Matthew 1:25 (WEB)
and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Matthew 1:25 (KJV)
And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Key words
- οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτήνouk eginōsken autēn · Greek
- 'knew her not' — 'know' is the biblical idiom for marital relations; the imperfect tense describes an ongoing state of abstinence through the pregnancy.
- ἕως οὗheōs hou · Greek
- 'till.' In biblical usage 'until' says nothing about what happens afterward: Michal 'had no child until the day of her death' (2 Samuel 6:23); Jesus is with us 'until the end of the age' (Matthew 28:20).
- πρωτότοκοςprōtotokos · Greek
- 'firstborn' (in the KJV's text) — a legal title for the son who opens the womb (Exodus 13:2), whether or not other children follow.
Why it matters
Joseph and Mary abstain from relations throughout the pregnancy. Pitre's third evidence for a vow of virginity is this abstinence even on the wedding night, unusual for a newly married couple unless a prior resolution was in place. He also answers the standard objection: 'until' in biblical Greek and Hebrew does not imply a change afterward, and 'firstborn' is a legal status that does not require later siblings.