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Person

Joseph (Mary's Husband)

An imagined, stylized portrait. No one knows what Joseph (Mary's husband) looked like. AI-generated

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In Matthew and Luke, the husband of Mary, Jesus's mother; warned in dreams, he takes the family to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth.

See Matthew 1:19, Matthew 1:20, Matthew 2:14, Matthew 2:23, Luke 2:4.

A carpenter's tools marks Joseph (Mary's husband) in the reading view: Jesus is called “the carpenter's son” (the Greek word can mean any builder or craftsman) (Matthew 13:55).

Mentioned in 15 verses across 3 books, first in Matthew 1:16. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).

How artists have pictured him

3 works from different centuries and traditions. Each shows how its time and place imagined Joseph (Mary's husband), not how he looked.

Guido Reni, Saint Joseph and the Christ Child, Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — **c. 1640** · Guido Reni, *Saint Joseph and the Christ Child*. Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonPublic domain · Wikimedia Commons

Isaac Nicolas al-Qudsi, Saint Joseph with the Christ Child, Arab Christian (Melkite) icon, tempera on wood — **18th c.** · Isaac Nicolas al-Qudsi, *Saint Joseph with the Christ Child*. Arab Christian (Melkite) icon, tempera on woodPhoto: Michel Bakni, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

James Tissot, The Anxiety of Saint Joseph, Opaque watercolour over graphite, Brooklyn Museum — **1886–1894** · James Tissot, *The Anxiety of Saint Joseph*. Opaque watercolour over graphite, Brooklyn MuseumPublic domain · Wikimedia Commons

In these stories

The Nativity and Isaiah 7:14: virgin or young woman?

At a glance

Name: Joseph
Gender: Male
Group: Tribe of Judah, Genealogy of Jesus

Family

As the dataset records them from the biblical genealogies.

Often appears with

Named in the same verses most often. Sharing a verse doesn’t always mean they met.

Jesus Christ6 verses
Mary (Mother of Jesus)5 verses
God4 verses
David3 verses
Herod2 verses
Holy Spirit2 verses
Jacob1 verse
Moses1 verse
Phillip the Apostle1 verse
Nathanael1 verse
Heli1 verse

Places

Where the data places them (born, died, or an event they take part in) first; then places named in the same verses, which does not mean they were there.

Nazarethscene of “Espousal of Mary”; scene of “An Angel Speaks to Joseph in a Dream” +1 more2 shared verses
Egyptscene of “Joseph and Mary Flee to Egypt”2 shared verses
Jerusalemscene of “Joseph and Mary return from Egypt”; scene of “Temple Presentation of Jesus”1 shared verse
Galilee1 shared verse
Judea1 shared verse
Bethlehem1 shared verse

In the Bible

The first 10 of 15 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.

Matthew

Matthew 1:16
and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Matthew 1:18
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:19
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:20
But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:24
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife.
Matthew 2:13
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
Matthew 2:19
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

Luke

Luke 1:27
to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luke 2:4
So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.
Luke 2:16
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.

Show all 15 verses

Events

Events the dataset lists Joseph (Mary's Husband) as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.

c. 6 BC
Espousal of MaryMatthew 1:18 – Luke 1:27 · at Nazareth
c. 5 BC
An Angel Speaks to Joseph in a DreamMatthew 1:19–25 · at Nazareth
c. 4 BC
Joseph and Mary Flee to EgyptMatthew 2:13–15 · at Egypt
c. 4 BC
Joseph and Mary return from EgyptMatthew 2:19–22 · at Jerusalem
c. 4 BC
Joseph and Mary return to NazarethMatthew 2:22 – Luke 2:39 · at Nazareth
c. 4 BC
Temple Presentation of JesusLuke 2:22–38 · at Jerusalem

Dictionary

From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.

Read Easton’s entry

The foster-father of our Lord (Matt. 1:16; Luke 3:23). He lived at Nazareth in Galilee (Luke 2:4). He is called a “just man.” He was by trade a carpenter (Matt. 13:55). He is last mentioned in connection with the journey to Jerusalem, when Jesus was twelve years old. It is probable that he died before Jesus entered on his public ministry. This is concluded from the fact that Mary only was present at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. His name does not appear in connection with the scenes of the crucifixion along with that of Mary (q.v.), John 19:25.