COWPER) ; and considering it to refer apparently to the youth ful spouse of the prophet (see Is. viii. 3, 4 ; vii. 3, io, 21), holds that the sense in Matt. i. 23 would then be : Thus was fulfilled in a strict and literal sense that which the prophet spoke in a wider sense and on a different occasion. Jerome says that the Punic for virgo is alma, although the word MA/ is but twice so rendered in the Vulgate. The early Christians contended also for the per petual virginity of Mary against the Jews, who objected to the use of the term gces (zintd, Matt. i. 25) as implying the contrary ; but the Fathers triumphantly appealed against the Jewish inter pretation to Scripture usage, according to which this term frequently included the notion of per petuity (comp. Ps. cx. ; Gen. viii. 7 ; Is. xlvi.
rs- 7 ; Matt. xxviii. 20 ; and see Spicer's Thesaurus, and Pearson On the Craw', Art. iii.) Although there is no proof from Scripture tbat Mary had other children [JamEs ; J unE], the Christian Fathers did not consider that there was any impiety in the supposition that she had (Suicer, ta supra). But, although not an article of faith,
the perpetual virginity of Mary was a constant tradition of both the Eastern and Western church. The inost distinguished Protestant theologians have also adopted this belief, and Dr. Lardner (Credi bility) considered the evidence in its favour so strona as to deserve that assent which he himself yielded to it.
The word 7rapeivos, virgin, occurs in Matt. i., xxv. ; Luke ; Acts xxi. ; Cor. vii. ; 2 C01.
Xi. 2 ; and Apoc. xiv. 4. In Cor. and Apoc. it is applied to both sexes, as it frequently is by the Fathers, who use it in the sense of ecrlebs. lt is sometimes metaphorically used in the O. T. for a country, and in the N. T. to denote a high state of moral purity.—W. W.