Religious narrative · People & kin
Fear not to take unto thee Mary
Nazareth, Galilee · c. 1st century (narrative)
the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife
Open this dream in the galaxy →
- Source
- The Bible, King James Version — Various, 1611. Matthew 1:20
- Record type
- Religious narrative
- Place
- Nazareth, Galilee · Christian
- Date
- c. 1st century (narrative)
- Uncertainty
- High — Religious narrative; not a historical dream report.
- Imagery
- A stranger · Partner
- Feelings
- Awe · Relief
How traditions have read this kind of dream
Psychological
Family members, friends and strangers populate most dreams. Freud read many such dreams as wishes in disguise; contemporary researchers emphasise continuity with waking relationships and concerns.
Freud, Dream Psychology (1920)
Mythological
Dreams in epic and scripture are often addressed to someone — a wife waiting for a husband, a son receiving a vision for his family — and are told aloud to be understood.
Odyssey XIX; Genesis 37
Chinese traditions
Confucius lamented that he no longer dreamed of the Duke of Zhou; in Chinese letters, dreaming of someone is a measure of how much they are on one’s mind.
Analects 7.5
These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.
Dreams that share its images
- Thou art but a dead man Gerar, Canaan · undated narrative
- I have suffered many things this day in a dream Jerusalem · c. 30 (narrative)
- She came to say a final goodbye Mizhou (Zhucheng), China · c. 710
- My sister came through the keyhole Ithaca (setting) · c. 8th century BCE
- Falling from the palace hall Chang’an, China · c. 750
- A lying dream in the likeness of Nestor Troy (setting) · c. 8th century BCE