MIRJAM MARYAM MARY, A COURAGEOUS AND LEARNED WOMEN

In this war torn world it is good to focus on what we have in common. This article focusses on Mary/Maryam, the mother of Jesus/Isa and her namesake Miriam, the sister of Moses.I read their stories in Hebrew Bible, New Testament and Quran, side by side. That gives a fascinating view of thesewoman, so often presented in the arts. The Hebrew Bible shows Miriam as a courageous and intelligent girl,saving het baby brother Moses from Egyptian genocide. The Quran tells the same story with a few slight differences focussing on the dissident, the wife of Pharaoh. In the Hebrew Bible Miriam is a prophet, a learned woman teaching the Jewish women the Torah. The Quran is unique in telling thestory of Mary/Maryams youth, spent in the temple of Jerusalem, under the guidance of the high priest Zachariah. Here she learnt to read and became acquainted with the literature of her time. This story is not found in the New Testament but is amply illustrated in Christian art. Often Mary is pictured with a book on her lap, sitting in a temple like surroundings, and later, teaching her child Jesus to read. The annunciation of the birth of Jesus/Isa runs parallel in both books. In Bible and Quran Mary/Maryam is sore afraid when told if her pregnancy. The reason lies in the Jewish Law of her time, sentencing unmarried pregnant women to death by stoning. In the Bible Joseph marries Mary, thus saving her and the baby from shame and untimely death. Maryam escapes into the desert. Alone, hungryand thirsty, she becomes desperate. An angel brings relief with a date palm tree,shown in Islamic art. In the New Testament, we see how Mary undergoes the consequences of the Roman occupation of Israel, and of the oppression by the Jewish king Herod. Mary and her small family are forced to flee. In combination the stories present an intelligent and learned woman,bravely following her calling in very oppressive times.