“Merciful Father, as you have sent the Holy Spirit on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to write all that You wished and wanted, we pray You, send the same Holy Spirit on us, so that we may understand, appreciate Your Word, and make it our plan of life. This we ask for the merits of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
47 … Thr first-born child of Mary. This is the statement made by St. Luke:
“Mary, gave the world her first born child, she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and placed Him in the manger.” (Lk.2,7)
What does the Bible mean by the phrase ‘first-born’ ? It was the Custom, according to the Jewish Culture, and so even the style of the Bible writing, that the first-born would retain this title till death; as with it, he is entitled to a number of rights and special priviliges, for the simple reason that he would be the first born, (Deut. 21, 15-17)….even if the mother gives birth to other boys. We do find it rather strange according to our Western or other Cultures. For example, I was the first born, I had two other brothers after me, but according to our Western (or European) Culture, I had NO special priviliges…duties, yes.
The phrase, first-born, has another meaning; literally it means nobody was born before him and does NOT mean, or, make any reference to any others that might have been born ‘after’. It is not a simple, every day phrase, as we use it in English or in our Culture. For the Jews it is a ‘legal’ phrase, term, having certain ‘law-abiding’ connotations’.
This is similar to the phrase, so often quoted in Insurance Documents or Guarantees of objects or property, the famous ‘act of God’…and this is, a great misnomer, because if my house is struck by lightning, it surely is NOT an act of God, yet, Insurance Brokers use it, and it has a specific binding meaning with reference to the insured property.
What proof do we have to all this? …. And this is the million dollar question.
An important archaeological discovery confirmed all this. The find took place in a Jewish cemetery; a stone tablet bearing the date, 28th January 5 BC was unearthed. The inscription on it speaks of a certain woman who died after giving birth to her first born. The mother’s name was Arsinoe. The tablet says: “After having given birth, in great pain, to my first-born, destiny decided the termination of my life.”
Now, if Arsinoe died after giving birth to her first-born, it is clear enough, it is understandable that no other children could have been born to her, for she was dead. YET, her son was termed, as the ‘first-born’ and NOT the ‘only son’. /48
Certain Information taken, with kind permission, from the book “Who is Mary” by H.G.Mons. Sylvester Magro ofm, Bishop of Benghazi. A very dear friend
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