Marian Studies

Volume 50 Magnificat: Remembrance and Praise Article 9

1999

The Fascinating Woman of Revelation 12

Bertrand Buby

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 Buby: Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

THE FASCINATING WOMAN OF REVELATION 12

Bertrand Buby, S.M *

A number of years ago, I began reading the book of Reve-

lation for its spiritual benefits. I started to take this book of
Scripture seriously and saw a pattern emerging which gave
tremendous importance to the end of chapter eleven and all
of chapter twelve-the encounter with the "woman." The
"woman;' as she is called, through her prominence in the
liturgy, theology and ecclesiology, has had great influence upon
Christian theology and prayer.
I asked many questions in relation to her importance, such
as: Who does she represent? How is she understood by Chris-
tians? Why would Christians identify with her? What makes
her so unique? When did her importance begin in Christian
history? Where is the factual basis for her importance in Chris-
tian history found? What does this "woman" tell us about God,
Jesus, the Spirit and our relationship to the Trinity? And, fmally,
what does she tell us about ourselves?
These tantalizing questions about this fascinating woman
led me on a personal journey of research and study of the Book
of Revelation which continues as we enter the new millen-
nium. (Erudite students know that in the Christian calendar we
are working with a flawed chronology created by a monk
named Dennis Exiguus. The second millennium has passed
and the third one is already four to six years old historically, ac-
cording to historians and exegetes.)
The many commentaries on the book of Revelation show
how difficult it is to interpret the symbolic narrative of a seer

•father Buby is president of the Mariological Society of America (1998-2000). He

is on the faculty of the Religious Studies Department of the University of Dayton and
a professor with the International Marian Research Institute (I'he Marian Ubrary/IMRI,
University of Dayton).

L (1999) MARIAN STUDIES 107-126

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108 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

telling the story, in spiral-like cycles of thought, which in-

volves an epistolary scroll, a worship scroll and a war scroll
all bound together in one complete work. The work also con-
tains elements which are prophetic, eschatological (since it is
concerned with judgment and the fmal victories of the hero),
ecclesiological (recall the seven churches of chapters two and
three), Christological (some new titles are given to Jesus not
found elsewhere in the New Testament), soteriological (God's
plan of salvation is shown through the hero-victim, the lamb
who is, at the same, the Lion of Judah), and pneumatological
(the role of the Spirit is outlined in relation to the Church
community).
The focus of this study is upon the fascinating image of "the
woman" (chapter 12). This woman has as many as twenty-
eight different identifications-some symbolic, others biblical,
still others theological or spiritual; there is even an astrologi-
cal and a mythical identification. Throughout the centuries,
saints and sages have seen her as the Blessed Mother.

The Context

Revelation 11:19-12:17
Exegetes believe that the unit, Revelation 11:19 through
12:17, is central to the Book of Revelation. Relating the ap-
pearance of the ark of the covenant in the heavenly temple of
God with the sign of the woman unites the flfst part of the Book
of Revelation with the second, but also points to the unity of
God's revelation from the first to the second covenant. This ark
indicates the unity of God's revelation: the covenant of Exo-
dus for the flfst testament, the woman as church for the second
testament. In a secondary application, the ark is a parallel
symbol relating to the woman who, in the Catholic tradition, is
Mary, theMotheroftheMessiah. Thereisnodoubtthat,in 12:1,
the sign is explained by the "woman." Grammatically, "woman"
is in apposition to the word semeion (sign).
The Book of Revelation uses over 400 allusions to the He-
brew Scriptures (Old Testament) in its 404lines. In chapter 12,
two texts are certainly intended, Isaiah 66:7 and Psalm 2:9. The
latter citation is to a messianic psalm and is cited or recalled
from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text.

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Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 109

