Martha
Mentioned AD 32–33 traditional (Jones)
Bitterness, the sister of Lazarus and Mary, and probably the eldest of the family, who all resided at Bethany (Luke 10:38, 40, 41; John 11:1-39). From the residence being called “her house,” some have supposed that she was a widow, and that her brother and sister lodged with her.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897).
- Tagged in
- 12 verses
- Mentioned in the era of the New Testament, 4 BC to AD 100.
- Named in the same verses as Lazarus and Mary.
Computed from the data. Years are traditional (Jones).
Family
Two generations up and the children. Gold lines join partners; grey lines run from parent to child; a dotted line marks a parent named in the text but not by descent.
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Stories
2 events in which Martha takes part, in order of the traditional chronology. Years are traditional (Jones).
- AD 29Jesus meets Martha and MaryLuke 10:38-42
- AD 30Mary Anoints JesusJohn 12:1-11
Places
Places named in the same verses as Martha, with the number of verses they share; a larger marker means more. Locations follow OpenBible.info, which grades each identification.
- likely location: Bethany1
Timeline
The strip runs from Creation to AD 100; the shaded part, AD 7–58, is drawn below at a larger scale around these mentions. Years are traditional (Jones), shown as recorded, not as settled fact.
Mentions
12 tagged verses in 2 books. Select a book to read its verses.
The name in each translation
| Text | Occurrences of each name |
|---|---|
| BSB | Martha 14 |
| KJV | Martha 13 |
| ASV | Martha 13 |
Whole-word, case-sensitive count of the name string (regex \bName\b, so possessives like "Abraham's" count) across the whole Bible text of each translation; this counts the string, not the person, so other people who share the name are included and pronoun references are not. How Begat counts
Every verse
All 12 tagged verses, by book, in canonical order. The Berean Standard Bible is shown; switch to the King James or American Standard Version.
Luke3 verses
- 10:38
As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
- 10:40
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!”
- 10:41
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
John9 verses
- 11:1
At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
- 11:5
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
- 11:19
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
- 11:20
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.
- 11:21
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
- 11:24
Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
- 11:30
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.
- 11:39
“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
- 12:2
So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
The full entry, public domain, as printed in 1897.
Bitterness, the sister of Lazarus and Mary, and probably the eldest of the family, who all resided at Bethany (Luke 10:38, 40, 41; John 11:1-39). From the residence being called “her house,” some have supposed that she was a widow, and that her brother and sister lodged with her. She seems to have been of an anxious, bustling spirit, anxious to be helpful in providing the best things for the Master’s use, in contrast to the quiet earnestness of Mary, who was more concerned to avail herself of the opportunity of sitting at his feet and learning of him. Afterwards at a supper given to Christ and his disciples in her house “Martha served.” Nothing further is known of her.
“Mary and Martha are representatives of two orders of human character. One was absorbed, preoccupied, abstracted; the other was concentrated and single-hearted. Her own world was the all of Martha; Christ was the first thought with Mary. To Martha life was ‘a succession of particular businesses;’ to Mary life ’was rather the flow of one spirit.’ Martha was Petrine, Mary was Johannine. The one was a well-meaning, bustling busybody; the other was a reverent disciple, a wistful listener.” Paul had such a picture as that of Martha in his mind when he spoke of serving the Lord “without distraction” (1 Cor. 7:35).