Mary is still on my mind.
All of my life I was told that Mary was a young teen when she was betrothed to Joseph - and that she likely gave birth to Jesus when she was in her mid-teens - perhaps as early as 13, but certainly by 16. But the Bible doesn't tell us that.
That brings up the point of conjecture. I do NOT want to promote theories that are not supported by Scripture. We can research what the mores of that society were - and learn a lot from watching "Fiddler on the Roof" because marriages were arranged by their families, and often the promise of the marriage partners was selected for children who were very young - but it is purely conjecture to try to assign an age to Mary, or to Joseph, for that matter.
She was a virgin. Simply all we are told. She confirmed that when she said she had never been with a man in her conversation with the angel, Gabriel.
I am a wee bit shocked that it never occurred to me before to question that. We need to pay attention to the facts as they are supplied to us in God's Word! That is going to apply to LOTS of other things we have been "told" if we cannot find clear confirmation in God's Word. That applies to assumptions we have made about the end of time as well. We are instructed to "study" to show ourselves approved, workmen who are rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Just the facts.
One fact we do have is that Mary went immediately to see her relative, Elizabeth, and stayed with her about 3 months (which would have been right up to the time John was born). Had she been a young teen I don't think her mother would have just let her go away for 3 months - that is conjecture, but something to think about. It adds to the things to ponder.
There is a lot to wonder about. Did she tell Joseph before she left? Or when did she choose to share that information? After she returned from visiting Elizabeth? We don't know!
I can imagine Elizabeth was very glad for the company! Her husband, Zechariah, had been struck dumb because he questioned that Elizabeth could get pregnant as such an old age - and for 6 months at that juncture, she had not been able to hear his voice. We are also told in the Bible that she isolated herself during this period of time - so Mary would have been a very welcome visitor and houseguest.
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