Protevangelium of James
c. c. 150 – c. 200
Place: syria-palestine · coming soon
No coordinates. This node is on the timeline only.
The text and the narrative parallels are attested. How the stories reached Arabia — orally, in Syriac, or through liturgy — is a scholarly hypothesis. Manuscripts include Papyrus Bodmer V (Geneva, 3rd–4th c.).
A 2nd-century account of Mary's own miraculous birth to Joachim and Anna, her upbringing in the Temple fed by angels, and the drawing of lots to choose her guardian. Sura 3 also has Mary dedicated before birth, fed miraculously in a sanctuary, and lots cast over who would care for her (Q 3:35–37, 3:44).
People named here
- Mary
- Anna
- Joachim
- Zechariah
Where scholars disagree
For
- Cornelia Horn — Apocrypha 17 (2006): traces the text's reception in Eastern Christian sources and the Qur'an
- Gabriel Said Reynolds — The Qur'an and the Bible (2018): commentary notes the parallels
Against
No names on this side.
Links
Text and wording
Out
Qur'an, Sura 3 (Al 'Imran): Mary's family and Jesus
Mary dedicated before birth, fed in the sanctuary, and lots cast for her guardian (Q 3:35–37, 44).
text_parallel
attestedOut
Zechariah and Mary narratives; the annunciation setting.
text_parallel
attested
Context
Out
Council of Ephesus (431): Mary as Theotokos
Protevangelium stories fed the Marian devotion that Ephesus formalized.
context
attested
Sources
- Protevangelium of James (ANF trans., PD)
Early Christian Writings. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Cornelia Horn, 'Intersections: The Reception History of the Protoevangelium of James in Sources from the Christian East and in the Qur'an', Apocrypha 17 (2006)
Brepols. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Qur'an, Surat Al Imran (3), Arabic with translations
Quran.com. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Wikipedia: Gospel of James
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.