You Asked It

Was Mary Magdalene an harlot?

D.A. USA

The key verse in question is Luke 8:2: “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils (demons).”

First we note an item of Bible vocabulary. There are two miracles which are key in noting the Gospel vocabulary for demon possession — Legion and the epileptic child. Noting those two miracles we find the following terms equated: “unclean spirit” (Lk. 8:29), “demon(s)” (Lk. 8:29,30,33,35,37), “lunatick” (Mt. 17:15), “demon” (Mt. 17:18), “dumb spirit” (Mk. 9:17), “foul spirit” (Mk. 9:25). Thus in Luke 8:2 it is evident Mary Magdalene was one of the women healed of “evil spirits.” Her case was particularly bad, like Legion, as out of her were cast “seven demons.”

While we know of no Bible evidence that Mary Magdalene was an harlot, we researched the matter and came across the following which we feel will be of interest:

“On the conjectures connected with her name see below. Here it may be enough to note that (1) as being of Magdala [all sources researched took the same position that Mary was from the town of Magdala], a town near Tiberias, she had probably heard our Lord in one of His early mission journeys; (2) that the ‘seven devils’ or ‘demons’ point, as in the parable of Matthew 12:45, to a specially aggravated form of possession, with par­oxysms of delirious frenzy, like those of the Gadarene demoniac; (3) that her presence with the mother of our Lord and John at the Crucifixion (John 19:25) seems to imply some special tie either of sympathy or of earlier connection with them; (4) that she appears, from the names with which she is associated, and from the fact that she too ‘ministered of her substance,’ to have belonged to the more wealthy section of Galilean society.”

Commenting on the idea that Mary Magdalene was the “sinner” in Luke 7 and thus a harlot, the same source reads as follows:

“The widespread belief that she [the `sinner’ Lk. 7:37] was Mary Magdalene — shown in the popular application of the term ‘Magdalene’ to a penitent of this class — has absolutely not a single jot or tittle of evidence in scripture nor can there be said to be anything like even a tradition in its favor. The earliest fathers of the church are silent. Origen [c. 230 A.D.] discusses and rejects it. Ambrose [c. 390 A.D.], Jerome [c. 400 A.D.], and Augustine [c. 400 A.D.] are doubtful. It first gained general acceptance through the authority of Gregory the Great [c. 580 A.D.] …We may note further that if the popular belief were true we should have expected some hint of it on the occurrence of the name of Mary Magdalene in chapter 8:3 which is not suggested by the reference to ‘seven devils’.”