Mary Magdalene: An Aristocrat

Luke 8:1-3: After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Mark 15:40: Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Luke 19:16-17: “Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”

Mary of Magdala From Tiberias?
Mary Magdalene translates as Mary from Magdala, which is notable in two ways. First, women were usually identified by their male guardian – e.g., Mary the wife of Clopas, Joanna the wife of Cuza, Mary the mother of James and Joses, or probably ‘Mary the daughter of’ or ‘Mary the sister of’ if neither of the others applied.

Second, aristocrats didn’t live in Magdala or any other town; they lived in Tiberias, Galilee’s capital, and visited their various estates around Palestine for vacation, recuperation, cooler weather, a change of pace, etc.

Luke 19:16-17: “Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” Jesus probably wasn’t talking about the eternal equivalent of Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and presidential candidate, when he said this. Aristocrats, as explained above, confiscated the land of peasants unable to pay their taxes and charged them rent on land they had previously owned.

Eventually, entire towns sometimes paid rent to these 'town owners.' They also owned companies that bordered on entire industries, and many towns specialized in a single industry. Magdala specialized in salting fish for long-distance preservation, and probably had no competition on the Jewish border of the Sea of Galilee.

My theory is that Mary from Magdala’s male guardian owned part or all of the large town of Magdala and/or its prominent and widespread fish salting industry. This would explain her wealth, why she was titled as ‘from’ Magdala instead of Tiberias, and her identification by place instead of her guardians name. It's also possible that her guardian was a wealthy fish salting merchant unable to afford life in Tiberias, but identifying a woman as such would probably have been insulting in a society where merchants were shunned and honor was paramount.

So What?
Magdala was several miles south of Capernaum, where Peter and the other fishermen lived. Fish go bad astoundingly quickly, and it was imperative to get the fish to Magdala as soon as possible. Given that land transport was 7-8 times more expensive than riverine transport and on the order of thirty times as expensive as maritime transport (the Galilee is a freshwater lake called a sea with currents from the river entering and exiting it, so take your pick), they may well have sailed them directly to Magdala. Alternatively, they returned them home to Capernaum and immediately loaded them onto a boat for Magdala. Here they counted them for taxes.

The harbors had loading docks, and they may well have had a similar situation to this, either in Capernaum or Magdala: sail in, unload their fish on to a loading dock, where they were counted and taxed, anchor the boat and go home. The wooden boat is supposed to be an enlarged replica of a standard fishing boat used then.

Nobody seems to be quite sure how the system worked, but somehow the nobles forced, bribed or had a governmental right to hire the tax collectors, who bought their licenses from the government. Perhaps the nobles actually bought them and sold them to the tax collectors; I don’t know. At any rate, both the nobles and the tax collectors ripped off the peasants. This would not have made for good relations between the family owning the saltery and the fishermen catching the fish to be salted – Magdalenes probably increased the tax on the fish they brought in, and profited from their misery. Peter and the other fishermen may well been oppressed by Mary Magdalene’s family.

Now Mary Magdalene is one of the primary people following Jesus. Peasants don’t like aristocrats because they oppress them. Peasants directly affected by them (quite possibly Peter, Andrew, James and John) really grit their teeth at them, narrow their eyes, and turn in the other direction. Tax collectors (Matthew) and aristocrats can’t stand each other. Zealots (Simon) probably were bandits that killed aristocrats. It wasn’t with ease that the disciples traveled with those women and learned Jesus’ words in Luke 6:27-31: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

Peter, the favorite apostle of many Christians, including yours truly, didn’t get to his leadership position and respect for free. But if he had to master something that tough, so can I.

And at the end of my life, if I follow Christ closely on this earth, I get amazing rewards from a God that loves to give and give and give.

The Scripture
Luke 8:1-3: After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Mark 15:40: Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Luke 19:16-17: “Well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”