The Wife of Jesus ― Ancient Texts and Modern Scandals

The idea that Jesus was married continues to fascinate. Look no further than Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code for evidence. Or indeed Harvard Professor Karen King’s recent ?discovery’ of the so called Gospel of Jesus’ Wife ? a piece of ancient papyrus that made the explosive suggestion in 2012 that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were man and wife. But most who address the topic either dismiss the possibility or propound conspiracy theories, often of Christian origins.

Approaching the subject from a fresh, historical perspective and without appealing to sensationalist stories or dismissing Jesus’ sexuality on theological grounds, Le Donne places Jesus firmly within his sociocultural context. By investigating gender and marriage norms ? as well as a number of social outliers who defied them ? he provocatively argues that Jesus was most likely married to a woman, before he was the church. It is a quest that illuminates the humanity of Jesus, while also revealing important connections between ancient sexuality and modern spirituality.

Anthony Le Donne is a visiting lecturer at the University of the Pacific, California. His books include The Historiographical Jesus: Memory, Typology, and the Son of David and Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It?