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countsmoon · 1 year

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a cake for the victor

lucerys velaryon x reader

Summary: lucerys is known to many, but few know his affinity for sweetness. worn out after training with jacaerys, he gets the best reward: his beloved and cake.

Warnings: mentions of food and spraying someone with crumbs + a tiny sprinkle of aemond slander in u squint

Psst: how tf do u write lucerys plural or possessive??? Just lucerys?? lucerys’ wtf– also definitely not projecting my love for cheesecake onto my bb boy. Btw if you see typos just know im crying inside abt them

Word count: 1.2k :00

The sun was bright upon Dragonstone, its heated rays casting a foggy aura around the island. Many wished to visit the sea and cool off or stay indoors to prevent the sunburns that the weather would cause. Alas, for the young princes, it was training day.

Metal clashed, tunics were nearly cut and loud shouts sounded from a small beach. Brown curls ducked as a sword slashed near, only to trip over a stone and fall back onto the sand. A grunt came from the boy, letting go of his sword out of surprise. “Oh gods, are you alright?” Jacaerys said, reaching for his brother. Lucerys, the boy now on his elbows covered in sand, waved his brother off, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Twas only a slip.”

His brother looked unconvinced, his brows raised in questioning. Lucerys only handed him his sword, “I think that's where I end our training today. This heat is getting to me.” It was true, every hour they spent in the blistering heat, Lucerys’ headache grew worse. It felt as though someone was throwing rocks at his head and would not stop.

Jacaerys picked up Lucerys sword, “I’ll meet you there, don't rush, okay?” He sounded like mother. “Yes, yes! Now bugger off!!” Lucerys waved him off yet again, this time more forceful and playfully. As he stood, he heard his brother yell as he walked home, “Don't get washed away!”

Lucerys sighed and laughed inwardly, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head. Brushing back his curls, he decided to go for a walk along the shoreline. The sound of the waves, he believed, would help soothe his headache.

x|x|X|x|x

Later that day, the sun decided to mellow its relentless heat. Clouds began to gather in the sky, bringing shade for people to enjoy. Lucerys still walked, enjoying the breeze the clouds brought. It was so serene, only the ocean beside him and the birds above made noise.

Looking up, Lucerys saw a gull above him. He smiled, wondering what it was like to be in the air constantly. Although he had Arrax and went flying every other day, he wondered what it would feel like to fly alone without assistance. He watched as the gull took a look at him and screeched, flying down into the ocean. Lucerys sighed and closed his eyes, breathing in the sea air.

“There you are!!”

A loud shout came from his right. Opening his eyes, he turned towards the voice, the wind blowing his hair into his eyes. Vaguely, he could see someone running towards him, their dress flowing as they held a basket in their hands. When you reached his side, you could only laugh at the sight.

“You look like a mop.”

It wasn't like you were wrong. His hair was curly, brown and all over his face. Lucerys pouted, finally managing to brush out his hair from his eyes. “You are so horrible.”

You only smiled, laughing under your breath. You held your arm out, indicating for him to lace his arm through the gap. Holding the basket in your other hand, Lucerys joined arms and walked with you.

Your breath hadn't returned to you fully yet, your lungs heaving still. You had ran to the kitchens as soon as Jacaerys had told you of Luke’s fall. Plucking treats the kitchen staff turned a blind eye to and stashing them away in a woven basket, you had hastily made your way to the beach to find your wandering love.

“Did you run to find me?” Lucerys asked, having picked up on the obvious fact that you were out of breath. You nodded, taking deep breaths. “Yes, I couldn't just let you wander the beach alone. So naturally, I had to follow.” Luke smiled at you, “Any other reason?”

“Well. Let's just say the Septa was a pain in my backside.” You giggled to yourselves, resting your heads together as you walked. Soon, the two of you chose to sit under the cliff, shade now resting underneath. Laying out the cloak you stole from one of the sleeping guards, you began to sieve through the basket.