The first section of our study (Rev. 11: 19-12:6) is a unified peri-
cope. ThesceneabruptlychangeswithRevelation 12:7-12, which
is a second stage in the conflict-a battle in the heavens between
Michael and the dragon. In the third stage of the conflict (Rev. 12:
13-17), the dragon pursues the woman and her offspring.
The text of Revelation 11:19-12:17 is one of three sub-texts
(also including 12:18-13:18 and 14:1-20) which are framed by
the narrative of the seventh trumpet (11:15-18) and the seven
bowls (15:1-16:21). It is within the central section of the Book
of Revelation and within the context of the war scroll which
follows the scroll to the churches (chapters 2-3) and the wor-
ship scroll (chapters 4-11). We are not in the heavens nor to-
tally in the present situation of the seven churches. Rather the
visionary author takes us back to the beginning of the conflict
between God's people and the power of the dragon (Satan).
Throughout this section, the historical present tense is used,
giving a flashback to the origin of the conflict between the
woman and the dragon (12:1-6) and that between Michael and
the dragon (12:7-21). Even though this section is easily seen as
distinct from the woman and dragon and the ensuing con-
cluding section of 12:13-17, it has an important role in narrat-
ing the original status and fall of the devil. Only upon his being
driven down to the earth does he continue in the conflict be-
tween the woman and her offspring. In a sense, this scene
(12:7-12) precedes the scene of the serpent and the woman in
the Genesis account (Gen. 3:1-16).
Revelation 11:19 serves as an introduction to the three sec-
tions within chapter twelve. (In the liturgy for the Feast of the
Assumption, the reading commences at 11:19, leading the
reader to compare the woman with the ark of the covenant, and
indicating a relation between the flrst covenant with that of the
second covenant.) Both the literary and theological reflection
support the importance of 11:19 as an introduction. The latter
theological insight is also presented in Isaiah 66:6-7, which is
one of the abundant allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures:

Listen, an uproar from the city!

A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
dealing retribution to his enemies!

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110 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

Before she was in labor she gave birth;

before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.

The messianic note in this introduction confirms the unity

11:19 has with 12:1-6, where a male child is born who fulfills the
prophecy of Psalm 2:9, a messianic passage. The messianic refer-
ences will lead the believer to see the child as Jesus, the messiah.
The woman, a universal symbol, which is flexible, can also be
seen as a Marian referent, for she alone is mother of the messiah
in the historical sense. Exegetes (mostly German and American)
are reluctant to see Mary as the woman. However, French ex-
egetes (like Ignace de La Potterie, Andre Feuillet, and E-M. Braun)
give the Marian interpretation as a necessary yet secondary one.
Exegetes who have commented on chapter 12 refer to it as
a combat myth in which God's power overcomes the power of
evil. Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek myths are chosen by
these exegetes to explain the symbolism and the conflict in the
Book of Revelation, particularly in chapter 12. I prefer to ex-
plain the symbolism through a dependence on the Hebrew
Scriptures and on the legends that surrounded this chapter
fromJudaism. The author John ofPatmos was a ChristianJew
and his primary source would have been the Hebrew Scrip-
tures which are alluded to in almost every sentence in this
book. His sole purpose was to invite everyone to worship the
one Lord of All (the Pantocrator). 1

1David E. Aune, in his Revelation 6-16 (Word Biblical Commentary, 52b;

Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1998), asks this question: "Is it reasonable to suppose that
the author would have used pagan traditions in addition to OT-:Jewish tradition in
the composition of Rev. 12, either directly or mediated through Hellenistic Judaism?"
(p. 670). He continues to refute the comparison of chapter 12 to the Python myth and
says, "The author has not used a coherent pagan myth: rather he has created a pas-
tiche of mythological motifs" (p. 672).
There are flaws in each separate comparison to the Greek combat myths, the
Egyptian, and the Greek texts. (See Aune, Rev.6-16, 670-674). Only at a few points
do we fmd similarities and these wane in comparison with what we know from the
biblical similarities and allusions present in the combat myth of chapter 12. The com-
parison of chapter 12 with the structure, function, and morphology of folk-tales is
more fortuitous, but this is weak in comparing the combat myth of chapter 12 with
the Hebrew Scriptures (Aune, Rev. 6-16, 674-676).

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A more plausible interpretation of the "ark of his covenant"

(11: 19) results if one turns to information supplied by the He-
brew Scriptures, wherein the ark is mentioned over one hun-
dred times. Revelation 11:19 is the only New Testament
reference to the ark of the covenant in heaven where it func-
tions as the archetype for the ark on earth.
There are over two dozen different interpretations of the
woman in Revelation 12. They eventually lead to two possible
images: the individual person of Mary of Nazareth, the Mother
of Jesus, and the collective image of the Church, which ap-
pears primary. From the earliest times, it was this image of the
Church which predominated the exegesis of the pastoral the-
ologians of the first five or six centuries. Mter Oecumenius of
the sixth century, the interpretation of the exegetes and the-
ologians chose Mary as the woman. St. Bonaventure was most
explicit among them, saying that in its literal meaning chapter
12 refers to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. A magnificent excursus
on this identification was captured in the seventeenth century
by Cornelius de Lapide who commented on almost every book
of the Bible and whom the Protestant scholars considered to
be the foremost interpreter. Using the best methods of inter-
pretation for his time, Lapide includes in his commentary on
chapter 12 a remarkable synthesis of what was said about the
woman prior to his writing (between 1620-1630 C.E.)
What I have assembled are the various opinions of scholars
from the initial interpretation to the contemporary. 2

