How one book revealed the Old Testament prophecies about Mary that most Christians completely miss
Here’s something that will blow your mind: The Old Testament doesn’t just prophesy about Jesus. It prophesies about His mother too. And not just once or twice. Repeatedly. In ways so clear that once you see them, you’ll wonder how you ever missed them.
I certainly did.
As a Catholic, I’ve always loved Mary. I pray the Rosary, celebrate her feast days, and understand her as our spiritual mother. But reading Dr. Brant Pitre’s Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary made me realize something humbling: I had no idea how deep the scriptural foundations for our beliefs actually run.
This wasn’t about discovering new doctrines—it was about discovering the biblical scholarship that supports what I already believed, connections I never would have found on my own.
The Questions I Didn’t Know to Ask
Here’s what hit me: I accepted Mary’s titles and role based on Church teaching and tradition. But I never knew why Scripture supports calling her the New Eve, or how the Old Testament prefigures her as Queen Mother, or what specific passages point to her perpetual virginity.
Where would I even begin looking for those answers?
Pitre does something remarkable—he shows you exactly where in Scripture these truths are embedded, and more importantly, how to read those passages through first-century Jewish eyes.
Discoveries That Stunned Me
The Ark of the Covenant connection: I knew Mary was called the Ark, but I had no idea how precise the parallel is. When the Ark was moved to the hill country and David leaped for joy, it’s a perfect prefigurement of Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth when John leaped in her womb. Both carried the presence of God, both inspired joyful worship. Both stayed for three months.
The Queen Mother reality: I understood Mary as Queen, but Pitre explains the specific Jewish institution of the Gebirah—the king’s mother who interceded for the people and held enormous influence. This isn’t just a nice metaphor; it’s how ancient Jews would have understood her role.
The prophetic types I’d been reading all along: The woman clothed with the sun in Revelation? I thought it was just symbolic. Pitre shows the deliberate echoes of Genesis 3:15, the Queen Mother traditions, and Mary’s actual role in salvation history.
The Scholarship That Changes Everything
What makes this book invaluable is that Pitre doesn’t just assert these connections—he proves them with rigorous biblical scholarship. He shows you the Hebrew texts, explains the cultural context, and walks you through the logical progression.
This isn’t apologetics trying to defend Catholic doctrine. This is biblical scholarship that happens to confirm it.
For instance, his explanation of Mary’s perpetual virginity isn’t based on later Church tradition but on Jewish practices of celibate marriage vows and careful analysis of the Greek terms for Jesus’s “brothers.”
Questions I Never Thought to Wonder About
Did Mary experience labor pains? If so, how does that square with the curse of Genesis 3:16? Pitre actually addresses this with both theological depth and scriptural support.
Why did Jesus call Mary “woman” from the cross instead of “mother?” Turns out it’s a deliberate echo of the “woman” from Genesis 3:15—Jesus was fulfilling prophecy even in His final words to her.
These are questions that never would have occurred to me, let alone where to find the answers.
What This Means for Catholic Readers
This book doesn’t challenge Catholic teaching—it grounds it in Scripture in ways I never imagined possible. Every time I pray the Rosary now, every time I ask for Mary’s intercession, I understand not just what I’m doing but why it’s biblical.
The Protestant friends who’ve asked me “Where is that in the Bible?” now have their answer. More importantly, I now have the answer, with chapter and verse. Not for arguing. Sharing.
The Practical Impact
Pitre has given us something precious: the biblical literacy to understand and explain our devotion to Mary. He’s done the heavy lifting of research across Hebrew texts, early Church fathers, and Jewish cultural practices.
This is the book I wish I’d had for every conversation with well-meaning Protestant friends who wondered about Catholic Mariology.
Bottom Line
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary transformed my understanding from accepting Church teaching to seeing how that teaching flows directly from Scripture. It’s the difference between knowing Mary is our mother and understanding exactly why Jesus gave her to us from the cross.
For Catholics: This will deepen your devotion and give you scriptural grounding for beliefs you already hold. For curious Protestants: This offers serious biblical scholarship on questions you might not have known were worth asking. For anyone: This shows how reading Scripture through ancient Jewish eyes reveals depths we miss with modern assumptions.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand not just what Catholics believe about Mary, but why it’s thoroughly biblical.