“Now, you are very lucky Mr,” you twirled your finger in front of Lucerys face, ”I almost got caught taking this, so you better appreciate my hard work! Now, close your eyes!” Lucerys was puzzled, “This food is so grand I must close my eyes?” He chuckled. “Yes, do it before I pluck them out and make you look like your uncle.” That shut him up quickly and his eyes were closed.

Lucerys heard cloth unravel and felt a weight upon his lap. Furrowing his brows and smiling to himself, he thought of all the possible things you could have gifted him. Most thoughts were.. Quite strange. You tapped him, “Go on, open up!”

His brown eyes fluttered open, becoming wide as he stared at his lap. There before him lay a slice of cake. This wasn't just any cake, no no no. It was Lucerys favourite; Cheesecake. A smile quickly adorned his face as he moved the cheesecake off of him, placing his hands on your face and surging forwards, placing kiss after kiss on your cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, thank youuuu!!” He cried between kisses, his smile still wide. You giggled and swatted him, “As much as I love the attention, you best eat your cake before a gull steals it!”

Settling, he placed one last kiss on your forehead before picking up his cake, happily munching down and moaning at the taste. You watched him calmly, a smile graced your face too. You hadn't brought any food for yourself seeing as you had eaten before you began your marathon down the steps of the castle to find your beloved.

Lucerys saw this and wiped his mouth, “Where is your piece?” He asked, placing his hand over his mouth so he didn't spray you with crumbs. “Didn’t bring any apart from that.” You said blatantly. Lucerys looked gobsmacked, you bring him a cake and nothing for yourself?!

Making a sound of disagreement, he held the rest of the cake out to you, “Have it!!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“YES!!”

Before you could scream another ‘no’, Lucerys scoffed the rest of the cake before kissing you. It surprised you and caused you to fall back upon the sand, Lucerys now on top of you. You lay there for a few moments, hands holding each other's faces and chasing each other’s lips until you lost your breath. When you finally separated, you made a face of disdain as you said, “I want cake now.”

Lucerys laughed, his hands drawing circles on your cheeks, “My evil plan has worked!”

Shoving his chest playfully, you meekly asked, “Can we go see if there's any left?” Lucerys pulled you to your feet and began to shove the cake cloth and the knight's cloak into the basket, “We might have a chance to get the scraps if we run.” You both burst out laughing as you legged it back to the castle, holding hands tightly and praying Jacaerys hadn't scoffed it all.

#Lucerys looked gobsmacked #lucerys: <:O #lucerys velaryon x reader #lucerys targaryen x reader #lucerys velaryon #hotd x reader #hotd x y/n #house of the dragon x reader #house of the dragon #hotd #my fics :]

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heyyyharry · 3 years

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Happier

(inspired by happier by Olivia Rodrigo)

Word count: 2.4k

I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

Part 1: Drivers License

Part 2: Deja Vu

A/N: I edited the original lyrics to match the POV :)

Harry had come up with a thousand scenarios of how this day would play out. Actually, he’d been thinking of this day since the moment he’d received the news. He didn’t dare to hope that she’d say yes to coming back for a sequel. He’d been sure that they would write her character off, give a lame excuse for how his love interest could not make a return and make his character forget about her completely to move on with a new girl in town. It would have been great if it was that easy in real life. Once someone was written off the script, they were gone for good. Real-life relationships were not that simple. Goodbye didn’t mean ‘never see you again’. You would still share the same friend circle and social bubbles, and it was worse when you two worked in the same industry. Harry didn’t know how he’d lasted a year without running into her, not since the Grammys.

“Didn’t you two date?”

“No.” Harry shook his head, but his eyes stayed glued on Y/N from across the room. She wasn’t looking his way, too busy saying hello to everyone else. “No,” he repeated, more to himself than to his co-star. “We didn’t.”

“But she wrote an entire album about you,” said the other twin. What was her name again? Lulu?

“Luna!” cried her sister, Lex. “You can’t ask him that!”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry said with a tight smile, slightly annoyed by the blonde twins, but he didn’t want to seem like an ass on the first day of filming. “And I don’t know if it was for me. You should ask Y/N.”

“Ask me what?”

