Joseph (NT)

Jesus' earthly father.

Joseph was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was a carpenter and a descendant of David who lived in Nazareth. According to the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem at the end of Mary’s pregnancy to register during a census because Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home (Luke 2:1-7). Joseph is prominent in Matthew 1-2, which includes the story of an angel warning him to flee with his family to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod the Great. After Herod’s death, Joseph takes the family to Nazareth. Joseph does not play a part in Jesus’ ministry as an adult.