Mary Magdalene

The term that is transliterated as “Mary Magdalene” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign signifying 7 demons having gone out, referring to Luke 8:2. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Mary Magdalene” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The following is a stained glass window in the All Saints’ Church, Highgate, London, of the late 19thy century:

Photo by John Salmon, hosted by Wikimedia Common under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Mary Magdalene and Mary Magdalene in Popular Culture .

See also Mary Magdalene and Mary Magdalene (icon).

Joseph (brother of Jesus)

The name that is transliterated as “Joseph” (also: Joses) in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines “addition (to Jesus)” and the letter Y for the Y-sound of the Hebrew name yoséf (Joseph). (Source: Missão Kophós )


“Joseph” in Libras (source )

See also Judas (brother of Jesus) / Jude and James (brother of Jesus).

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters? .

Mary Magdalene (icon)

Following is a contemporary Ukrainian Orthodox icon of Mary Magdalene by Kateryna Shadrina.

 

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

For purchasing artworks by Kateryna Shadrina go to IconArt Gallery .

complete verse (Matthew 27:56)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 27:56:

  • Uma: “The name of one was Maria Magdalena. Another was Maria the mother of Yakobus and Yusuf. And another was the wife of Zebedeus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “In that group were Mariyam the woman from Magdala and Mariyam the mother of Yakub and Yusup and the wife of Sebede.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One of them was Mary Magdalene, and there was also Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and also the wife of Zebedee.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Some of them were Maria Magdalena and Maria the mother of Santiago and Jose and the wife of Zebedeo.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Those women included Maria Magdalena, Maria the mother of Santiago and Jose and the wife of Zebedeo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These women included Mary, the native of Magdala, and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and another woman who was the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Mary the mother of James and Joses/Joseph

The name that is transliterated as “Mary” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines the letter M and “witness” (because she witnessed the crucifixon). (Source: Missão Kophós )


“Mary” in Libras (source )

More information on Mary, mother of James.

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Translation commentary on Matthew 27:56

Matthew lists three of the women by name, as does Mark (15.40), though in place of the mother of the sons of Zebedee (see 20.20), Mark names “Salome.” Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph will each be mentioned twice again in the course of events to follow (verse 61; 28.1). Indeed their faithful following of Jesus adds continuity to the account.

Mary Magdalene is often treated as a name but is sometimes expressed as “Mary from Magdala.”

To say the mother of the sons of Zebedee is quite strange in many languages, and translators often do the same as Good News Translation: “the wife of Zebedee.”

There are three women listed, and translators have to be careful to structure their sentence so that it doesn’t seem that the mother of James and Joseph is the same woman as the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .