Matthew 1:25
From Textus Receptus
Matthew 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Matthew 1:25 is the twenty-fifth and last verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Joseph has awakened from a dream in which an angel gave him instructions about the birth of Jesus. He has taken Mary into his home, completing their marriage, and this verse explains what occurs once the couples are united.
This passage is the centre of much controversy in the debate over the perpetual virginity of Mary. To many Protestants this verse is one of the central reasons for rejecting the Perpetual Virginity. The author of Matthew only states that sexual relations did not occur prior to the birth of Jesus, implying that they occurred afterwards. Those who support the Perpetual Virginity argue that the passage is far vaguer in the original Greek than it is in English. In English a negation until implies that the event in question did happen afterwards.
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Textus Receptus
- 1550 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν Stephanos
- 1598 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον· καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἸΗΣΥΝ Beza
Other Greek
- 1869 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν υἱόν· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. Tischendorf 8th Edition
- 1881 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως [οὗ] ἔτεκεν υἱόν· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. Westcott and Hort
Modern Versions
Modern versions bring confusion about mary being a Virgin:
If it is only 'a son' rather than a 'firstborn son' Mary may have had other children before Jesus to someone else. So the Textus Receptus solves two errors by stating the fact that Jesus was Mary's firstborn:
1) a firstborn implys that there was a secondborn later on (otherwise it would say 'only begotten')
2) A firstborn implys that Mary had previously had no other children.
Firstborn makes it impossible for these to heretical doctrines to survive.
See Also Psalm 69:8, Matthew 12:46; 13:55; Mark 3:31, 6:3; John 2:12; 7:3,5; 1 Corinthians 9:5, Galatians 1:19.
The Greek - πρωτότοκον (firstborn) appears in the vast majority of Manuscripts exept for 2 Papyrus (B and Aleph) and 3 miniscule mss.
