From the Catholic Encyclopedia
Mentioned only in Luke 10:38-42; and John 11, 12,
sqq. The Aramaic form occurs in a Nabatfan inscription
found at Puteoli, and now in the Naples Museum; it is
dated A.D. 5 (Corpus Inscr. Semit., 158); also in a
Palmyrene inscription, where the Greek translation has
the form Marthein,
1st c., Model of hospitality and faithful disciple;
confessed her faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
Patroness of housewives, waiter, and waitresses.
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are represented by St.
John as living at Bethania, but St. Luke would seem to
imply that they were, at least at one time, living in
Galilee; he does not mention the name of the town, but it
may have been Magdala, and we should thus, supposing
Mary of Bethania and Mary Magdalene to be the same
person, understand the appellative "Magdalene". The
words of St. John (11:1) seem to imply a change of
residence for the family. It is possible, too, that St. Luke
has displaced the incident referred to in Chapter 10.
The likeness between the pictures of Martha presented
by Luke and John is very remarkable. The familiar
intercourse between the Saviour of the world and the
humble family which St. Luke depicts is dwelt on by St.
John when he tells us that "Jesus loved Martha and her
sister Mary, and Lazarus" (11:5). Again the picture of
Martha's anxiety (John 11:20-21, 39) accords with the
picture of her who was "busy about much serving" (Luke
10:40); so also in John 12:2: "They made him a supper
there: and Martha served."
St. John has given us a glimpse of the other and deeper
side of her character when he depicts her growing faith in
Christ's Divinity (11:20-27), a faith which was the occasion
of the words: "I am the resurrection and the life." The
Evangelist has beautifully indicated the change that came
over Martha after that interview: "When she had said these
things, she went and called her sister Mary secretly,
saying: The Master is come, and calleth for thee."
Difficulties have been raised about the last supper at
Bethania. St. John seems to put it six days before the
Pasch, and, so some conclude, in the house of Martha;
while the Synoptic account puts it two days before the
Pasch, and in the house of Simon the Leper. We need not
try to avoid this difficulty by asserting that there were two
suppers; for St. John does not say that the supper took
place six days before, but only that Christ arrived in
Bethania six days before the Pasch; nor does he say that it
was in the house of Martha. We are surely justified in
arguing that, since St. Matthew and St. Mark place the
scene in the house of Simon, St. John must be understood
to say the same; it remains to be proved that Martha could
not "serve" in Simon's house.