Harry flinched when he looked up and saw Y/N padding towards them. She hugged the twins, who seemed way too excited. Harry guessed they were Y/N’s fans. They gave off crazy fangirl vibes, probably just pretending not to know the drama to interrogate him. He couldn’t blame them for assuming he was the villain and definitely could not blame Y/N for portraying him as one. It was more important that he knew who he was and how much he had changed since his last relationship. Maybe they could finally be friends.

“Were they bothering you?” Y/N asked him once the twins had left.

Harry nodded. “They’re your friends?”

“Oh, I met them last year on tour. I’m surprised you don’t know them. They were on Disney.”

“I don’t watch Disney,” Harry admitted with a smile. “Well, not today’s Disney.”

“Understandable.” Y/N nodded and bit her lip. She seemed guarded with her straight back and hands hidden behind her. She eyed him up and down, quite subtle yet noticeable. “How have you been?”

“Pretty good,” he said, nodding slowly. “You?”

“Yeah, but mostly tired because of tour.”

“You’re done?”

“Yup, last night was the last show.”

“Nice.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Nice?”

Harry blinked. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Y/N giggled. “You still sound very...you.”

“Well, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah, you should. But it’s been a year so…I mean, you haven’t changed much.”

“Right,” he said lowly, his eyes falling to his feet. Harry supposed he should say something else, perhaps bringing up another random topic to discuss, but all he could think about was what had happened between them. Things had been messy, hadn’t they? How could they go back to before that? Before her first song about him. Before he’d chosen someone else over her.

Or he could talk about her new relationship. She’d been in a happy relationship for almost six months, right? No wait, hadn’t they broke up two weeks ago? He wasn’t sure because he hadn’t been catching up. If they’d broken up, he’d sound like an ass to even mention her ex’s name. He should just stay quiet.

“I’ll see you later?” she said, gesturing at her stylist who was waiting by the door.

Harry could ask her right now -- the reason she’d agreed to film the sequel to their first movie together. He’d heard from a very reliable source that she’d specifically asked her agent to decline any project that he was in. So did this mean they were good? That she didn’t hate him anymore? He could have gathered his courage and got the answer right then…

“Yeah, see you.”

...but he didn’t.

And so she gave him a smile and a little wave, then happily returned to her stylist.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N!”

“See you, Annie!” Y/N said as she put the rest of her things into her tote bag. Her new driver had got her schedule mixed up, and so she had to wait here for another half an hour. She was in no rush. It had been a light first day, and she’d had a fun time getting to know the new cast members and catching up with old friends.

She sat on the sofa in the lobby, legs crossed, texting her best friend about her day. She’d purposely left out the short off-screen conversation with Harry, and her best friend didn’t even bother to ask. In their world, he didn’t exist, and his name was censored in every conversation like a curse word that was even worse than ‘cunt’. Nevertheless, she didn’t hate him anymore. She was doing just fine on her own, being busy with her career, and she’d been in a happy relationship after her fall out with him.

She and the guy, a model, had broken up two weeks ago due to long distance and some differences that they could not change. They had ended on good terms and decided to stay friends. They said you could only stay friends with your ex when you still had feelings for each other, or you had never loved each other that much in the first place. For her, it was probably the latter. Her previous relationship had been more platonic than romantic, apparently. So she had nothing but the best to say about him.

As she was going through her camera roll, just reminiscing about the past, she heard footsteps approaching and looked up to find Harry. He offered a smile and gestured to the spot beside her on the sofa. “May I sit here? My ride is late.”

“Yeah, sure.” She hurriedly scooted over.

“Good job today,” he said. “You were great.”

“Thanks, so were you.” She smiled, and they both looked away at the same time. This was so awkward. She hated small talk. She’d never had to have small talk with Harry. Conversations with him used to be so easy and natural and silly. Whatever this was, it wasn’t them.

“Can we just be normal?”

At first, Y/N thought she’d been the one who’d said it, so when she realised it’d been Harry, she was speechless.

He swallowed and sat a bit straighter, still not looking at her. “I don’t want us to be weird and awkward.”

