γενεαὶ (geneai) in Matthew 1:17: Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
γενεαὶ (geneai) in Matthew 1:17
Textual Witness
The witness reads ?????? in Matthew 1:17 within the repeated formula of three groups of fourteen generations.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form names the repeated units in the genealogy summary, helping readers see that Matthew 1:17 is organizing the lineage into counted spans.
How To Communicate It
When teaching Matthew 1:17, use this form to show that the verse is summarizing counted generations in ordered spans, not introducing a new narrative event.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not treat nominative plural alone as proof of a special theological emphasis.
- Do not use the grammar form by itself to settle genealogy-counting debates.
- Do not treat feminine grammatical gender as a claim about persons or theology.
- Do not detach the noun from Matthew 1:17's repeated summary formula.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a group of people or a period related to that group, and it functions as a concrete historical term here.
Nominative: the form usually marks a subject or an appositional label, and here it helps name each counted group in the statement.
Plural: the form is grammatically plural in this occurrence, pointing to more than one generation within the sequence.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a grammatical feature and does not itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The genealogy summary in Matthew 1:17
The repeated three-part count from Abraham to David, David to the exile, and the exile to Christ
The nominative plural noun names the repeated counted units, the generations, across the summary line.
The form does not by itself prove a numbering theory, create a new action, or make grammatical gender into a theological claim.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The form names the units counted in Matthew's genealogy summary, which helps readers understand the verse's structure without making the grammar carry the full theology of the genealogy.
Nominative plural noun naming the counted units. names the generations being totaled in each span. Attached to the repeated genealogy-summary formula in Matthew 1:17. Governed by the three-part count of fourteen generations. The nominative plural serves the summary construction rather than introducing a new narrative action.
What units are being counted in the summary? Generations.
Direct: The plural noun directly supports the English rendering "generations."
The noun can refer to a generation, age, or people of a period, but Matthew 1:17 uses it as the counted unit in the genealogy summary. The verse's repeated formula, not the case ending alone, explains the structure of the count.
Nominative plural proves a special subject emphasis: The form names the counted units, but the repeated formula supplies the emphasis. grammar alone settles genealogy-counting questions: The noun supports the count, but the whole genealogy and verse structure must govern counting discussions.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ?????? in Matthew 1:17 within the repeated formula of three groups of fourteen generations.
The lemma ????? means a generation and can refer to people or a period, but Matthew 1:17 uses the plural as the counted unit in the genealogy summary.
The nominative plural form fits the summary construction, where the verse totals generations in repeated historical spans.
Matthew 1:17 compresses the lineage into ordered historical segments, and this noun names the units being counted.
The form fits Matthew's larger presentation of Jesus within Israel's historical line, while the genealogy itself supplies the structure.
When teaching Matthew 1:17, use this form to show that the verse is summarizing counted generations in ordered spans, not introducing a new narrative event.
Do not derive a complete genealogy theory, a hidden numerological claim, or a theology of history from the nominative plural alone. The full verse supplies the counted structure.