ῥηθὲν (rethen) in Matthew 1:22: Verb Aorist Passive Participle Nominative Singular Neuter
ῥηθὲν (rethen) in Matthew 1:22
Textual Witness
The witness reads ῥηθὲν in the phrase ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, so the form is embedded in a fulfillment statement.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps the reader hear the verse as fulfillment of a definite spoken word, while keeping the emphasis on what was said and on its divine source.
How To Communicate It
In translation or teaching, it can be rendered naturally as the thing spoken or the spoken word, so the reader sees the fulfillment focus of the sentence.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Neuter nominative singular here is descriptive, not a standalone theological signal.
- The participle identifies a spoken word in context, but it does not by itself determine the full meaning of the verse.
- Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form here is a participle, so it functions verbally while also acting like a modifier in the clause.
Aorist: commonly views the action as a whole event. It should not be treated as automatically punctiliar or automatically past in every context.
Passive: presents the subject as receiving or being affected by the action.
Participle: carries a verbal idea while also functioning like an adjective or clause element. Context decides its role.
Nominative: the form is marked for nominative use, which here fits the neuter article and participial phrase that names what was spoken.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular here, matching the single item being referenced as the spoken word or statement.
Neuter: the form is neuter in grammar, which describes agreement in the phrase and does not by itself make a theological or personal claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τὸ ῥηθὲν
The participle is shaped by the article and stands in the phrase as the thing that is said, with the prepositional phrase ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου identifying the speaker in context.
It describes the utterance as a spoken word or statement that is in view for fulfillment, not as a separate main verb of the clause.
It does not introduce a new action of speaking in the main flow, and it does not by itself identify who is speaking beyond the surrounding phrase.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The participle points to the spoken word that Matthew says is fulfilled.
Articular nominative neuter participle. identifies the saying that is in view. Attached to the spoken word being fulfilled. Governed by the fulfillment statement in Matthew 1:22. The passive participle points to what was spoken; the context names the Lord and prophet relation.
What is being fulfilled in this verse? The spoken word from the Lord through the prophet is being fulfilled.
Direct: The articular passive participle directly supports a rendering like "what was spoken."
The passive participle should not be separated from Matthew's wording about the Lord speaking through the prophet. The participle identifies the spoken word; it is not the main finite verb of fulfillment.
Passive voice hides or removes agency: Matthew supplies the agency context with "by the Lord through the prophet." participle proves fulfillment theology alone: The participle identifies the spoken word, while the whole verse frames fulfillment.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ῥηθὲν in the phrase ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, so the form is embedded in a fulfillment statement.
The lemma ἐρεῶ belongs to the speaking word group, so the form naturally refers to what was said, spoken, or uttered.
The article and participle together mark the utterance as a known, specific saying, and the surrounding passive and prepositional phrases show it as something that comes from the Lord through the prophet.
Matthew presents the event as occurring so that the spoken word from the Lord would be fulfilled, making the saying itself central to the verse.
This fits the Gospel pattern of linking events to prior divine speech, with grammar helping point to the remembered saying rather than to a fresh speech event.
For readers, the form signals that attention should rest on the content and source of the saying, not on the participle as an independent assertion.
Do not derive a claim that the participle alone defines the whole prophecy, adds extra details, or settles theology beyond the verse context.