“Okay,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “Wanna try again?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, not to sound like an ass but when Joey kept forgetting his lines, I was so pissed off, I could throw a chair at the wall.”

“Right?!” exclaimed Y/N, feeling free to have finally broken out of her shell. “Like, he doesn’t even have many lines. I know he’s new but damn...you can’t get far if you don’t learn your goddamn lines.”

Harry shook with laughter. “Oh God, we sound like dicks, don’t we?”

“Maybe.” Y/N laughed, covering her mouth. “But you know what? We can’t be nice in this industry. It’s impossible.”

“Shhh, if someone heard this, we would be into big trouble.”

“Oh please, I’ve had worse articles written about me than ‘Y/N speaks facts about her lazy co-star’.”

Harry tossed his head back and cackled. “The worst one I’ve got this week was ‘Harry Styles hates therapists.’”

“What?!” Y/N gasped. “No way! That’s so stupid!”

“Right?” Harry rolled his eyes. “I could get all my therapists to speak up for me but I’m kinda immune to bullshit now.”

“Therapists? Like plural?”

“Yeah, one in every city.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Y/N rubbed her hands onto her legs. “Rough year?”

Harry’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he leaned back. “You have no idea.” Then he swept his hair out of his eyes, sucked in a breath, and finally looked at her. “I wish I could have talked to you, though.”

She bit her tongue, knowing what she was about to say next would disappoint her best friend so much, but she had to. “So do I.”

Harry looked taken aback before his lips curled into a smile. “It’s silly, isn’t it? I haven’t talked to you in a year, and I feel like I know everything that’s happened to you except that I don’t.”

What he’d just said might make no sense for most people, but Y/N knew exactly what he meant. She nodded and wetted her lip. “You only know as much as everyone else does.”

“Yeah, I got updates on you from the news and our friends.”

“Same.” Y/N smiled back. “I hate how they write articles about your new haircut but not mine.”

“I like your new hair colour.”

“Thanks. I like your new car.”

Then they both burst out laughing. It was fun and also a little bit strange that Y/N didn’t feel the same anxiety talking to him as she used to. It must be because they had grown and were now meeting again as better people.

“Damn, my ride's here,” Y/N said as she read the text from her driver. “I gotta go now.”

“Oh, okay.” Harry stood up and followed Y/N to the entrance. “Hey, just wondering--”

“Yeah?”

“Am I...am I still blocked?” He looked a bit flustered as she tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “On your phone. Because I remember you having my number blocked--”

“I unblocked you on your birthday.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Y/N shrugged. “I should’ve sent you a happy birthday text but...I didn’t want your girlfriend to get the wrong ideas.”

“My ex.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They smiled at each other one last time before saying goodbye. Y/N knew it was silly, but she was hoping he would go after her.

Ding.

A notification popped up when she was in the car. She was almost home, and it was from Harry’s number. He’d sent her a link with a message that said, “Hope you like it :)”.

Curious, she tapped on it and was directed to an audio file titled ‘Track 5’. The upload date was last year. About two weeks after their short conversation at the Grammys.

Hurriedly, she fumbled inside her bag for her iPods and put it on before she pressed play.

“Hey, Jeff, I couldn’t sleep so I wrote this song. Listen and let me know if it should go on the album.”

Then came the piano intro. It sounded good, so Y/N wondered how it hadn’t ended up on his last album.

But when he started to sing...

We ended a while ago Your friends are mine, you know, I know You've moved on, found someone new One more guy who brings out the better in you

And I thought my heart was detached From all the sunlight of our past But he’s so nice, he’s so funny Does he mean you forgot about me?

Oh, I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

And does he tell you you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen? An eternal love bullshit he might not even mean Remember when you were with me I meant it when you heard it first from me

And now I'm pickin' him apart Like cuttin' him down will make you miss my wretched heart But he’s charming, he looks kind He probably gives you butterflies

I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better

I hope you're happy I wish you all the best, really Say you love him, baby Just not like you loved me And think of me fondly when your hands are on him I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

The song was for her. He’d written it when her new relationship had gone public. Y/N sat there, staring blankly ahead until the honking of a car tore open her inner peace, and reality came crashing back in. The driver dropped her off at her house. Instead of going inside, she stood on her front steps and replayed the song one more time. When it ended, she decided to text him: Why didn’t this make it to the album?

