Parentage of Mary

Parentage of Mary: "The first five chapters of the Protoevangelium of James contains information about the conception of Mary’s Mother Anna. The validity of this material is accepted by the Church. Anna was descended from the family of David. Mary's father, Joachim, was of the tribe of Judah and from Nazareth of Galilee. Anna was the daughter of a priest from Bethlehem and of the tribe of Levi. Joachim was a shepherd but very wealthy as he had large herds of sheep."
He was also a most generous man. He divided his things into three parts: One he gave to orphans widows, strangers and the poor. Another he gave to the temple and the last portion he kept for himself. Joachim married at the age of twenty and they lived together for some fifty years without children. They vowed to the Lord that if He would grant them children they would dedicate their child to the service of God. This condition of being without child was cause of great humiliation in these times. For a woman not to bear a child was seen as a curse from God. Jewish parents believed that a part of them lived on in their children so to be without offspring was to exist in name only.