1. Marian Interpretation
Prior to 300 A.D., there was a Marian interpretation. This is
known indirectly from St. Methodius (died around 312) who
opposed such an interpretation, arguing that the male child
was not Christ in person, but the children of the Church, and
consequently the woman was the Church.3 Likewise, Andrew
of Caesarea (6th-to-7th century) also notes that some authors

2 See "Select Bibliography" (at end here) for information on the major sources used

in preparing this paper.

3Bernard]. Le Frois, Woman Clothed with the Sun (Ap.12):lndividual or Collec-
tive? (An Exegetical Study) (Roma: Orbis Catholicus, 1954), 17, 19.

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112 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

before Methodius saw the woman as the Blessed Virgin Mary

giving birth to her son. He then gives Methodius' reasons
against such a view, namely, that 1) they did not understand
well the virgin-birth of Christ, and 2) the birth of Christ is past,
but Revelation refers to the future. Andrew then goes on to in-
terpret the woman as the Church. 4
Among the earliest commentators who see Mary as the fasci-
nating woman of the Book of Revelation are Cassiodorus (who
says the woman is the "Mother ofJesus") and Oecumenius (who
is the clearest early witness to such an interpretation) and then
Pseudo-Epiphanius. Earlier, Clement of Alexandria had identi-
fied Mary with the Virgin Church, but he was not commenting
on the Book of Revelation. In Irenaeus of Lyon there is an ex-
plicit identification of Mary as the New Eve. This may be de-
duced from Genesis 3:15, a text that is implicit in Revelation 12.
Contemporary scholars who see the woman as Mary do
so by saying it is a secondary referent. They are Jean-Louis
D'Aragon, S.].;JohnJ. Scullion, S.J.; Max:Thurian;Jean-Franc;ois
Bonnefoy; Josef Dillersberger; John McHugh; Ignace de La Pot-
terie; Andre Feuillet. David Aune, the most recent exegete who
has interpreted Revelation, affrrms there is a reference to Mary
in Revelation 12. (The apostolic constitution Munificentis-
simus Deus [1950] states that the Virgin Mary is signified in
various figures of the Old Testament but also in the woman
clothed with the sun [Rev. 12: 1] .)

2. Mary/Church Symbolism
There are several commentators who link Mary so closely
with the Church that the two appear as one symbol. The
"woman" of Revelation 12 could represent a) the Church with
the features of Mary; b) Mary as archetype of the Church; c) or
one figure of the woman as Mary and Church. These interpre-
tations have the advantage of maintaining the fluidity, plastic-
ity and, even, ambiguity of a symbolic word such as "woman."
The author of Revelation uses such ambivalent symbols
throughout his work, sometimes helping the reader to under-
stand who or what is meant (e.g., the names of the dragon-

4Le Frois, Woman Clothed with the Sun, 29-30.

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 Buby: Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 113

serpent, Satan, the devil-or the numerical symbols which

may indicate a person-666 for Nero Caesar). Thus, the sym-
bol of the woman could include both Mary and the Church
seen as one.5

3. The Woman, Symbol of Victory

John J. Scullion offers this interpretation of a collective fig-
ure giving us the Messiah who assures us of victory.

4. The Woman as Eve

David Barr presents the woman as a "complex symbol," then
mentions the possibility of Eve. John Scullion offers many in-
terpretations of the woman, including Eve. Implicit in this in-
terpretation is a reference to Genesis 3:15.

5. The Woman as a Faithful Community

Patrick Sena sees an image of a community of believers in
Revelation 12; PaulS. Minear sees the Messianic community as
"the woman"; Josephine Massyngberde Ford says the woman
is a priestly and prophetic community.

