Joseph, a descendant of David and husband of Mary, obeyed the angel's dream instructions to take Mary as his wife, to flee with the child Jesus into Egypt, and later to return to Israel; he served as the legal father and guardian of Jesus on earth.
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Joseph was a descendant of David, betrothed to Mary in Nazareth. When he discovered that Mary was pregnant before they had come together, and was planning to put her away privately—which under Jewish law required a formal bill of divorcement—an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, addressing him as "Joseph, thou son of David," and told him not to fear to take Mary as his wife, because what was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. He obeyed this word and accepted the responsibility of husband and father. After the birth of Jesus, an angel of the Lord again appeared to Joseph in a dream, warning that Herod would seek the young child to destroy him, and commanding him to arise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt until further word. Joseph rose, took the family, and fled as the angel had directed. After Herod's death, following the angel's further guidance in a dream, Joseph brought them back to the land of Israel and settled in Nazareth, fulfilling the word that he would be called a Nazarene. Joseph does not appear in the record of Jesus' public ministry, yet his role in the genealogy, legal fatherhood, and early protection of the child was integral to the divine plan. As the heir of David's line, he secured for Jesus a recognized father and lineage under the law; as an obedient righteous man, he acted promptly on each revelation given in dreams.