Joseph husband of Mary

[Grafted In]

Has anyone found anything in Scripture that gives any hint as to the fate of Joseph, the husband of Mary?
There seems to be nothing in Scripture, but I also know that God sometimes reveals things that before were not understood.
I'd also consider hearing non-Scriptural ideas that members may think are likely.

Just curious.

 

[Vince53]

Years ago, a megachurch pastor declared from the pulpit that Joseph and Mary were an older couple when they married. He produced an outpouring of wrath from people who did not realize that the Bible does not teach that they were a young couple.

Poster write in to point out that early apocryphal writings stated that Joseph was an old man when he married Mary.

 

[garysibio]

There is nothing in the Bible that speaks of Joseph after Jesus stayed behind in the temple at the age of twelve. There is one reference where someone describes Jesus as the carpenter's son.

The is a document known as The Protoevangelium of James which was written by a Christian around the year 125 AD. While not inspired by the Holy Spirit as Scripture is, it might still be accurate. If it is accurate, it gives us some insight into this issue.

It says that Mary was dedicated to God at the age of 3 and lived in the temple. When she was young, around 13 or 14, she was betrothed to Joseph, a widower with several children. However, the marriage was never to be consummated, he was just to care for her. That is why Mary asked the angel how it could be that she was going to get pregnant since she had taken a vow of virginity and intended to keep it. (Mary knew the facts of life and was already betrothed. If she had not taken the vow, she would have assumed that Joseph would get her pregnant.)

Joseph's children by his first marriage would explain two confusing biblical passages. The first is when his "brothers and sisters" came to take Jesus because they thought He was not right in the head. A younger brother would never do that in their culture. If they were Joseph's kids, they would have been older than Jesus. It also explains why Jesus put Mary in John's care instead of one of his brothers'. Joseph's kids would not be Mary's and would have no responsibility concerning her.

There are reasons to doubt the Protoevangelium, so it's accuracy cannot be taken for granted. Parts of it sound like they were plagarized from the first couple of chapters of 1 Samuel.

Gary