New American Bible, Matthew 1:25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son, 12 and he named him Jesus. (from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Is it still dropping? Did it drop again?
Q: Can you provide a New Testament example which parallels how Matthew uses the word "until" with respect to Mary in Matthew 1:25? I’ve had Fundamentalists tell me the word translated "until" in most modern versions, is different in the New Testament than in the Old Testament and that Catholic arguments in support of Mary’s perpetual virginity based on Old Testament examples of how "until" is used won’t work.
A: Such examples do work because, while two different words are used (one Greek, the other Hebrew), they mean the same thing ("until") and don’t mean that something which didn’t happen up to a certain time, necessarily happened afterward. Those who say "until" in Matthew 1:25 proves Mary had marital relations after the birth of Jesus, then, are wrong.
Although Old Testament examples commonly cited by Catholics paralleling the use of "until" in Matthew 1:25 are perfectly valid, a New Testament example you can cite is Luke 1:80 which says, "And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel."
The Greek word translated "until" in this passage is heos, the same word used in Matthew 1:25. The child spoken of is John the Baptist who, after as well as before he appeared in public, resided in the desert (Matt. 3:1, Mark 1:3,4; Luke 3:2).