Bible Trivia - 12/23/2008

Question: What kind of animal does the New Testament say Mary rode from Nazareth to Bethlehem?

Answer: It doesn’t.

Comments: Only the Gospel of Luke includes Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem but it does not include the mode of transportation. Joseph was forced to register for a census in Bethlehem but it is unclear why his very pregnant fiancé made the trek with him. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem is a straight shot of about 113 kilometers (70 miles), but the path that Joseph and Mary would have extended the trip's length to about 145 kilometers (90 miles) with an elevation of about 400 meters (1,312 feet). The common images of Joseph walking while his pregnant wife Mary rides a donkey are a way tradition has filled the gaps in the ancient text. The images also depict a sacrificial Joseph allowing his wife the more comfortable ride as opposed to a man who subjected his wife to a senseless journey.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. (Luke 2:4-5, NASB)

Despite the fact that a donkey was the primary method of transportation of the era, many believe it is unlikely that Mary rode a donkey given the couple's financial state and the fact that she was in the last stages of her pregnancy.