After Mary had to leave the temple, priest Zachariah then went into the Holy of Holies and prayed to God about what to do. The response to his prayer came through an angel, who told him that he should assemble all the widowers from Judea. They would all bring their rods and drop them and then Zachariah would take all the rods into the temple and pray over them. Whoever received that last rod back would take Mary as his wife.

This process of selection was a little bit like the “casting of lots” which occurred in both the Old and New Testaments (see, for example, 1 Samuel 14:36–42 and Acts 1:24–26). Occasionally, lots (coins, polished sticks, dice, or cards) were tossed in an effort to make difficult, significant decisions. When lots were cast, nobody could complain of favoritism. According to Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

When the selection process commenced, a trumpet sounded and all the widowers came running. Joseph's rod was the last to be returned, so he was selected to be Mary's husband and guardian. As he received the rod, a dove flew from it and landed on his head.

Joseph, however, initially refuses to take Mary as his wife, because he feels that if he takes such a young bride, he will be seen as a laughing stock among his people. The priest, however, offers Joseph reassurance, and Joseph finally agrees to take Mary. The priest then performs the betrothal service, which is something like an engagement, only more binding.

Mary's Work

According to the Protoevangelium, Mary was part of a group of twelve virgins who were asked to return to the temple to help weave the holy veil for the tabernacle. Mary was pleased with this work and considered it a great honor to be entrusted with the very valuable scarlet and purple threads for her weaving.

During this time, Mary went out to a well to draw water and was startled by the appearance of an angel who said to her, “Hail, thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.” When Mary returned home, the angel appeared to her again, and spoke words that echo the account of the Annunciation in Luke.

One of the differences between the Gospel account of the Annunciation and the accounts of the Annunciation in the Protoevangelium of James is that in the Protoevangelium, Joseph responds more harshly to the news that Mary is pregnant, accusing her of being deceitful like Eve.

Joseph mentions that Mary, of all people, should never have done what she did, because she was raised in the Holy of Holies. This statement is important because it forms the basis for one of the central teachings about the Virgin Mary as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and yet, ironically, it seems to be thrown in as an afterthought — it is only in the course of Joseph's rant that Mary being raised in the Holy of Holies is ever stated explicitly.

Mary and Joseph then went before the priest Zachariah, who also accused them of immorality. They were required to do the ancient “bitter water test,” which is described in the Old Testament book of Numbers (5:11–31). This test was meant to show whether a wife had been unfaithful or not (since Mary was betrothed, any infidelity would have been considered adultery). According to the results of this test, Mary was found innocent.

Mary's Vision

Mary and Joseph then had to travel to Bethlehem, where Mary would give birth to Jesus. While they were traveling, Mary had a vision in which she saw two infants, one weeping and one rejoicing. This vision seemed to echo the vision Rachel experienced soon before she gave birth to Esau and Jacob. In Rachel's vision, she sensed that there would be great struggle between her twins.

Soon after the couple finally arrived in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus while Joseph was away. Shortly afterward, Joseph saw a cloud surrounding the manger and realized that Mary had given birth. The Protoevangelium ends with the Slaughter of the Innocents, which was also recorded in the Gospels (Matthew 2:16). In the Slaughter of the Innocents, Herod hears that the Messiah had been born and becomes furious, so he decrees that every firstborn child shall be killed. According to the Protoevangelium, Mary hides Jesus in the manger until Herod's soldiers pass by.

Mary's relative Elizabeth fled to the mountains with her baby John, and he was also spared, although her husband, the high priest, Zachariah, who served in the temple, was often questioned about his son's whereabouts. When Zachariah refused to give any clues about his son, he was killed, causing great grief in the Jewish community. Eventually, Simeon was appointed as Zachariah's replacement, and Simeon believed in the promise that he would not die until he had seen the Savior with his own eyes.