint Joseph's Day are attending Mass or the Divine Service, wearing red-coloured clothing, carrying dried fava beans that have been blessed, and assembling dedicated to Saint Joseph.
In Sicily, where Saint Joseph is regarded by many as their patron saint, and in many Italian-American communities, thanks are given to Saint Joseph ( San Giuseppe in Italian language) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if God answered their prayers through Joseph's intercession, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation and is a traditional part of Saint Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a Saint Joseph's Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Neapolitan pastry known as a zeppola (created in 1840 by Don Pasquale Pinatauro in Naples) on Saint Joseph's Day. Maccu di San Giuseppe is a traditional Sicilian dish that consists of various ingredients and maccu that is prepared on this day. Maccu is a foodstuff and soup that dates to Ancient history times which is prepared with fava beans as a primary ingredient.
Upon a typical Saint Joseph's Day altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, cookies, other meatless dishes, and zeppole. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs to represent sawdust since Joseph was a carpenter. Because the feast occurs during Lent, traditionally no meat was allowed on the celebration table. The altar usually has three tiers, to represent the Trinity.
Saint Joseph is well known as the patron saint of fathers, both families and virgins, workers, especially carpenters, expecting mothers and unborn children. Among many others, he is the patron saint of attorneys and barristers, emigrants, travelers and house hunters. He is invoked against hesitation and for the grace of a holy death.
Many churches, monasteries and other institutions are dedicated to Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Elsewhere in the world churches named after the saint may be known as those of San Giuseppe, e.g. San Giuseppe dei Teatini, San José, e.g. Metropolitan Cathedral of San José or São José, e.g. in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The Sisters of St. Joseph were founded as an order in 1650 and have about 14,013 members worldwide. In 1871, the Josephite Fathers of the Catholic Church were created under the patronage of Joseph, intending to work with the poor. The first Josephites in America re-devoted their part of the order to ministry within the newly emancipated African American community. The Oblates of St. Joseph were founded in 1878 by Joseph Marello. In 1999 their Shrine of Saint Joseph the Guardian of the Redeemer was named after the Apostolic exhortation Redemptoris Custos. Mention Your Request Here: The Church's Most Powerful Novenas by Michael Dubruiel, 2000 page 154
Verily, Joseph the betrothed, saw clearly in his old age that the foresayings of the Prophets had been fulfilled openly; for he was given an odd earnest, receiving inspiration from the angels, who cried, Glory to God; for he hath bestowed peace on earth.
In the Catholic tradition, just as there are prayers for the Seven Joys of Mary and Seven Sorrows of Mary, there are also prayers for the seven joys and seven sorrows of Saint Joseph. Furthermore, there is a novena prayed before the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March. Saint Joseph is frequently invoked for employment, daily protection, vocation, happy marriage, and a happy death. Devotions to St. Joseph by Susanna Magdalene Flavius, 2008 pages 5–15
Multiple venerated Catholics have described their devotion to Saint Joseph and his intercession. Francis de Sales included Saint Joseph along with Virgin Mary as saints to be invoked during prayers in his 1609 book, Introduction to the Devout Life. Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales Kessinger Press 1942 page 297 Teresa of Ávila attributed her recovery of health to Saint Joseph and recommended him as an advocate. The interior castle by Saint Teresa of Ávila, Paulist Press 1979, page 2 Therese of Lisieux stated that she prayed daily to "Saint Joseph, Father and Protector of Virgins" and felt protected from danger as a result. The Story of a Soul by Saint Therese De Lisieux Bibliolife 2008 0554261588 page 94 Pope Pius X composed a prayer to Saint Joseph which begins:Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices page 449
Glorious St. Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil, in the spirit of penance, in order to thereby atone for my many sins …
There is a Catholic tradition that burying a statuette of Saint Joseph on the grounds of a home will help to sell or buyMarcelle Bernstein, The nuns, Collins, London, 1976, p. 84 a house.; this tradition became so popular through the World Wide Web that some American realtors bought them by the gross.
St. Joseph's role in the Catholic church is summarized by the German theologian Friedrich Justus Knecht:
St. Joseph's high place in the kingdom of God comes from this, that God chose him to be the guardian and protector of His Son, entrusting him with what was greatest and dearest to Himself, singling him out and especially blessing him for this office. The Church celebrates a Feast in honour of St. Joseph on 19 March, and desires that all the faithful should honour him, ask for his intercession, and imitate his virtues. St. Joseph is the especial patron of the Church. Even as he was the protector of the Child Jesus on earth, so, we believe, is he now the protector of the mystical Body of Jesus, His holy Church. We also especially seek his intercession for a good death, because, having died so blessedly, in the presence and with the assistance of Jesus and Mary, he should be supplicated to obtain for us from Jesus the grace of a happy death.
However Carolyn Wilson challenges the long-held view that pre-Tridentine images were often intended to demean him.Wilson, Carolyn C., St. Joseph in Italian Renaissance Society and Art, Saint Joseph's University Press, 2001, According to Charlene Villaseñor Black, "Seventeenth-century Spanish and Mexican artists reconceptualized Joseph as an important figure, ... representing him as the youthful, physically robust, diligent head of the Holy Family."Black, Charlene Villaseñor, Creating the Cult of St. Joseph, Princeton University Press, 2006, In Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities, Saint Joseph is given the same prominence as the Virgin as they are both part of the "Earthly Trinity" and Jesus lays his hands on both of them. Full cycles of his life are rare in the Middle Ages, although the scenes from the Life of the Virgin or Life of Christ where he is present are far more often seen. The Mérode Altarpiece of about 1425, where he has a panel to himself, working as a carpenter who fashions mousetraps – a rare depiction of Saint Joseph being present in the context of the Annunciation. The fact that Saint Joseph makes mousetraps is attributed to an interpretation by Augustine of Hippo, according to which Jesus Christ is the mousetrap for the devil.Meyer Schapiro, 'Muscipula Diaboli', The Symbolism of the Merode Altarpiece In: Art Bulletin 27, 1945
Some statues of Joseph depict his staff as topped with flowers, recalling the non-canonical Gospel of James's account of how Mary's spouse was chosen by collecting the walking sticks of widowers in Palestine, and Joseph's alone bursting into flower, thus identifying him as divinely chosen.John Bosco, Life of Saint Joseph, spouse of Mary Most Holy, earthly father of Jesus Christ, Chapter 3. Marriage of St Joseph The Golden Legend, which derives its account from the much older Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, tells a similar story, although it notes that all marriageable men of the Davidic line and not only widowers were ordered by the Kohen Gadol to present their rods at the Second Temple. Several Eastern Orthodox Nativity icons show Joseph tempted by the Devil (depicted as an old man with furled wings) to break off his betrothal, and how he resists that temptation. There are some paintings with him wearing a Jewish hat.Brigitte Heublein, Der 'verkannte' Joseph – zur mittelalterlichen Ikonographie des Heiligen im deutschen und niederländischen Kulturraum, VDG Weimar 1998, pp. 75 et seqq
File:Daniele Crespi - Saint Joseph’s dream (Kunsthstorisches Museum Wien).jpg| Dream of Flight, Daniele Crespi, c. 1625 File:Flight into Egypt - Capella dei Scrovegni - Padua 2016.jpg| Flight to Egypt, Giotto, 14th century File:Enkhuisen Book of Hours (folio 39v) excerpt.jpg| Finding in the Temple, Book of Hours, 15th century File:Vitrail Florac 010609 02 Mort de Joseph.jpg| Death of Joseph, Florac File:Coronación de San José Valdés Leal.jpg| Coronation of Joseph, Valdés Leal, c. 1670
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