The Perpetual Virginity of Mary
A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse;
a spring dried up, a fountain sealed.
Song of Solomon 4, 12
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a
son; and thou shalt call his
name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest; and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of
David his father; and he shall reign in the house of
Jacob forever. And of his
kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel:
How shall this be
done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her:
The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow
thee. And, therefore, also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of
God.
Luke 1, 31-35
If a
fortune teller were to predict that we would die of lung cancer from smoking at
some point in the future, we might ask how this could be possible since we
don’t smoke. We could clarify that we have never smoked, are not currently
smoking, and have no intention to smoke in the future. We might ask, “How could
I possibly die of lung cancer? Is it because I am going to start smoking after
all?” Mariologist Father Rene Laurentine interprets Luke 1:34, noting that the
present tense “I do not know” refers to a condition rather than a specific
moment. For instance, if someone is offered a cigarette and responds with “I do
not smoke,” it is generally understood that they mean “I have never smoked” and
“I am not smoking now.”
In the
biblical story of the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin
Mary and announces that she will conceive and give birth to a son. However,
Mary is perplexed, as she is a virgin and intends to remain one for her entire
life. She asks the angel how this is possible since she does not know a man.
Mary is concerned about how she will have a son without ever having sexual
relations with a man. The angel reassures Mary by explaining that the
conception and birth of her son will be supernatural. He tells her that the
power of the Highest will overshadow her, and her son will be of divine origin.
This means that her son will be holy and have a particular purpose.
The Greek text reads andra ou ginosko (ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω), which literally means “man not I know” or in English, “I know not man.” The Greek verb ginosko (Present Indicative Active) is in the continuous present, which shows a permanent disposition to not know a man. 1 The original Greek translates what Mary says to the angel in her native tongue of Hebrew-Aramaic: ‘ki enneni yodaat ish.’ The Greek present tense used for Mary’s words in Luke 1:34 corresponds to the Hebrew Aramaic active participle (yodaat), indicating a permanent condition. 2
Mary’s
statement, “I don’t know a man,” is a Jewish idiom used in the Scriptures to
refer to sexual relations between a man and a woman. It means that she has no
sexual relations with a man. This idiom follows the same grammar rules as any
other verb. The word “know” can be conjugated in the past tense, as in Genesis
4:1 in the Septuagint, which states that Adam “knew” his wife Eve, resulting in
her conceiving and giving birth to Cain. In other words, Eve became pregnant
because she had sexual intercourse with Adam.
Mary
wonders how she will conceive Jesus as she has never had sexual relations with
a man and is not having sexual relations now. She is amazed when the angel
tells her she will conceive through the Holy Spirit. Mary is no different from
a non-smoker who has a permanent disposition not to smoke. Similarly, Mary has
a permanent disposition not to have sexual relations with a man. Her question
to the angel about how she will conceive and bear the Messiah is due to her
permanent disposition and intention not to have sexual relations with a man.
The accuracy of the King James Bible translation can be attributed to the Present Indicative Active form of the verb “to know.” However, it can be misleading due to the insertion of the indefinite article “a” before “man,” which is not present in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. This grammatical exponent can lead to a misunderstanding of God’s written word. In Mary’s statement, the object referred to is “andra” (ἄνδρα), which means “man,” or more specifically, the male sex. In this case, it does not refer to a specific male like Joseph. 3
The KJB discrepancy may expand to modern readings like this: “I do not have a husband.” However, we read in Luke 1:27 that Mary was betrothed (espoused) to Joseph at the appointed time. The couple was already legally married, having observed the first part of the marriage ceremony (Kiddushin), which included signing a legal marriage contract. They were, in fact, husband and wife at the time of the Annunciation, which explains why Joseph could divorce Mary as soon as he discovered she was with child (Mt 1:18-19). The object noun andra can mean “husband” in a general sense (Jn. 4:17), but Mary does not say: “I have no husband,” since she already has one whose name is Joseph. The exponent andra does not refer to individual men. There is another word for them, which is anthropos (ἄνθρωπός), as in Matthew 8:9. 4
St.
Augustine explains how Mary should even contemplate asking such a question,
seeing that she was betrothed to Joseph when the angel appeared and obligated
to bear children within her religious culture.
