35 Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury

Hey there. Welcome to the Investigators Guide to the Bible for the final episode on the case of Joseph’s Ordeal. Take a deep breath, grab a cookie to go with your coffee, and settle in for the Summation to the Jury. If you have not figured it out yet, I’m Tony. I did the writing and the reading. If something is wrong, I’m the guy who gets the blame. Share, stack, restack and all that stuff. Let’s get started.Investigative Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen of the JuryEXSUM: Nazareth was a culturally conservative town that was neither tiny, nor insignificant. The people of Nazareth were either Essene laity or very closely related to the Essene sect. Inhabitants of the town followed stringent rules for purity, piety, poverty, and abstinence. The people of the town were very pious Jews who shared what they earned or made with the rest of the clan, which made up the town’s roughly fifteen hundred citizens. With their own lesser Sanhedrin council, Nazareth could enforce a stricter moral code than was accepted throughout the rest of ancient Israel. Divorce was almost completely unheard of, except in cases of criminal acts, like adultery. Mary of Nazareth was suspected of adultery and her betrothed husband, Joseph, planned to divorce her. At least, this has been the narrative for many centuries. Today, we put the rumors, innuendo, allegations, and accusations to rest.Resources and References so I can pretend I’m really smart:* Most Bible quotes I used come from the New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2010. Though I frequently mention other Bible translations, this is my working Bible for most of these episodes. Any Bible you use will be fine for all of the Biblical references.* Almost every discussion on the translation of a particular word means a trip to BibleHub.com for their amazing Interlinear Bible. Bible Hub, Glassport, PA. Just assume I’m using their site and check it out for yourself. (https://biblehub.com/interlinear/, accessed more times than I can count, 2021-2025)If you read something that is not a direct quote and think the brilliant thought might be mine, it is safer to assume I messed up the citation. Give credit to the super smart people below.A small mea culpa is in order. There are references but I ran into a production deadline before taking a short vacation. As soon as we get back, I’ll edit the refs in. Thanks for understanding. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investigatorsguidetothebible.substack.com