6. The Woman as the People of God

This designation combines the Kabat Yahweh (Assembly of
God) of the Old Testament with the New Testament's People
of God. Under this classification we see the community of
"the righteous," which would include patriarchs and prophets
(Old Testament) then apostles and martyrs (New Testament).
Wilfrid J. Harrington prefers the Old Testament as People of
God; Patrick Sena includes both Old and New Testaments. For
John Scullion, the Kahal Adonai or Yahweh becomes the Ec-
clesia; for Ignace de La Potterie, the People of God give birth
to the Messiah.

5In listing those who have used the above representations, I find the following:
St. Augustine, Quodvultdeus, Ambrose-Autpert, Alcuin, Albert the Great; John Scullion
and Ignace de La Potterie. Quodvultdeus presents a unified symbol of Mary and
Church; Albert the Great sees the Church and the Virgin Mary as a figure of the
Church; Scullion sees Mary as a type of the Church; and La Potterie views Mary as Ar-
chetype of the Church.

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114 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

7. The Woman as the Remnant of the Old Testament

Josephine Massyngberde Ford favors this interpretation,
through her idea of the woman being also a priestly and
prophetic entity (cf. 1QH3 of the Dead Sea Scrolls).

8. Zion
The symbolism of Zion is another resemblance of the woman
of Revelation 12. Both the Old Testament references and the
implied references of the New Testament are cited by the theolo-
gians and exegetes. Among those who refer to Zion are St. Au-
gustine, Elisabeth Schussler Firenza, ]. Massyngberde Ford, and
]. Scullion (stating that the woman is the ideal Zion), Raymond E.
Brown and Ignace de La Potterie (who hold that the Zion of the
Old Testament becomes the Zion of the New Testament), and
Max Thurian (who claims that the Daughter of Zion is Mary).

9. Jerusalem
This title is closely related to the preceding one. There are
internal literary reasons uniting the woman with the bride de-
scending as the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 12:1, 10; Rev. 22).
Among those who see such a relationship are St. Methodius,
St. Jerome, Adela Yarbro Collins (the heavenly Jerusalem), J.-L.
D'Aragon, and R. E. Brown (the new Jerusalem).

10. Israel
H. G. Swete sees the woman as the ideal Israel. A. Yarbro
Collins sees a relationship between the woman as Church and
Israel as a heavenly Israel.]. Massyngberde Ford, D. Barr, J.-L.
D'Aragon, I. de La Potterie, and R. E. Brown are among those
who see Israel as a possible meaning for the symbol of the
woman. Brown refers to Genesis 37:9 for such an interpretation.

Ecclesial Interpretations
The next sequence of interpretations and commentators fa-
vors the ecclesial meaning of the woman. There are variations
in how the Church is understood or the conditions in which
the Church exists. Since this identification of the woman with
the Church is found in the majority of interpreters, it probably
was the original intention of John of Patmos to identify the

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 Buby: Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 115

woman with the Church, especially in the light of chapters 2

and 3 of Revelation.

11. The Church As the Primitive Apostolic Community

This interpretation is suggested by Hippolytus. Jean-Louis
D'Aragon also offers such a possible interpretation and, simi-
larly, so does John Pilch.

12. The Church of the Messianic Age

Only Elisabeth Schussler Firenza and PaulS. Minear describe
the woman as the Messianic community. Information from
the Dead Sea Scrolls may have led to such a conclusion
(IQH3:7-12).

13. The Ancient Church

Both Victorinus and St. Jerome used this interpretation for
the woman of Revelation. Perhaps this is close to those who
identify her with the primitive or apostolic church.

14. Church Militant on Earth

Primasius, using Tychonius' fourth rule, interprets the
woman in Revelation as the Church militant here on earth.

15. The Oppressed Church (ecclesia pressa)

One of the ftrst interpreters of Revelation 12 sees the Church
as oppressed. Wilfrid]. Harrington, in one of the most recent
commentaries on Revelation, has a similar interpretation.

16. The Christian Church (Church Universal)

Under this interpretation, there is a considerable tradition
starting with Tyconius, and moving then to Pseudo-Augustine,
Primasius, Gregory the Great, Paterius, Alulfus, Andrew of Cae-
sarea, and Venerable Bede. Their view is in harmony with the
revelation given to John of Patmos for the seven churches
(mentioned in chapters 2 and 3).

17. Heavenly Church

Jean-Louis D'Aragon sees a collective personality in the sym-
bol of the woman and identifies it as the heavenly Church.

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116 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

18. The Church ofthe Latter Days

Pseudo-Augustine identifies the woman as the Church of the
fmal days.

19. Church as City of God

St. Augustine, in addition to other interpretations, calls the
woman an image of the City of God.

