Duration: 365 days

MARTHA

The Woman Who Was More Practical Than Spiritual

Scripture References—Luke 10:38-41;John 11;12:1-3

Name Meaning—As a Chaldee or Syriac word, Martha is the feminine ofmoroormore, meaning “lord,” “master.” We find this in the formmaranin the well-known phrase Maran-atha, “The Lord cometh” (1 Corinthians 16:22). There are those who think thatKyria, translated “lady” in2 John 1, is a proper name, the Greek equivalent of this word. Carpzov supposes that thisKyriawas the same person as Martha of Bethany.

Family Connections—Of the history of Martha, the Bible tells us nothing save that she was the sister of Mary and Lazarus, and lived with them at Bethany. Some early writers have made Martha, the daughter, wife, or widow of Simon the Leper, and that on his death the house became hers, hence the…