The Aramaic form occurs in a Nabatean inscription found at Puteoli, and now in the Naples Museum; it is dated AD 5 (Corpus Inscr.

The two sisters are contrasted: Martha was "encumbered about many things" while Jesus was their guest, while Mary had chosen "the better part", that of listening to the master's discourse.

Biblical commentator Heinrich Meyer notes that "Jesus cannot yet be in Bethany,[4][5] where Martha and Mary dwelt [according to John's Gospel]".

As one commentator notes, "Martha, the more aggressive sister, went to meet Jesus, while quiet and contemplative Mary stayed home.

Martha here objects, "But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days", to which Jesus replies, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?".

Martha appears again in John 12:1–8, where she serves at a meal held in Jesus' honor at which her brother is also a guest.

"[2] It is at this meal that a woman (Martha's sister Mary, according to John) anoints Jesus with expensive perfume.

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).

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.

"[2]In Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, though not specifically named as such in the gospels, Martha and Mary were among the Myrrh-bearing Women.

The Myrrhbearers became the first witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus, finding the empty tomb and hearing the joyful news from an angel.

Through time, as the reverence for St. Martha developed, the images of maturity, strength, common sense, and concern for others predominated.

[18] The Latin Church celebrates the feast day of Martha, Mary of Bethany and their brother Lazarus on 29 July.

The Golden Legend, compiled in the 13th century, records the Provençal tradition: Saint Martha, hostess of our Lord Jesus Christ, was born of a royal kindred.

It is nowhere read that Martha had ever any husband nor fellowship of man, but she as a noble hostess ministered and served our Lord, and would also that her sister should serve him and help her, for she thought that all the world was not sufficient to serve such a guest.After the ascension of our Lord, when the disciples were departed, she with her brother Lazarus and her sister Mary, also Saint Maximin [actually a 3rd-century figure] which baptized them, and to whom they were committed of the Holy Ghost, and many others, were put into a ship without sail, oars, or rudder governail, of the paynims, which by the conduct of our Lord they came all to Marseille, and after came to the territory of Aquense or Aix, and there converted the people to the faith.

And when Mary gave herself to all delights of the body, and Lazarus entended all to knighthood, Martha, which was wise, governed nobly her brother's part and also her sister's, and also her own, and administered to knights, and her servants, and to poor men, such necessities as they needed.

[24]A further legend relates that Martha then went to Tarascon, France, where a monster, the Tarasque, was a constant threat to the population.

The Golden Legend describes it as a beast from Galatia; a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side, head like a lion, tail like a serpent, that dwelt in a certain wood between Arles and Avignon.

It is the work of Francesco Laurana, a Croatian sculptor of the Italian School, commissioned by King René.

The 250-year-old festival commemorates the attack on Villajoyosa by Berber pirates led by Zalé-Arraez in 1538, when, according to legend, St. Martha came to the rescue of the townsfolk by causing a flash flood which wiped out the enemy fleet, thus preventing the corsairs from reaching the coast.

[28] The subject of Martha is mostly found in art from the Counter-Reformation onwards, especially in the 17th century, when the domestic setting is usually given a realistic depiction.

Typically, Mary, the elder sister, is preparing or serving food, while Martha is listening to Christ.