“Her virginity also itself
was on this account more pleasing and accepted, in that it was not that
Christ
being conceived in her rescued it beforehand from a husband who would violate
it, Himself
to preserve it; but, before He was conceived, chose it, already
dedicated to God, as that from
which to be born. This is shown by the words
which Mary spake in answer to the Angel
announcing to her conception; ‘How,
saith she, shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ which she
assuredly would
not say unless she had before vowed herself unto God as a virgin.”
Of Holy Virginity
Any vow and any binding
oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may
make
void. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he
establishes all her
vows, or all her pledges, that are upon her; he has
established them, because he said nothing to her
on the day that he heard of
them. But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them,
then he
shall bear her iniquity.
Numbers 30
The vow
of a woman to “afflict herself” included abstaining from having sexual
relations with her husband and having a family so that she could dedicate her
life more exclusively to God. 5 Under the Mosaic Law, provisions were made
explicitly for such vows, although customarily discouraged. However rare and
frowned upon, a vow made by a woman like this was permissible since the command
to propagate did not apply to females. It applied only to men, which explains
why no similar statute about vows taken by married men exists. If Joseph agreed
to a chaste marriage, which appears most likely, it was only because he honored
Mary’s vow before they met when she was still a young girl serving in the
temple.
Augustine
reasons that she must have already consecrated herself to God and vowed to
remain a virgin all her life while serving in the temple as a young girl. There
is testimony of temple virgins in the traditions of the Jews. In the Mishnah,
it is recorded that 82 consecrated virgins wove the veil of the Temple: “The
veil of the Temple was a palm-length in width. It was woven with seventy-two
smooth stitches, each made of twenty-four threads. The length was forty cubits,
and the width was twenty cubits. Eighty-two virgins wove it. Two veils were
made yearly, and three hundred priests were needed to carry it to the pool”
(Mishna Shekalim 8, 5-6). Rabbinic Jewish sources also record how when the
Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70, the Temple virgins leaped into the flames so
as not to be abducted by the heathen soldiers: “the virgins who were weaving
threw themselves in flames” (Pesikta Rabbati 26, 6).
Judaism
generally does not support marital celibacy, as marriage is considered a normal
state and a divine ordinance. However, some marginal sects within the Jewish
tradition, such as the Therapeutrides, Essenes, and Qumran community, had
exceptions to this rule against celibacy. Even Rabbinic Judaism made exceptions
for those dedicated to Torah study. Jesus and his close relatives were
associated with a Jewish sect called the Essenes, and within this group was a
sub-group called the Nazarenes, which means “keepers of the covenant.” The
Upper Room, where Jesus held the Seder meal (Last Supper) with his apostles,
was in an Essene neighborhood in Jerusalem.
In
short, Mary states that she has not had sexual relations with any man,
including her husband, and will not have any in the future. Luke reports her
statement in the present tense and indicative mood since the angel did not
specify a time frame for conception. This statement characterizes Mary as a
virgin and implies that she will remain so. The verb tense indicates an ongoing
state of not having sexual relations rather than a specific moment in time.
Despite the angel’s announcement, Mary confirms that she has not had or will
have sexual relations with any man.
Mary’s
condition is an objective fact that she asserts continues into the future, even
when she’s supposed to have a son. The present active voice indicates this. The
angel’s announcement that she will conceive and bear a son contradicts her
ongoing state, causing her confusion. The word “since” epei (ἐπεί) serves as a logical
connector; in this case, it means “because.” 6 Mary
wonders how she will conceive and bear a son since she does not have sexual
relations with a man, notably her husband. It’s important to note that Mary,
being of marriageable age, was likely aware of biological human reproduction.
The
indicative mood of the verb ‘to know’ implies that Mary has no intention of
having sexual relations with her husband, Joseph, regardless of what the angel
says. Therefore, she cannot be the mother of the expected Messiah unless God
has other plans for her that she is unaware of. The angel Gabriel reveals the
divine intention to Mary in the following verses. Only then does she consent
without further ado, and the angel departs (Lk 1:38).
Then he brought me back to
the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was
shut. And he said
to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one
shall
enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore, it
shall
remain shut.”
