Are Mary of Bethany and Mary magdalene the same person?

Answer 1

No. Mary Magdalene came from Magdala, hence her name. There are no records to say that she had any brothers or sisters, which would have been mentioned if she had any, especially as Jewish society was very family-orientated.

Mary of Bethany came from a small settlement near Jerusalem called Bethany, and had one sister, Martha and a brother, Lazarus who all lived together in a house in the village.

Answer 2

No.

Mary of Bethany was the sister of Lazarus and Martha.

(Luke 10:38-42) 38 Now as they were going their way he entered into a certain village. Here a certain woman named Martha received him as guest into the house. 39 This woman also had a sister called Mary, who, however, sat down at the feet of the Lord and kept listening to his word. 40 Martha, on the other hand, was distracted with attending to many duties. So, she came near and said: "Lord, does it not matter to you that my sister has left me alone to attend to things? Tell her, therefore, to join in helping me." 41 In answer the Lord said to her: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things. 42 A few things, though, are needed, or just one. For her part, Mary chose the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her."

(Matthew 26:6, 7) 6 While Jesus happened to be in Beth′a·ny in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman with an alabaster case of costly perfumed oil approached him, and she began pouring it upon his head as he was reclining at the table.

Mary Magdalene became a disciple of Jesus after he expelled seven demons from her.

(Luke 8:1-3) 8 Shortly afterwards he went journeying from city to city and from village to village, preaching and declaring the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and certain women that had been cured of wicked spirits and sicknesses, Mary the so-called Mag′da·lene, from whom seven demons had come out, 3 and Jo·an′na the wife of Chu′za, Herod's man in charge, and Su·san′na and many other women, who were ministering to them from their belongings.

Both Mary's were noted for their faith in Jesus and the kingdom message he proclaimed.

There were five Mary's mentioned in The Bible. See attached link for more info on them.

Answer 3

Answer (1)

She listened to Jesus, while her sister Martha worked (L 10:38-42)

Another (2)

Your question isn't completely clear, but Mary Magdalene and Mary the sister of Martha are not the same person...if that's what you mean.

Answer (3)

The text is not completely clear in distinguishing the different "Marys" from one another. Although it is possible that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus) are the same person, it is just as possible that they are two different women.

Answer (4)

Answer (2) is correct. While Answer (3) makes a fair point as far as the plain, simple or literal text is concerned, "Mary of Bethany" and "Mary Magdalene" clearly indicate different people from different towns which were quite a long way from each other.

However, what is more interesting from new understandings of ancient history and chronology, "Migdol" in Hebrew was actually a nick-name for Phoenicia's great city of Tyre. In English we derive words like tower, tour, turret and even town from "Tyre". The towers the Phoenicians built around their cities were necesssary to provide battlements to defend the precious commodities like gold and precious stones the Phoenicians were famous for trading around the world.

In the Books of Exodus, Numbers and Jeremiah, the Bible refers to "Migdol". This is the city the Jews built for the pharaohs Amenemhat III (12th dynasty) when it was known as Pithom, and Ramesses II and Merneptah (19th dynasty) when it became known as Ramesses. However, it was also sometimes controlled by 'Phoenicians' either from their base in Tyre or from their base in Carthage. In those times it got the name "Migdol" and this is reflected in the Biblical record when scribes re-copied the old scrolls and sometimes inserted the 'modern' name or the 'contemporary' name. Thus "Pithom", "Raamses" of Exodus 1:11, "Migdol" and the more familiar "Memphis" are all the same city but with different names in different eras.

The revised chronology places the Ramesside kings in the 7th century BC instead of the 13th century BC because Merneptah, son of Ramesses said "Israel's seed is destroyed; the Land razed to the ground". That statement could only be true of Israel in 600 BC. There are many more reasons for re-writing Egyptian chronology but the main point here is that the mystery surrounding Mary Magdalene starts to disappear as we realise the important points being made in the Bible in the light of the reconstructed history.

Briefly, the role of Mary Magdalene is to show that the Resurrection of Jesus must almost certainly be true because no Jewish scribes making up fairy stories would invent such a crazy thing. The Phoenicians were hated in the Greco-Roman world of Jesus' day. But that's the point because someone representative of the worst sinners, and a woman to boot given Adam's complaint that the woman enticed him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was selected to stand in the garden of the tomb to receive the good news of the salvation of men and women by Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Few realise that Simon of Cyrene or Tsorene was also Phoenician, although he may have been a Jew resident in Carthage-Cyrene who happened to be in Jerusalem for that Passover as many emigre Jews would be. Hiram of Tyre helped Solomon to build his temple. Tyre's commercial prowess was due to Israel's permission to transport commodities through Israel between Eilat on the Red Sea and the Phoenician cities (Tyre, Sidon and Gebal-Byblos).

At the Second Coming, the daughter nations of Tyre, or the Atlantic nations, a.k.a."Tarshish", figure prominently in the support of Israel. However, the distortion of history by a false chronology of Egypt and the ancient Middle East has obscured important ancient connections and the 'mystery' of Mary "Magdalene" is one such issue. Just as two Phoenician women in the Books of I and II Kings received their dead sons back to life at the prayers of Elijah (or "God the Jehovah) and Elisha (or God the Yeshua-Jesus), so the Son of God named Yeshua (Hebrew) or Jesus (Greek) arranged to be first met by a Syro-Phoenician woman's daughter in the Garden of the Tomb to learn that the sin of the Garden of Eden had now been paid for. All who believed this, Jew and non-Jew, would be resurrected to live forever in God's eternal kingdom which will eventually be on a new Earth in a new Universe as this one is burned up.

A Gentile or non-Jewish woman was selected for this privilege. There is much more to say about that, however it goes beyond the original purport of this question.

Answer 4

Some theologians believe they were two distinct individuals. Others, including most Catholics, believe they are one and the same. The scriptures are confusing and do not clarify the situation.

Answer 5

The Catholic Church says yes, they are the same. Some Protestant denominations disagree.

Answer 6

No.