Nathan and Mary

There are some common names in the Bible (at least, names that were common then), and sometimes it gets confusing trying to keep all of the people straight.

For example, there are at least two Nathans in the Old Testament (I think there are three): There was a prophet named Nathan, and then David had a son named Nathan. Some people think (and, I must admit, I believed for a long time myself) that Nathan the prophet was David's son. They are not. Adding to the confusion is perhaps the fact that David's son Nathan is mentioned first, and then the prophet later, and then the son later still. But the lineage of the prophet lists his father as Attai, and the lineage of Nathen, the son of David, lists his mother as Bathsheba (well, technically, it says Bathshua, but it also lists Solomon as the son of Bathshua, and we know that Solomon's mother was Bathsheba, so, apparently Bathshua is an alternate spelling--this also makes it difficult to keep people straight), whom David didn't marry until after Nathan had started advising him; apparently David named one of his sons after the prophet.

Now, in the New Testament, there is quite an assortment of Marys, and a lot of people try to simplify those: I suspect that a lot of people know about the mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene, but don't know about the others, like Lazarus's sister Mary, of Mary the mother of James and Joses (although, it is possible that Jesus had brothers named James and Joses, but it seems unlikely that the Bible would refer to Jesus' mother as 'the mother of James and Joses' even if that were the case). There is also a reference to Mary the wife of Cleophas, but that is probably the same Mary that is the mother of James and Joses. Also, Mark's mother's name was Mary (but she may be Mary Magdalene or Lazarus' sister or the wife of Cleophas; we really don't know).

Part of the reason that there were so many Marys in the New Testament is that Mary is actually derived from Miriam (in Hebrew it is the same name--only when translated from Greek does it become Mary), so these Marys were probably named after Moses' sister Miriam. In any case, the gospel writers did try to make it clear which Mary they were talking about, each time they used the name. Occasionally, one of the gospels will begin talking about Mary, the sister of Lazarus, but you have to read for several verses before it mentions Lazarus. Still, with a little bit of research, you can generally tell the main Marys apart. Now, as far as Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, or Mark's mother Mary, I don't really think it's important to know whether that is three different women, two different women, or all the same woman (if it was, it would be clear which one was which). I do think that it's important to keep Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus' sister Mary separate.