As Mary "of" Magdala, the early Church writers felt she and her role in Jesus' story was important and being a "man's world" (as it still is) downgraded her importance by naming her a prostitute rather than the widow of a wealthy businessman in Magdala who showed her devotion to Jesus' message by helping support the Apostles with the wealth she inherited. And no mere "woman" could have done such good things for Jesus and the Apostles and others who followed his teachings so she must have been a whore., so 2nd-century scribes (male, I might add) tried to write her out but merely degraded her importance of her role in the story of Jesus. Just as is being done today- women are still second-class citizens and, to some Fundamentalists. still owned by their fathers until they marry, and the husband takes "title" might be a good word for it, and a woman's place, to them, is to have as many children as possible to carry forward their backward beliefs. But people live the way they want to live, and I have no issue with women who want to be mothers rather than career women. Both are needed in the modern world, and both lifestyle choices are deserving of respect. When I attended a Baptist church as a child, "Magdalene" meant one thing only- a "whore", although it typically wasn't said as explicitly, the point was made clear.

The stories in the Hebrew scriptures feature strong, unorthodox women have a key role in a story or stories, Racheal, Leah, Ruth, the judge Deborah, who some think first collected the books ca. 1,000 BCE to add to the Torah and the NT brought in Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary, widow from the fishing village/town who ministered to Jesus...

Thanks for a good read, Johnathon, and as usual, well-researchearcged.