Life of Joseph in Few Verses of Scripture: Understanding Scripture Through the Study of the Quadriga

Only a few lines in Scripture contain all that is said about St. Joseph – a few lines in the first two chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew and likewise the first two chapters of St. Luke. This is all we are told of the hidden life and death of the man who was husband to Mary and foster father to Our Lord. But from these few words we can gather the whole history and life of St. Joseph for the words of Scripture are divinely inspired and are full and perfect. In, by, and through the Grace of God, especially as it flows through the Magisterium of His Church, we can increase our understanding of them.

The Words of Scripture contain a depth of meaning that fills every faculty of our souls. The human soul has three powers; the will, the memory, and the understanding (or intellect). The Fathers of the Church taught that likewise there are four “senses” in Scripture; the historical or literal sense, the allegorical or typical sense, the tropological or moral sense, and the analogical or final sense.

The literal sense refers to the meaning expressed immediately and directly by the words of the sacred author. Proper literal sense refers to the obvious and natural meaning of the words. Improper literal sense refers to a derived or figurative use of words. “Abraham begot Isaac” expresses a proper use of the word “begot”. St. Paul uses a derived sense of “begot” when he speaks of “in Christ Jesus by the gospel I have begotten you”. To understand the literal sense of a verse, we only need to know the meaning of the individual words and their grammatical use in the sentence, allowing for an intended “improper” use of various words such as a figure of speech or metaphor.

In approaching any passage or verse in Scripture, we must first determine what the text really says before we can understand what it means. The basic facts that underlie any of the other senses of Scripture are all presented in the literal sense of the Scripture and in the Sacred Tradition and Magisterium of the Church.

In the allegorical sense, a passage or verse in Scripture serves to signify something else. St. Thomas Aquinas described the allegorical sense as: “so far as the things of the Old Law signify the things of the New Law.” Thus, the Flood can be considered a foreshadowing or type of Christian Baptism. St. Augustine described the creation of Eve out of the sleeping Adam’s side as an allegory for Christ and the Church speaking of John 19 as such: “The Evangelist has expressed himself cautiously; not struck, or wounded, but opened His side… To shadow forth this, the woman was made out of the side of the sleeping man; for this second Adam bowed His head and slept on the cross, that out of that which came therefrom, there might be formed a wife for Him.” Augustine also sees the water and blood coming forth from Christ’s side as a type of the waters of Baptism and the Consecrated Wine of the Eucharist because these two sacraments form the Mystical Body of Christ. Thus, New Testament Scriptures may also have an allegorical sense.

The moral or tropological sense turns the meaning of the Scripture back on us, the readers, so that it may be applied to our own lives. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “so far as the things done in Christ, or so far as the things which signify Christ, are types of what we ought to do, there is the moral sense.” Thus the parables have edifying moral lessons which we ought to apply to ourselves.

Finally, we come to the anagogical sense, which interprets the things related in Scripture “as they signify what relates to eternal glory.” This meaning is not restricted to the state of glory in Heaven, but also pertains to the contemplative participation in the heavenly realities here and now. An obvious example is when Jesus would tell parables involving a wedding feast. Here, the happiness of heaven is symbolized by the feast, which also typifies the eternal marriage of Christ with his bride, the Church.

This classical fourfold interpretation of Scripture has been used in the Church since the time of the Fathers. Studying Scripture in this manner keeps the texts alive and helps us glean dogmatic, moral, ascetical, and mystical theology directly from the inspired Word securely within the heart of the Church.

Who Is St. Joseph?

St. Joseph is the spouse of Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ.  The main sources of information on the life of St. Joseph are the first chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

There are other writings which were not included in the Canon of Sacred Books that describe events in the lives of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  These works are known as apocryphal writings and must be used very cautiously and judiciously.  Some of the details recorded by them may be founded on trustworthy traditions.  In most cases it is next to impossible to discern and sift these elements of true history from the fancies and legends with which they are associated.  Among the non-biblical writings dealing with some episodes of St. Joseph’s life include the “Protoevangelium of James”, the "Pseudo-Matthew", the "Gospel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary", the "Story of Joseph the Carpenter", and the "Life of the Virgin and Death of Joseph".  Again, these writings must be approached with great caution and discernment.