Martha (Mahr´thuh; Aramaic, “lady,” “mistress”; feminine of “lord”)

A close friend and follower of Jesus. In (Luke 10:38-42) she, apparently as head of the household, invites Jesus into her home. She is described as “distracted by her many tasks,” while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’s feet and listens to his teaching. Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her, but Jesus replies that Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her. Later, Martha appears in the story of the raising of Lazarus in Bethany (John 11:1-44). Martha is named first, before Mary and Lazarus, as loved by Jesus (John 11:5). Going out to meet him, she receives teaching concerning the resurrection, acknowledges him as Lord, and confesses faith in him as “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 11:20-27).