Which goes to show that anyone can read anything into anything if they really want to.
That’s such a stretch that I’m surprised someone didn’t sprain anything.
Stretch or not, Gill wrote that some ancients did read Mary into it.
Your question is one I’ve asked myself. Why is it so important that Mary remain a virgin? Why did the early Christians believe that it was necessary?
Their interpretation of Ezekiel 44:2, right or wrong, may have been the reason why.
I appreciate that.
However, while it has been used as a justification for the belief, it still doesn’t really answer the question of the significance of the necessity of her remaining a virgin.
It’s not like sex with her legal husband would defile her. She would not have sinned.
Abstaining from sex while married is not a virtue as there is nothing wrong with sex between a husband and wife. It’s a right and proper thing for married couples to do.
Matter of fact, in a marriage is it not withholding sex from the other spouse grounds for annulment by the Catholic church?