Interpretations & debates

Interpretations & debates

“Until she gave birth”: what Matthew 1:25 does and does not say

Matthew 1:25

Matthew says that Joseph “did not know her until she gave birth to a son”: he and Mary did not live as husband and wife before Jesus was born. The Greek for “until” is ἕως οὗ (heōs hou).Matthew 1:25 (Greek)Matthew 1:25

Readers disagree about what follows from that word. Some take “until” to imply that the marriage became a normal one afterwards; others, including Jerome, argue that it describes only the time up to the birth and says nothing about what came after. The verse is one strand in a wider debate about Mary’s perpetual virginity, which also turns on the “brothers” of Jesus and on church tradition.Jerome (c. 383), §§5–8Study topic: Mary and perpetual virginity

Greek editions also differ in the same verse: some read “a son”, others “her firstborn son”. That is a difference in the text itself, not in translation.Matthew 1:25: Greek editions

But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:25

Berean Standard Bible (public domain). The Greek, Hebrew and other translations are in the reader.

Draft, not yet reviewed by a specialist· How these pages are made

The questions

Each question shows how far it is agreed. Open it for the evidence and the main interpretations.

What does the clause itself establish?Agreed

Not disputed: the relations described did not take place up to the birth.

Scope: The grammar of ἕως οὗ with the aorist ἔτεκεν in this verse.

What the evidence shows

Does “until” imply what happened afterwards?Interpreters disagree

Interpreters disagree. Grammar alone does not decide it; each side appeals to usage elsewhere and to Matthew’s purpose.

Scope: Whether the wording of Matthew 1:25 says or implies anything about Joseph and Mary after the birth.

Why readers differ

In English, “until” usually suggests a change afterwards. In Greek, as in English, a clause of this kind can also simply mark the end of what the writer is concerned to report.

Interpretations

Listed without ranking.

“Until” points to a change after the birth

a reading of the words

Read naturally, and read with the passages that name Jesus’ brothers, “until” implies that Joseph and Mary lived as a married couple after Jesus was born.

Supported by

  • In most of the other 17 occurrences of ἕως οὗ in the New Testament, the clause marks a point after which things are different (for example Matthew 18:30). Readers can check the full list.Count from the textMatthew 18:30

Complicated by

  • Matthew’s concern in the passage is how Jesus was conceived and born; what happened afterwards is not his subject.Matthew 1:18

Argued by

  • Helvidius (c. 380s), §§5–8sourceKnown only through Jerome’s reply: his own work does not survive.
  • John P. Meier (1992)sourceA modern defence of the view that the brothers were Mary’s children.

“Until” says nothing about afterwards

a reading of the words

The clause states only that there were no relations before the birth. Scripture uses “until” where nothing changes afterwards, so the word cannot carry the inference.

Supported by

  • Matthew 28:20 (“I am with you always, to the end of the age”) uses “until” where nothing ends afterwards.Matthew 28:20 (Greek)

Complicated by

  • Jerome argued from Latin texts. In Greek, Matthew 28:20 has ἕως with a noun, and 1 Corinthians 15:25, another of his examples, has ἄχρι οὗ; neither is the same construction as Matthew 1:25.Matthew 28:20 (Greek)1 Corinthians 15:25 (Greek)

Argued by

  • Jerome (c. 383), §§5–8source
  • John Calvin (1555)sourceCalvin declined to draw any conclusion about later marriage from this verse.

Still open

  • Translators handle the word differently: a UBS handbook for translators suggests “before” as more neutral about what followed.

Also

“A son” or “her firstborn son”?Agreed in substance; some details open

That the texts differ is a fact. Most modern critical editions print “a son”; the Byzantine text has “her firstborn son”, as in Luke 2:7.

Scope: The wording of the Greek text at the end of the clause.

What the evidence shows

  • SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles and NA28 read “a son”; the Byzantine text (Robinson–Pierpont) reads “her firstborn son”. The World English Bible and the King James Version follow the Byzantine reading; the Berean Standard Bible follows the critical text.Matthew 1:25: Greek editionsMatthew 1:25Matthew 1:25

Still open

  • What “firstborn” implies. Jerome argued that it names the child who first opens the womb, whether or not others follow (§§11–12); others read it as implying later children.

The evidence in full

In the original languages
Matthew 1:25 (Greek)
οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν υἱόνouk eginōsken autēn heōs hou eteken huion
Matthew 28:20 (Greek)
ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος
1 Corinthians 15:25 (Greek)
ἄχρι οὗ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς
Every piece of evidence (13)
Sources and how far each was checked (5)
  • G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Scribner's, 1922), as adapted in STEPBible TBESG, 1922. Details and the point cited checked; not read in fullDataset entries G2193, G3739.
  • Jerome, The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary (Against Helvidius), trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 6, ed. P. Schaff and H. Wace (1893), c. 383. LinkDetails and the point cited checked; not read in fullCCEL text (section numbers and examples)
  • Barclay M. Newman and Philip C. Stine, A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew (UBS Handbook Series), United Bible Societies, 1988. LinkDetails and the point cited checked; not read in fullOnline excerpt ('until' vs 'before' renderings)
  • John P. Meier, The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus in Ecumenical Perspective, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 54, 1992, pp. 1–28. Details and the point cited checked; not read in fullCited with these details in Bauckham, Themelios 21.2 (1996)
  • John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke, on Matt 1:25, 1555. LinkDetails and the point cited checked; not read in fullOnline text of the comment (translator not identified on the page)
Scope, review and corrections

Not covered here

  • Who the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus were (Mark 6:3). That question is treated in the Study topic on Mary and perpetual virginity.
  • The virginal conception itself (Matthew 1:18–23).

Review

1 Nov 2026, from the Library's existing research on Matthew 1:25 (checked 20 Oct 2026) and the SBLGNT text. Not yet reviewed by a specialist.

Needed before review is complete

  • A New Testament Greek specialist to check the account of ἕως οὗ and the observation on its other occurrences.
  • A patristics specialist to check the summary of Jerome's argument.

Corrections

None yet. Version 1, 2026-11-01.

Texts quoted: Berean Standard Bible (public domain). Greek New Testament: SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. World English Bible (public domain). Dictionary entries: Abbott-Smith via STEPBible (CC BY 4.0); BDB and Strong via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon.

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