Is the grandmother of Jesus mentioned in the Bible?

Answer 1

No. Matthew gives the paternal grandfather of Jesus as Jacob, while Luke says that his paternal grandfather was Heli, but neither mentions his grandmother, or even his maternal grandfather.

Even these are not the biological fathers and grandfathers as Matthew states that Joseph was not Jesus' father but the husband of Mary, Jesus' mother - implying that Joseph wasn't Jesus' father. This is in accord with Christian belief of a Virgin Birth. Even in Luke it staes that Jesus was 'known' as the son of Joseph and wasn't actually his son.

No 'grandmother' of Jesus is ever mentioned. Roman Catholics believe that Mary's mother was St Anne, but there are no records of her in the New Testament, and no reliable historical documents that confirm her existence. Therefore she is likely to be a 2nd or 3rd century invention as the only mention she gets is in the 'Protoevangelium of James' which is a rather unreliable, dubious and apocryphal text dismissed by most historians as fictional.

AnswerThe genealogy in Matthew 1 is of Joseph's line, who is not truly the father of Jesus, for Christ was sent by God the Father into Mary by the Holy Spirit. The genealogy in Luke 3 is the seed line of Mary, yet it is reckoned by male predecessors. It states: "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli." Note that there was a "supposed" relationship, which amounted to Joseph being the son-in-law of Heli.

The practice of reporting genealogy in Jewish society in those times was to give the male progenitors of the family in Question. Therefore, no mention of female ancestors are made in the Gospel genealogies of Jesus, nor is there any other mention of who Mary's mother was in the Scriptures. We are only introduced to Jesus' mother in this fashion: "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary." Luke 1:26,27.

Later, Gabriel would say to her: " Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Verses 30-33. In none of these portions or elsewhere in The Bible do we learn of Mary's Mother, who would be the Grandmother of Jesus.