Meaning of JOSEPH (Mary's husband)

He was a “just” man. Seeing Mary's pregnant state, he naturally suspected that she had been unfaithful to him, and he decided to secretly repudiate her without causing any public scandal (Mt. 1:18, 19).

When an angel revealed the true reason to him, he was obedient to the instructions he received from God regarding his wife (Mt. 1:20) and in the mission of protecting the baby Jesus. He was of the house and lineage of David, the genealogy of him being given in Mt. 1-and perhaps also in Lk. 3. (See GENEALOGY (of Jesus)).

The visit to Jerusalem when the Lord was twelve years old is the last incident in which he appears. He is once called “the carpenter” (Mt. 13:55), as was the Lord (Mk. 6:3). It was the custom for all Jews to learn a trade (Mt. 1:16-25; 2:13, 19; Luke 1:27; 2:4-43; 3:23; 4:22; Jn. 1:45 ; 6:42). (See JESUS CHRIST, MARY.)

An apocryphal History of Joseph the Carpenter circulates, dating from the 4th or 5th century AD; Originally written in Coptic, it was preserved in Arabic. Translations are known into English, French and German. It was used by a Coptic Monophysite sect that glorified Joseph.