[shampto3]

There is no prostitute called Mary in the Gospels. There was a conflation of three women:

- Mary Magdalene who had 7 devils cast out of her

- Mary of Bethany who anointed Christ with oil close to his crucifixion

- Unnamed woman who anointed Christ with oil and tears in the home of Simon

Not only are these three woman separate and distinct, none of them are even explicitly called out as prostitutes. So they both conflated their stories and assumed what the sin was.

Other Marys in the Gospels:

- Mary the mother of Christ

- Mary the mother of James

- Mary of Clopas

[o11c]

And if anyone is like me and thinking "wait, there are more Marys than that", the above comment specifies "in the gospels".

Mary mother of [John] Mark is in Acts, and Mary of Rome is in Romans.

It's generally assumed that "the other Mary" is one of the many above. It is widely, but not universally, assumed that the two "Mary and Martha" stories refer to the same people. Some traditions say that Salome was yet another Mary, but this seems poorly founded.

[amanaplanacanal]

How do we know those are the different women though?

[shampto3]

We of course can't know for sure, but I personally err on the side of caution and keep these women as separate individuals. The stories are distinct enough that in my opinion they should be considered unique events and different people.

[watwut]

By reading with comprehension.

[amanaplanacanal]

Not a helpful response. There are scholars that argue that Mary Magdalen and Mary of Bethany are the same person, which was the impetus for my question.