Mariam, the Magdalen, and the Mother

"Offers a multifaceted discussion of the Magdalene traditions—traditions that echo well-known themes in the Hebrew Bible that go back to the story of Moses and of his sister, Miriam.... [Good] enriches our understanding of the resonances and complexity of the traditions surrounding this figure." —Elaine Pagels, author of Beyond Belief and The Gnostic Gospels This volume presents a comprehensive portrait of Mary Magdalen. It offers original work by well-established Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars on the religious and prophetic experience of Mary Magdalen and her depiction in Christian art, and on aspects of Mary Magdalen’s composite identity, which overlaps Miriamic, Gnostic, early Christian, and Manichaean traditions, together with Islamic and patristic traditions of Jesus’ Mother. Rather than revisiting her singularity, this volume argues that the Miriamic roots of Mary Magdalen’s composite identity and prophetic vision are prominent in all religious traditions of the first five centuries of the Common Era. The contributors are Hosn Abboud, Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, J. Kevin Coyle, Mary Rose D’Angelo, Mary F. Foskett, Deirdre Good, Antti Marjanen, Carol Meyers, Claudia Setzer, and Stephen J. Shoemaker.