Question:
In Matthew 1:25, it says that Joseph did not know Mary until Jesus was born, even though the angel told him not to be afraid to take her as his wife. In short, the Bible explains that Mary was not always a virgin.
Answer:
Matthew 1:25 uses the Greek adverb ἕως, which renders the Hebrew expression “‘ad-ki.” Regarding this, Severiano del Páramo explains: “The Greek text… ‘heos hou,’ and its (Latin) translation ‘donec,’ gave the ancient heretics Jovinian, Elvidius, and others—and today give many non-Catholic authors—an opportunity to deny Mary’s virginity after childbirth. It has been proven ad nauseam that such a particle in Scripture refers only to the past, without implying any affirmation or negation regarding the future.” For this reason, this exegete translates verse 25 according to its true meaning: “without having marital relations with her, she gave birth…” [Fathers of the Society of Jesus, Sacred Scripture: Text and Commentaries, BAC, Madrid 1964, vol. I, pp. 24–25].
Manuel de Tuya adds: “The Hebrew expression ‘until’ (‘ad-ki) is well known, translated literally in this passage as ‘until.’ This form merely denotes the relationship established at a specific moment, without regard to what happens afterward. This is the ordinary way of speaking in Hebrew. Thus, Michal, David’s wife, ‘had no more children (‘ad-ki) until the day of her death’ (2 Sam 6:23)” [Annotated Bible, BAC, Madrid, 1964, vol. II, p. 31].
Therefore, although this expression may indicate a point in time after which the situation changes (for example, that after a married couple begins living together, they engage in sexual relations), this cannot be inferred from this term alone but must be indicated by another expression, since this phrasing serves to indicate both a point in time after which the situation changes and one after which the situation does not change.
Returning to the example given by Tuya, if the translation of the Semitic phrase—translated literally into Greek and Latin (and then into our modern languages)—were the one we give it today, we would have to say, as a logical consequence, that Michal, David’s wife, had more children after her death.
The very same expression “until” is used in other places in Scripture without implying that, once that moment has arrived or passed, the subsequent situation changes; for example, Gen 3:19 (LXX version): “You shall eat bread by the sweat of your brow ‘until’ you return to the dust of the earth…” (this indicates the final end, but no subsequent change; it is not that Adam’s earthly life changes afterward, but rather that he will no longer have life in this world). The same applies to Psalm 110:1: The word of the LORD to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until (heos ‘an) I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (does this mean that once God has placed all enemies at the Messiah’s feet—this is a messianic psalm par excellence—he will no longer sit at God’s right hand?). The same applies to Matthew 22:44, where these very words from the Psalm are quoted, with Jesus applying them to himself (He [Jesus] said to them: “How then does David, moved by the Spirit, call him ‘Lord,’ when he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’” and likewise in Mark 12:36; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:34–35. St. Paul, in 1 Cor 15:25, uses the same Psalm, replacing the term “sit at the right hand” with “reign”: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet; the last enemy to be destroyed will be Death”; the term “heos” is not used there, but rather the synonym “ajri,” which is also translated as “until,” and once again we see that it does not imply an exclusive meaning—that is, that after the indicated moment the situation will change—but rather that it continues in the same way; or is it perhaps thought that Christ will cease to reign once he has defeated all his enemies? The same may be said of Hebrews 1:13.
P. Miguel A. Fuentes, IVE
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