Themes, Biblical Images, Notions

The next set of interpretations for the woman clothed with
the sun contains notions that are either thematic or symbolic;
often they embrace biblical images or concepts.

20. Light
The woman is identified as light personified. Here, we have
a Johannine theme. Josephine Massyngberde Ford identifies
the woman in Revelation 12 in this manner.

21. Wisdom
Adela Yarbo Collins identifies the symbol of the woman as
Wisdom personified. Her approach is similar to the use of this
same theme (Wisdom) in Marian liturgies.

22. Mysterious Mother

In his recent introduction to the New Testament, Vincent
Branick identifies the woman as a "mysterious mother."

23. The Mother of the Messiah (Not·Mary!)

Paul S. Minear identifies the woman as the mother of the
Messiah, but she is not Mary of Nazareth!

24. The Bride of the Heavenly Jerusalem

Here, the woman of Revelation 12 is paralleled and identi-
fied with the bride in chapters 20 and 22 of Revelation. Among
those identifying her as the bride are Wilfrid]. Harrington, Ray-
mond E. Brown ("Bride of Christ," but debatably), and Ignace
de La Potterie (Mother and Bride, Bride of the Lamb, Victori-
ous Bride: Rev. 19-22).

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25. Holy Spirit

Only Simone Weil identifies Mary with the Holy Spirit, who
is seen by many feminist exegetes and theologians as a femi-
nine person of the Trinity.

26. Spouse of God

Only Adela Yarbro Collins identifies the woman of Revela-
tion 12 as the Spouse of God.

27. The Heavenly Queen

The woman is said to be the constellation of Virgo in con-
flict with the Draco or the Hydra constellation. She then be-
comes the Queen of Heaven (Wilfrid ]. Harrington and
Elisabeth Schussler Firenza). Ignace de La Potterie sees a heav-
enly image reflected in Genesis 3:15. Tina Pippin sees the
woman as the queen and goddess of heavenly cults.

28. Mother-Goddess
Influenced by the comparative study of religions, several
scholars see similarities between the woman and the mother-
goddess. R. H. (Robert Henry) Charles sees the symbol of the
woman having as its source a primitive international myth,
wherein the woman giving birth to a divine child is pursued
by a primeval water monster. Adela Yarbo Collins calls her a
high goddess and uses the myth of Leto and Zeus to explain
who the woman is.
We have seen how the symbol of the ark of the covenant in
the heavenly realm is surrounded by a magnificent theophany
of God's power in nature. The scene of the woman clothed
with the sun is the sign of God's overwhelming love and pro-
tection of the woman as Church or as Mary, the mother of
God's son. Only Albert the Great connects the ark of the
covenant with Mary in Revelation 11:18, thus leading us into a
Marian interpretation of the woman. 6

6AJbertus Magnus, Opera omnia . .. (38 vols.; Paris: Ludovicum Vives,

1890-1899), 37:186.

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118 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

New Developments in Marian Theology

In presenting these multiple interpretations of the great sign

of the woman clothed with the sun, we may ask whether there
are any new developments in Marian theology which issue
from the research.
First, from the exegetical research there are several discov-
eries applicable to Marian theology. David Aune identifies the
protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15) as one of the texts behind chap-
ter 12 of Revelation: "Revelation 12:9 provides the only ex-
plicit biblical identification of Satan with the serpent who
tempted Eve in Gen. 3:1-7. However, such an identification
may be presupposed in several other NT passages, such as in
Rom. 16:20, if the phrase 'crush Satan under your feet' alludes
to the 'protoevangelium' of Genesis 3:15 and perhaps also in
Luke 10:19, which links the fall of Satan (seen by Jesus in the
vision reported in 10:19) with the ability to tread on serpents
(and scorpions)."7
David E. Aune reaches the conclusion that, by using aliases
for Satan, John of Patmos is consciously attempting to expose
the real role of this antagonist of God throughout cosmic and
human history. Theologians can develop stronger biblical evi-
dence for the role of the woman's seed in the history of salva-
tion. The tradition which develops Mary as a New Eve would
also be enhanced by showing she has a place in such a soteri-
ological interpretation. a Aune holds that Genesis 3:15 is "a pas-
sage understood in some circles of early Judaism and by early
Christians to refer to the birth of the Messiah."9
In the book of Revelation there is a reference to the serpent
within a definite Christological and ecclesiological symbolism.