She didn’t know where he was now, but it showed ‘typing’ in less than a second, as if he’d been waiting in their chat since he’d sent that link.

You would’ve hated me, Y/N.

True, she replied. Still, I would’ve loved the song lowkey. And added, I love it btw.

He took so long to type that it was driving her crazy. She flopped down on the concrete stair with her phone clutched in her hands, her heart thundering against her ribcage. Anxiety popped like a balloon when his message appeared: Were you happier?

She reread it again and again.

No.

I wasn’t either, he responded. I kept getting deja vu.

Ha, nice reference.

That song is my guilty pleasure. Love listening to you roasting me on loop.

That last message made Y/N bury her face into her palm and giggle like a fool. She thought for a second and wrote: I could come roast you in person now if that’s what you prefer. I think we’ve never had a proper roasting.

Can we meet, Y/N? Or are you busy now?

No, not busy.

Great, I’ll pick you up.

Just tell me where, she responded with a smile on her face. I got my drivers license now :)

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles angst #harry styles one shot #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic

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drpaulmacdonaldrnma · 3 years

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Was Jesus Being Rude to His Mother (John 2:4)

Paul MacDonald RN MA Diplom

The Greek Pronoun Trouble

First, the translation "How does your concern affect me?” (John 2:4 in the NAB:RE) is not a literal rendering of what Jesus says in Greek.

Word-for-word, what he says is "What to me and to you?"

In context, Mary has just come up to him and informed Jesus that the people running the wedding have no wine, so you might literally translate his response as "What [is that] to me and to you?" In other words: "What does that have to do with us?"

He's not dismissing her. He's putting the two of them--both of them--in a special category together and questioning the relevance of the fact that people outside this category don't have wine. He's saying that it's not the responsibility of the two of them to make sure they have wine.

But that's lost if you take the Greek pronoun that means "to you" (soi) and obliterate it in translation.

"Woman"

Part of what makes it sound like Jesus might be dissing his mother is the fact that he refers to her as "woman."

We don't talk to women like that today--not if we respect them, and certainly not our own mothers.

But the connotations--of respect, disrespect, or other things--that a word has in a given language are quite subtle, and we can't impose the connotations that a word has in our own language on another.

Consider: Suppose, in English, we replaced "woman" with a term that means basically the same thing but with better connotations.

For example, the word "lady" or "ma'am."

Suddenly what Jesus says sounds a lot more respectful.

In British circles, "lady" has distinctly noble overtones (it's the female counterpart to the noble honorific "lord").

And even in demotic America, a son can say, "Yes, ma'am" to his mother and mean it entirely respectfully.

So what can we learn about the connotations of "woman" as a form of address in Jesus' time?

Evoking the Vocative

Before we look at specific verses, I should point out an aspect of Greek grammar (Greek being the language in which we have the New Testament).

In Greek, nouns and pronouns change their form depending on the role that they are playing in a sentence. We call these different forms "cases."

As it happens, there is a special form--or case--that is used for nouns when they are being used as terms of direct address.

In other words, when someone is using a noun to refer directly to someone (talking to them), it will take a special form or case. The name of this form is "the vocative case."

The ordinary Greek word for "lord" is kyrios (or kurios), but when you are talking directly to the Lord, it gets changed from Kyrios to Kyrie.

English sometimes does the same thing by putting the word "O" in front of something. If you say, "O Lord," you know that you are talking directly to the Lord.

The fact that Greek has a vocative case makes it easy to just do a Bible software search to turn up all the instances in which a word is being used as a form of direct address in the New Testament.

So what do we find when we do that?

"O Man" Anthropos

As a control on the term "woman," it makes sense to look and see if "man" gets used as a form of direct address.

One common Greek word we translate "man" is anthropos, which gets put into the vocative case as anthrope ("an-thro-peh").

Jesus uses this as a term of address:

Man

And when he saw their faith he said, “Man [anthrope], your sins are forgiven you” [Luke 5:20].

