Dr. James D. Tabor – From Tabor’s guest post on Ehrman’s Blog here. January 22, 2020, at 3:27 pm.
I have changed my mind on this [was Jesus married]…see my blog posts [here and here] on this subject…I think the strongest argument for Jesus being “married,” though that word might not be the right one–is Paul in recommending the single life in 1 Cor 7 does not appeal “to the Lord” as he does on other related matters in this chapter. If Jesus were “single” then Paul would have certainly mentioned it–as he is arguing for the single life, a kind of apocalyptic celibacy, I call it. Not Gnostic/Dualistic celibacy.
Did Jesus Have a Wife? (And If So, How Many?) by Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D
Published on Bart Ehrman’s blog on February 18th, 2024. His Conclusion is a good summary of his talking points and is as follows in italicized text.
Conclusion
It’s a common misunderstanding that all men were required to marry in Jesus’ time and that, therefore, Jesus must have been married. There are better reasons, though, for believing that he wasn’t.
First, demographics don’t lie: There were generally more men than women in ancient societies because of women dying in childbirth. Somebody had to be left out.
Second, while there is evidence that Rabbinic Judaism placed a high value on all men getting married, Jesus did not live during the time of Rabbinic Judaism which did not get its start until after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. He lived decades before the Rabbis became the principal religious authority.
Third, there were certainly unmarried men during Jesus’ time. The Essenes, for example, believing the world was about to end, did not want the distraction of marriage or the impurity of sexuality. Paul and John the Baptist were unmarried as well.
Finally, the notion of a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is a myth prompted by misreadings of apocryphal gospels. While Mary was certainly important in the early Jesus movement, there is no credible evidence that she and Jesus were married.