'Aune, Rev. 6-16, 697.

BAune's research is better than the thin exegetical remark of the New jerome Bib-
lical Commentary on Genesis 3:15. This biblical commentary reads: "The snake is
cursed, condemned to crawl on its belly, eat dirt, and be forever the enemy of the
woman whom he deceived and of her offspring. He shall strike your head: 'He' refers
to offspring, which is masc. in Hebrew. Christian tradition has sometimes referred it
to Christ, but the literal reference is to the human descendants of Eve, who will regard
snakes as enemies" (New jerome Biblical Commentary, p.12).
9Aune, Rev. 6-16, 708.

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Genesis 3:15 is echoed in Revelation 12.9 which identifies the

serpent with the devil or Satan. Other significant verses for
consideration in Revelation are 12:4, 5, 12, 15, 16, 17. The Tar-
gum of Genesis 3:15 reads:

I will place enmities between thee and the woman, between the de-
scendants of your children and her children, and it will come about that
when the woman's children observe the precepts of the Torah, they will
take aim and crush your head. Whenever, however, they forget the pre-
cepts of the Torah, you will be the one who lays the snares and bites their
heels. Nevertheless, there is a remedy for them, while for you there is
none. They will fmd a remedy (or cure) for the heel in the time of the
Messiah. 10

In his commentary on John, Raymond E. Brown says:

By way of summary, then, we may say that the ]ohannine picture ofJesus'
mother becoming the mother of the Beloved Disciple seems to evoke the
O.T. themes of Lady Zion's giving birth to a new people in the messianic
age, and of Eve and her offspring. This imagery flows over into the im-
agery of the Church who brings forth children modeled after Jesus and
the relationship ofloving care that must bind the children to their mother.
We do not wish to press the details of this symbolism or to pretend that
it is without obscurity. But there are enough confirmations to give rea-
sonable assurance that we are on the right track. It

Fr. Brown also develops the relationship between Genesis 3:15

and Revelation 12, both in his commentary on John and in his
Death of the Messiah, where he links Genesis 3:15 with the
scene at the foot of the Cross. Brown is not in agreement with
a purely symbolic interpretation of this passage. 12
Another text which may influence the Book of Revelation is
Isaiah 7:14. David Aune cites this text three times in his com-
mentary on chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. In 12:1, it is

HYfhis text is found in a recension of the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan which is sub-

stantially the same in the foundational codices and fragments of Neofiti Targum.
II The GospelAccording to john, Introd., trans!., and notes by R. E. Brown (2 vols.;

The Anchor Bible; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966-70), 2:926.

12See Brown, Death of the Messiah, 2:1021-1026.

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120 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

the word "sign" (semeion) which occurs three times in Reve-

lation (12:1,3; 15:1). Aune cites the passage from the Septu-
agint and sees it as having a connection with Isaiah 66:6-7,
which also may be a source for the passage concerning the
woman. Aune states "Although it is clear that John has incor-
porated an originally Greek myth (perhaps as mediated by Hel-
lenistic Judaism) into his narrative in 12:4b-6, 13-18, he uses
this earlier, older material allegorically, perhaps as an inter-
pretatio Iudaica or interpretatio Christiana. John, however,
is not concerned to interpret explicitly any of the figures or
actions in the drama (unlike, for example, his procedure in
Rev. 17), with the single exception that he wants the reader to
know who the dragon is and therefore lists his many aliases,
which include Satan and the Devil (v 9; cf. v 12). While it is
not a close parallel to Revelation 12:1-4a, there are some im-
portant similarities in the Star Hymn quoted by Ignatius
(Eph.19: 1-3), with its sidereal imagery; an incomparably bright
star (=Christ) astonishes the other stars along with the sun
and the moon (see the astral imagery in the Joseph story in
Gen 37:9-11. 13
"She was pregnant and cried out in labor, in the throes of
childbirth" (Rev. 12:2) is similar to the wording in Isaiah 7:14
and Isaiah 66:7 which use the metaphor of Israel bearing a
male child to indicate the arrival of the period of salvation. 14
The concept of "birth pangs" of the woman is associated with
the birth pangs of the Messiah, "a well-known eschatological
motif for the trials and tribulations that are expected to pre-
cede the time of the end." Here Aune has an important obser-
vation: "If the woman of 12:1 represents Israel, the problem is
that there is no O.T. passage that personifies Israel as a mother
and also speaks of her bearing a child Messiah; according to
Hedrick, 'there is no precedent for John's description of a per-
sonified Israel as giving birth to the Messiah.'"15
Might the theologian develop the notion of the Woman be-
ing the mother of the Messiah as an individual person such as

t3Aune, Rev. 6-16, 679-680.

t4Aune, Rev. 6-16, 682.
t5Aune, Rev. 6-16, 688.