But he said to him, “Man [anthrope], who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” [Luke 12:14].

So do others, such as Peter and Paul:

And a little later some one else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man [anthrope], I am not” [Luke 22:58].

But Peter said, “Man [anthrope], I do not know what you are saying.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed [Luke 22:60].

Therefore you have no excuse, O man [anthrope], whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things [Romans. 2:1].

Do you suppose, O man [anthrope], that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? [Romans 2:3].

And there are other instances (Romans 9:20, 1 Timothy 6:11, James 2:20).

So we have "man" (anthrope) being used as a form of address without it being disrespectful.

And there's another term that means almost the same thing . . .

O Male Anthropos Fully Gender Related

The Greek word anthropos is commonly translated "man," but it isn't fully gender-specific. It can include both genders, like "human," except translating it that way would sound totally awkward.

There is, however, a Greek term that means a male human specifically: anér ("ah-NAIR").

The difference is a bit like the difference between the English word "man" (which can be used for both males and females) and "male" (which can be used only for males).

Anér also gets put in the vocative case and used as a form of direct address. On one occasion, St. Paul writes:

Wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Husband [anér], how do you know whether you will save your wife?

Here the meaning of "man" is obscured because Greek does not distinguish between the terms "man" and "husband" (or "woman" and "wife"), but it's the same term being used as a form of direct address, and it's not disrespectful.

Interestingly, the word anér gets used as a form of direct address far more often in the plural--when a speaker is addressing a group of men. In this case the word takes the form andres, and it occurs over and over in the New Testament.

For example:

And [the angels] said, “Men [andres] of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” [Acts 1:11].

“Men [andres] of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know" [Acts 2:22].

Here is a complete list of all the times andres gets used this way: Acts 1:11, 16, 2:14, 22, 29, 37, 3:12, 5:35, 7:2, 26, 13:15, 16, 26, 38, 14:15, 15:7, 13, 17:22, 19:25, 35, 21:28, 22:1, 23:1, 6, 27:10, 21, 25, 28:17, Colossiansb3:19 and 1 Peter 3:7.

So much for the term "man" (either anthrope, anér, or andres). What about the term "woman"?

O Woman"

The Greek term for "woman" is guné ("goo-NAY"; same word we get "gynecologist" from). In the vocative case, it takes the form gunai.

Jesus does refer to Mary by this word--twice.

We've already seen the first instance, where he does so at the wedding at Cana (John 2:4).

The other instance where he does so is when Mary sees him being crucified:

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman [gunai], behold, your son!” [John 19:26].

He is not being disrespectful to her, or any of the other women he spoke to.

Other Women

But Mary is far from the only woman for whom this word (gunai) is used as a form of address. We also find the following:

Jesus uses it to address the Syro-Phoenician woman (Matthew 15:28).

Jesus uses it to address the woman with a hemorrhage (Luke 13:12).

Peter uses it to address the high priest's servant girl (Luke 22:57).

Jesus uses it to address the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:21).

Two angels use it to address Mary Magdalene (John 20:13).

Jesus uses it to address Mary Magdalene (John 20:15).

Paul uses it to address an individual wife among his readers (1 Corinthians 7:16).

Paul uses it to address the wives in his audience (Col 3:18, using the plural: gunaikes).

Peter uses it to address the wives in his audience (1 Peter 3:1, using the plural: gunaikes).

That's quite a number of uses, to which we can add the two Marian uses, but as we've seen, none of them are disrespectful!

"Sir," "Ma'am," and the Ten Commandments

What we find, then, is that "NEITHER" the term "man" nor the term "woman" had negative any overtones whatsoever when used as a form of direct address in the New Testament books. Instead, they were used respectfully.

In fact, they were used much the way we would use the terms "sir" and "ma'am."

There is also another reason why we can be sure that Jesus wasn't dismising his mother when he referred to her as "woman": He kept God's law perfectly, and that included keeping the Ten Commandments, one of which is:

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you [Exodus 20:12].

Israel Institute of Biblical Studies

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