Ezekiel 44, 1-3
Therefore,
it’s important to note that Mary’s use of the verb “to know” in the first
person (ginosko) doesn’t refer to a specific moment in time but rather to her
state or condition. When the angel tells her she will conceive a child, Mary
doesn’t respond, saying she isn’t currently or has never had relations with her
husband. There’s no reason for her to say this since the angel doesn’t indicate
that she will conceive immediately or before her formal marriage ceremony
(Nisuin). The original Greek text reads: “I do not know man.” This means that
Mary has never had sexual relations with any man, and the use of the active
indicative mood emphasizes that this has been an ongoing action (not knowing a
man) that will continue even after she conceives the child, whenever that may
be.
Hence, there is an emphasis on the progression of an action (not knowing or having sexual relations with a man) or a state (virginity) that extends into the future and encompasses it. The verb “to be” (estai / ἔσται) is in the simple future tense. 7 Mary’s current state in real-time is not relevant.
So, the
question is not whether Mary has had sexual relations with her betrothed until
now or is currently having relations with him. The question is whether a woman
who has never had sexual relations with a man can conceive and bear a son. The
angel explains, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you.” Luke wishes to testify that Mary is perpetually a
virgin. If there were ever a definitive Scriptural proof text for the Catholic
dogma of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, it would have to be Luke 1:34: “How
shall this be done, because I know not man?”
Therefore, the Lord himself
shall give you a sign.
Behold the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
Isaiah 7, 14
Early Sacred Tradition
“The Word will become flesh, and the Son of God the son of man–
the Pure One opening purely that pure womb,
which generates men unto God.”
St. Irenaeus , Against Heresies, 4, 33, 12
(A.D. 180-190)
“And indeed it was a virgin, about to marry once for all after her delivery,
who gave birth to Christ, in order that each title of sanctity might be fulfilled
in Christ’s parentage, by means of a mother who was both virgin, and wife of one husband.”
Tertullian, On Monogamy, 8
(A.D. 213)
“For if Mary, as those declare who with sound mind extol her, had no other son but Jesus,
and yet Jesus says to His mother, Woman, behold thy son,’ and not Behold you have this
son also,’ then He virtually said to her, Lo, this is Jesus, whom thou didst bear.’ Is it not the
case that everyone who is perfect lives himself no longer, but Christ lives in him; and if
Christ lives in him, then it is said of him to Mary, Behold thy son Christ.’”
Origen, Commentary on John, I:6
(A.D. 232)
“Therefore let those who deny that the Son is from the Father by nature and proper to
His Essence, deny also that He took true human flesh of Mary Ever-Virgin; for in neither
case had it been of profit to us men, whether the Word were not true and naturally Son of
God, or the flesh not true which He assumed.”
St. Athanasius,
Orations against the Arians, II:70
(A.D. 362)
“The Son of God…was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit…”
(A.D. 374)
St. Basil, Homily In Sanctum Christi generationem, 5
(ante A.D. 379)
an example of maternal virtue; for neither have you sweeter children,
nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son.”
St. Ambrose, To the Christian at Vercellae, Letter 63:111
(A.D. 396)
the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth, made
visible for us, by whom, when he was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin conceiving, a
Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual.
Why do you wonder at this, O man?”
St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermons 186:1
(A.D. 411)
his own temple from the substance of the Virgin and came forth from her a man in all
that could be externally discerned, while interiorly he was true God. Therefore he kept
his Mother a virgin even after her childbearing”
St. Cyril of Alexandria,
Against Those Who Do Not Wish to Confess
That the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God, 4
(A.D. 430)
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[1] James H Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible [1097. Ginosko] Verb – Present Indicative Active – 1st Person Singular. A prolonged form of a primary verb, to ‘know’ in many applications and with many implications. [UK: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009]
[2] Manuel Miguens, OFM, The Virgin Birth: An Evaluation of Scriptural Evidence (Boston: St. Paul Edition, 1981), 81.
[3] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible [435. Andra] Noun – Accusative Masculine Singular. A male human being; a man, husband (in general). A primary word is a man.
[4] Ibid., [444. Anthropos] Noun – Nominative Masculine Singular. A man, one of the human race.
[5]Jacob Milgrom, Harper Collins Study Bible n. Lev 16:29; citing Targum Pseudo-Jonthan; cf. also Exod. 19:15).
[6] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible [1893. Epei]
[7] Ibid., [1510. Eime] Estai is the simple future tense (“will be”) form of the original present tense verb eime, which means “to be” or “to exist”.
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