How many times did Mary appear in the bible?

Answer 1

The gospel authors were a bit lax at times when identifying which of the sereral Marys mentioned in The Bible they were referring to at a given time.

The following list from the King James version shows that there were at least five different women named Mary involved in Jesus' life.

1 Mary, the mother of Jesus

• Mat 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

2 Mary Magdalene

• Mat 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.

3 Mary - the mother of James and Joses

• Mat 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.

4 Mary - the sister of Martha and Lazarus

• Luk 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

5 Mary - the wife of Cleophas

(may or may not be the mother of James and Joses, Cleophas is not mentioned again)

• Joh 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary - the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

6 Mary - the mother of John

• Act 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

In view of the foregoing, it is difficult to be certain

A) which Mary the question asks about

B) which person is being mentioned whenever the name "Mary" appears without an identifier.