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Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 121

Mary, the mother of Jesus? One would think so, if we are fol-
lowing the exegetical explanation of Aune. There is evidence
that Isaiah 66:6-7 is both verbally and structurally similar to
Revelation 11:19-12:5a. 16(There is evidence thatlsaiah66:6-7
has been interpreted messianically in Judaism [Gen. Rab. 38:1;
Lev. Rab. 12:2; Tg Isaiah 66:7]. The early church likewise in-
terpreted it messianically Uustin, Dial. 85:8-9; Ps.-Epiphanius,
Test. 11; Methodius, Sym. etAnn. 3; Symp. 7].)
This passage, as we have seen, also has connection with Isa-
iah 7:14. There is a similarity to a passage in the Dead Sea
Scrolls that has been printed out by several exegetes (cf
1QH3:7-12):

... [and] like a woman in travail with her flrst-born child, upon whose
belly pangs have come and grievous pains, filling with anguish her
child-bearing crucible. For the children have come to the throes of
Death and she labours in her pains who bears a man, For amid the
throes of Death she shall bring forth a man-child, and amid the pains of
Hell there shall spring from her child-bearing crucible a marvellous
Mighty Counsellor. And a man shall be delivered from out of the throes.
When he is conceived, all wombs shall quicken, and the time of their
delivery shall be in grievous pains; they shall be appalled who are with
child. And when he is brought forth every pang shall come upon the
child·bearing crucible.

David Aune mentions that the phrase in Revelation 12:5 "she

bore a male" is an allusion to Isaiah 66:7. He also marks it note-
worthy that Isaiah 66:8 speaks of Zion as delivering children.
Here again Marian scholars would note the title Zion in rela-
tionship to Mary.
These observations are exegetical. They offer the Marian the-
ologian an opportunity to develop the relationship between
Eve and Mary as well as Mary's relationship to the Messiah. It is
important that we remember the principle, "Scripture is the
soul of Marian theology" and that sound mariology always links
the person of Mary, whether seen as woman, virgin, or mother,
to her son.

16Aune, Rev. 6-16, 662.

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122 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

History of the Tradition in the Interpretation

of the Woman in Rev. 12

This theme has been traced carefully in two doctoral dis-

sertations that were published during the past ftfty years. The
ft.rst was that of Bernard Le Frois entitled "The Woman Clothed
with the Sun: Individual or Collective (An Exegetical Study),"
published in 1954. Father Le Frois also contributed to Marian
Studies in 1958 with a paper entitled "The Mary-Church Rela-
tionship in the Apocalypse" (MS 9 [1958]:79-106). Pierre Pri-
gent updated and interpreted the same data in a different
manner. Prigent's work, Apocalypse 12: Histoire de l'exegese,
was published in 1959 and developed the history more com-
pletely for the years prior to and after the Reformation.
The best one-volume commentary for summarizing the
question in a reader-friendly way is that by John]. Scullion, S.].,
"Revelation (The Apocalypse)," in A New Catholic Commen-
tary on Holy Scripture (rev. 1975; pp. 1277-1288). These stud-
ies provided me with the information needed to trace many of
the interpretations given to the symbolic woman of Revelation
12. Other scholars who touched upon the development of a
tradition of interpretations relied on these two works.
In my own research, I added the remarkable commentary of
Cornelius de Lapide who, through his interpretation of the ear-
lier theologians, saints, and exegetes, made this research come
alive through his clarity of explanation and his familiarity with
the earlier interpreters. Lapide emphasized those which had a
Marian dimension without neglecting the ecclesial interpreta-
tions. In all honesty, Lapide was well ahead of his time in exe-
gesis and methodology for the Scriptures.

