Was Mary a virgin or not?

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MysticChris

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Me and my protestant friend discussed whether Mary was a virgin or not. We used Mark 6:3 parallel with Mark 15:40.

Mark 6:3 -
“Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”

Mark 15:40 -
“Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome”

I argued that in Mark 6:3, the word “Brother” in Greek and Latin do not directly infer biological brotherhood and could mean brother as in closely related. I also argued that in Mark 15:40, there is only one Mary talked about when it mentions “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James”.

He then argued that in Mark 15:40, the ‘Mary’ mentioned after ‘Mary Magdalene’ is Mary the mother of Jesus. And since it says that Mary was the mother of James, Joseph, and Salome, it cincludes that Mary was in fact not a virgin. He also says for Mark 6:3 that brother is used as in biological brother.

I am honestly confused as I have only just started studying theology this year in High School and it would be great if someone could explain this in a Catholic perspective because as Catholics, we understand Mary as Virgin.
 
There are many threads on this but unfortunately you have only to Friday to see them.
The Mary that is mother of James Joseph and Salome is not the Virgin Mary but her sister-in-law.
is the evidence for making this claim?” The following are reasons.
  1. In Mark 15:40 and Matt 27:56 there is mention of a Mary who is the mother of James and Joseph. James and Joseph are two of the four named elsewhere in the Gospels as brothers of Jesus. Clearly this Mary could not be Mary the mother of Jesus because the evangelists would have stated clearly if she were. So the crucifixion scene suggests that Mary is not the mother of the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
  2. When on the cross in John, Jesus gives his mother to John to be looked after (John 19:25-27). According to Jewish law, if Jesus had younger brothers and sisters it would be beyond strange and would be illegal if Jesus asked someone who was not a family member to look after his mother.
  3. We believe that Semitic usage of the words “brother” and “sister” underlies their usage in the Gospels. There is no word in Aramaic or Hebrew for cousin so brother/sister were used instead. Even when the Hebrew OT was being translated into Greek in the LXX/Septuagint the practice continued since it was the Semitic way of expression. Likewise it continued in the NT, following its adoption in the LXX. Examples in the OT of uncle/nephew being translated as “brother” are the following:
  4. in Gen 13:8 where the Hebrew describes Abraham and Lot as brothers whereas they are uncle and nephew.
  5. Gen 14:14
  6. We see the same in Gen 29:11-15 to describe the relationship between Jacob and his uncle Lot.
  7. Likewise in 1 Chron 23:22 the same word adelphos (brother) is used to translate cousins.
    The word “brother” was used sometimes to refer to all Jews. See Deut 15:12; 17:15; 22:1; Rom 9:3
 
Continued
4. When Matt writes in 1:25 that Joseph did not know Mary until she had given birth to Jesus the use of “until” ἕως οὗ (heos hou in Greek) does not imply that they had marital relations after the birth. heos hou in Greek implies continuation beyond the time indicated. Other examples of similar usages are 2 Sam 6:23 where we read that Michal had no children until the day she died. Another usage is in Deut 34:6 where no one knows where Moses is buried until this day (ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης). The use of until may not be evident in some of translations because translators have removed it due to it making for a strange translation. Gen 35:4 in the LXX adds until this day (ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας). See also Psa 123:2 ἕως οὗ (122:2 in the LXX); Isa 46:4; In Matt 28:20 Jesus is with us until the end of the age (ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος). Surely Jesus did not mean that he would not be with us after the dissolution of the world. In 1 Cor 15:25 Christ must reign until (ἄχρι οὗ rather than ἕως οὗ) he has put all his enemies under his feet. Surely this does not mean that he will not reign afterwards.
5. Describing Jesus as Mary‟s “first-born” in Luke 2:7 does not imply that Jesus had younger brothers. It was the normal way to describe the first baby whether or not other children followed. The attitude of the “brothers” betrays that they are not children born
subsequently to Jesus since they give advice to Jesus (Mark 3:21; John 7:3-4) and it would not have been normal for younger brothers to advise older brothers.
6. In Mark 6:3 Jesus is described by the people of Nazareth as the son of Mary, not a son of Mary.
7. In 382/3 St Jerome complained about Helvidius who interpreted Matt 1:25 to mean that Mary had other children. Jerome said this is „novel.‟ So late in the fourth century it was a novel and new interpretation of Scripture to suggest that Mary had other children. In the early centuries Mary was always understood to be a virgin…
 
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