History of Joseph the Carpenter facts for kids

The History of Joseph the Carpenter is an old story about Mary, Joseph, and the Holy Family (Jesus's family). It was likely written in Egypt around the late 500s or early 600s AD. The original was probably in Greek, but today we mostly have copies in Coptic and Arabic. This text supports the idea that Mary remained a virgin her whole life.

This book is part of a group of writings called the New Testament apocrypha. These are texts that tell stories about Jesus's life, especially before he turned 12, but they are not part of the official Bible.

What the Story is About

The story is told by Jesus himself while he is on the Mount of Olives. He explains the life of Joseph, who was his stepfather. The text says that Joseph had four sons (Judas, Justus, James, and Simon) and two daughters (Assia and Lydia) from an earlier marriage. This helps explain that Mary remained a virgin.

The story then retells parts of another ancient text called the Gospel of James. It stops just before Jesus was born. The text also says that Joseph was blessed with a special gift. He stayed young in mind and body and lived to be 111 years old! His oldest sons, Justus and Simon, got married and had children. His two daughters also married and had their own homes.

A big part of the story describes Joseph's death. He says a long prayer and talks about his mistakes. About half of the book focuses on his death scene. The angel of death appears, along with the archangels Michael and Gabriel. At the very end, Jesus confirms that Mary was a virgin throughout her life, calling her "my mother, virgin undefiled."

The text finishes by saying: "And the holy apostles have preserved this conversation, and have left it written down in the library at Jerusalem."

When and Where the Story Was Found

Some clues suggest this story was written in Egypt during the 400s AD. We have two main versions of the text today: one in Coptic and one in Arabic. The Coptic version is probably the original one. Much of the story uses ideas from the Gospel of James.

There are also copies of this story in Ethiopic, Greek, and Syriac. The first English translation of the Ethiopic version was published by E. A. W. Budge in 1896. Later, W. A. Craigie published the first English translation of the Greek version. A French translation of the Syriac text was edited by François Nau in 1899. The first English translation of the Syriac version came out in 1985 by James H. Charlesworth.

Connecting to Other Ancient Texts

Another old text from the early 200s AD, called the "First Apocalypse of James" (found in the Nag Hammadi library), also talks about this. In that text, Jesus tells James, "For not without reason have I called you my brother, although you are not my brother materially." This helps explain the idea that Mary remained a virgin, even though Jesus had "brothers" mentioned in other texts.

See also

• List of Gospels