Joseph of Nazareth
Not a single word of his is recorded, yet every time God spoke, he obeyed.
New Testament · 1st century BC – 1st century AD · Matthew, Luke · Also known as Husband of Mary, The carpenter
About Joseph of Nazareth
Joseph was a descendant of King David, a carpenter living in Nazareth, engaged to Mary. When he learned she was expecting a child, he planned to end the engagement quietly, until an angel told him in a dream that the child was from the Holy Spirit. He took Mary as his wife, named the baby Jesus, fled with them to Egypt to escape Herod, and brought them back to Nazareth. Scripture records no words from Joseph at all, only what he did.
In first-century Judaism an engagement (betrothal) was legally binding and ended only by divorce. Joseph’s trade is usually translated "carpenter," though the Greek word can mean a builder or craftsman in wood and stone. He is not mentioned after Jesus is twelve, and many conclude he had died before Jesus’ ministry.
The story
A just man
Mary "was found with child of the Holy Ghost." "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily."
Matthew 1:18-19
Fear not
An angel appeared to him in a dream: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife… thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him."
Matthew 1:20-25
To Bethlehem
Because of a census, "Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth… unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."
Luke 2:1-7
Flight into Egypt
After the wise men left, an angel warned Joseph in a dream that Herod would seek to destroy the child. "He arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt." After Herod died, another dream brought them home to Nazareth.
Matthew 2:13-23
Lost in Jerusalem
When Jesus was twelve, Joseph and Mary travelled a day home from the Passover before realising he wasn’t with them. After three days they found him in the temple. Mary said, "Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." Jesus went home with them, "and was subject unto them."
Luke 2:41-52
Key moments
- Plans to divorce quietly: "Being a just man." (Matthew 1:19)
- Obeys the angel: Takes Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:24)
- Names Jesus: "He shall save his people." (Matthew 1:21; 1:25)
- Flees to Egypt: By night. (Matthew 2:14)
- Finds Jesus in the temple: Aged twelve. (Luke 2:48)
Questions about Joseph of Nazareth
Does Joseph ever speak in the Bible?
No. Not one word of Joseph’s is recorded in the Gospels. What Scripture records is what he did: four times he is guided in a dream, and each time he gets up and obeys, taking Mary as his wife, naming Jesus, fleeing to Egypt, and returning to settle in Nazareth.
Was Joseph Jesus’ real father?
Matthew and Luke both say Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit before she and Joseph came together. Joseph took Mary as his wife, named the child, and raised him as his son, so people called Jesus "the carpenter’s son" and Luke says he was "as was supposed" the son of Joseph. Through Joseph, Jesus was counted in the line of David.
What happened to Joseph?
Scripture doesn’t say. Joseph appears when Jesus is twelve, at the temple in Jerusalem, and then isn’t mentioned again in Jesus’ ministry. Mary and Jesus’ brothers appear later, but Joseph doesn’t, and at the cross Jesus entrusts Mary to the disciple John. Many conclude Joseph had died by then, but it isn’t stated.
Connected people
- Mary: Wife
- Jesus: Legal father
- David: Ancestor
- Joseph: Shared name, shared dreams
- Herod the Great: Fled from him
Read it yourself
Start with Matthew 1–2.