Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
the mother of our Lord. There is no person perhaps in sacred or profane history around whom so many legends have been grouped a the Virgin Mary; and there are few whose authentic history is more concise. She was, like Joseph, of the tribe of Judah and of the lineage of David. (Psalms 132:11; Luke 1:32; Romans 1:3) She had a sister, named, like herself, (John 19:25) and she was connected by marriage, (Luke 1:36) with Elizabeth, who was of the
tribe of Levi and of the lineage of Aaron. This is all that we know of her antecedents. She was betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth; but before her marriage she became with child by the Holy Ghost, and became the mother of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Her history at this time, her residence at Bethlehem, flight to Egypt, and return to her early home st Nazareth, are well known. Four times only does she appear after the commencement of
Christ’s ministry. These four occasions are—