Issues for the Millennium

The prophetic and eschatological sections of the Book of

Revelation may be cited as the source for many of the predic-
tions that abound as we enter the new millennium. This is a
perennial problem with the Revelation. The basic call to be-
lievers given in this book is the call to "worship God alone." The

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Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 123

heart of the message, therefore, is to make sure that readers and

listeners understand that message. The call to conversion is
strong in the letters to the seven churches, which comprise a
call to put God above all cultures and attractions in this world.
Revelation is a liturgical celebration of the Almighty One, the
Pantocrator. By emphasizing the praises, prayers, and doxolo-
gies of the Apocalypse, we can better understand the teaching
of the Communion of Saints and the meaning of the Paschal
Mysteries. These mysteries are also at the center of this re-
markable Scripture. Revelation is a book that could foster our
appreciation of the unity of God's plan. Scholars have been
strongly opposed to any form of predicting world events of a
cataclysmic nature from this book. The book of Revelation is
not a book of doom, when read in its proper social location and
its own historical setting. The prophetic and eschatological
sections are to be read within the context of the entire book
which emphasizes reading the signs of the times in the light of
true worship of God as our top priority. Since James Nelson
Darby started to predict the end of the world from this book,
and kept changing his predictions when the end did not occur,
solid scholarship would indicate that this book should not be
used for predicting the future in specific world events. No pre-
diction based on such premises has ever come true since]. N.
Darby's time, and the same holds true for predictions made at
times of crisis in the early centuries or the middle ages.
Raymond E. Brown saw this misuse as the "number one" is-
sue for the Book of Revelation, that is, using it as a source of
predictions concerning the future. He pointed out that such
predictions turn readers away from seeing the book's genuine
value. Brown made this balanced remark: "God has not re-
vealed to human beings details about how the world began or
how the world will end, and, failing to recognize that, one is
likely to misread both the first book and the last book in the
Bible. The author of Revelation did not know how or when the
world will end and neither does anyone else."l7

17Brown, Introduction to the NT, 809-810.

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124 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

Concluding Observations

The fascinating symbol of the woman of Revelation 12 offers

the challenge of discovering who she is-a symbol, a mytho-
logical echo, a constellation, an historical person (Mary). This
challenge is a worthwhile endeavor. Moreover, since the Scrip-
tures are the heart and soul of Marian theology, we need to
keep the rich resources of biblical scholars alive and at work in
our theologizing about Mary. In addition to exegesis, we inter-
pret in the light of the Church's teaching. We present a portrait
of Mary as woman of faith, a faithful disciple, and, of course, as
the mother of]esus. Though the scriptural references to her are
relatively few, they are like a precious treasure hidden in the
field of the New Testament.
Prior to Vatican II, Alois Milller helped us to understand
Mary as the archetype of the Church. If Mary is understood as
the archetype of the Church, insofar as in her person the mys-
tery of the Church achieves its incarnational fulfillment, we
have a context for continuing the interpretations given to the
fascinating woman of Revelation 12. Milller summarizes the is-
sues in interpreting:

It is insufficient to say: The Woman is Mary, for she is presented also as

the type of the Church. It is insufficient to say: the Woman is the Church:
for her features have been borrowed from Mary's portrait; she is the im-
age of Mary. In these two cases the Woman would be playing two differ-
ent roles: in one she is herself; in the other, she plays the role of another.
But this does not represent the truth of the matter, for there is only one
role that is played, the bringing forth of Christ: both in its pristine his-
torical reality and its ultimate full-flowering in the history of the world.
And this is why the Woman is only one Woman: the Mother of Christ in
his primary historical reality and in his ultimate completion in the history
of the world.

Milller concludes: "Mary is the perfect [realization of the]

Church; the mystery of the Church is, in essence, the mystery
ofMary." 18

18Alois Milller, Ecclesia-Maria (2. iiberarb. Auf!; Fribourg, 1955), 234, 239.

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Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12 125

Select Bibliography

Aune, David E. Revelation 6-16. Word Biblical Commentary 52b. Nashville,

TN: Nelson, 1998 (esp. pp. 647-722).
Barr, David L. Tales of the End: A Narrative Commentary on the Book of
Revelation. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge, 1998 (esp. pp. 123-126).
Branick, Vincent P. Understanding the New Testament and its Message.
New York: Paulist, 1998 (esp. pp. 356-376).
Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York, NY:
Doubleday, 1997 (esp. pp. 790-792).
Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols. New York, NY: Dou-
bleday, 1994 (esp. 2:1021-1026).
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126 Fascinating Woman of Rev. 12

Mollat, Donatien. Une lecture pour aujourd'hui !'Apocalypse. Lire Ia Bible,

v. 58. Paris: Cerf, 1982 (esp. pp.109-119).
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