The words in
themselves merely express a simple denial of sexual intercourse and have
nothing to do with an antecedent vow or resolve of perpetual virginity; the
context in which they occur scarcely implies anything of the sort. We have no
information that Mary shared those specific Essene or Therapeutic views of
marriage. If she did, why is she depicted as engaged? Given that status and the
normal OT esteem for a family and children (see Sir 7:24–25; Ps 128:3), Mary’s
expectation would have been that of any young Jewish girl who was engaged, i.e.
firmly committed to marriage in the full sense. Lastly, a vow of virginity is
unknown in the OT; not even Jeremiah’s celibate life (16:1–2) can be invoked to
explain Mary’s situation or words. (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The
Gospel According to Luke I-IX: Introduction, Translation, and Notes [AYB
28; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008], 349)
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