Greek Form Guide

Θεός. (Theos) in Matthew 1:23: Noun Nominative Singular Masculine

Θεός. (Theos) in Matthew 1:23

Textual Witness

Θεός. Theos Noun Nominative Singular Masculine

The witness reads Θεός. in the Textus Receptus tradition at Matthew 1:23, within the fixed phrase Μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form helps the verse read as a concise identification of Emmanuel with divine presence, while the context supplies the theological weight.

How To Communicate It

In preaching or translation notes, this form can be summarized as the explanatory title 'God with us,' not as a standalone grammatical proof.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Masculine gender here is grammatical, not a sex-based or theological gender claim.
  • The nominative form guides the clause, but the verse's meaning comes from the whole sentence and citation frame.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Noun: this form names a reality or person, and here it is the word for God rather than a different kind of word.

Case

Nominative: this form usually marks a subject or a predicate-like unit, and here it fits the clause that identifies Emmanuel.

Number

Singular: the form is grammatically singular here, so the reference is presented as one identified God rather than a plural group.

Gender

Masculine: this is the noun's grammatical class in Greek, and it does not by itself make a theological claim about male sex.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

Μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.

Governed By

It stands in the explanatory clause after ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον, so the form helps present the name's meaning as an identification.

Role In The Phrase

The nominative noun functions as part of the transliterated explanation, giving the sense, With us is God, or God is with us, within the quotation's translation frame.

What It Is Not Doing

It is not here a case form that by itself settles a full syntactic diagram beyond the local identification, and it does not change the lemma into another word.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The nominative form stands inside the explanation of Emmanuel and identifies God in the 'with us' name meaning.

Syntax Profile

Nominative noun in an explanatory name clause. identifies God as the one named in the explanation 'God with us'. Attached to Μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός. Governed by the translated explanation introduced by ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον. The nominative supports the local identification while the quotation context supplies the theological frame.

Reader Question

Who is named in the meaning of Emmanuel? The nominative noun identifies God within the explanation of the name as 'God with us'.

Translation Effect

Direct: The form directly supports the explanatory rendering 'God with us' or 'God is with us'.

Where Caution Is Needed

The name explanation should not be treated as a full syntactic diagram apart from Matthew's quotation frame. The nominative identifies the referent but does not by itself resolve every Christological implication. The form does not change the lemma into another word or a title detached from the verse.

Fallacies To Avoid

The grammar alone proves the whole doctrine of incarnation: The grammar supports the name explanation; Matthew's narrative and quotation context carry the doctrine. nominative always means a simple subject in every context: Here the nominative is read within an explanatory name phrase, not as an isolated sentence.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads Θεός. in the Textus Receptus tradition at Matthew 1:23, within the fixed phrase Μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.

Lexical Identity

The lemma θεός normally means God or a god, and in this verse the context points to the one true God in the scriptural citation.

Grammar In Context

The nominative form fits the clause that explains Emmanuel's name, so the grammar serves the translation and identification rather than introducing a new idea on its own.

Passage Meaning

The passage communicates that Jesus' name Emmanuel is interpreted as God's being with us, which reinforces the promised presence of God with his people.

Canonical Fit

This wording fits the Gospel's larger messianic and divine presence theme, while remaining anchored to the verse's own explanatory citation.

Communication Use

For readers and teachers, the form supports a compact, memorable confession that God's presence is realized in the child named Emmanuel.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive that masculine grammar means male divinity, and do not overread case or number beyond the verse's translation and identification.