Ἰησοῦς (Iesous) in Matthew 1:16: Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous) in Matthew 1:16
Textual Witness
The witness reads Ἰησοῦς in Matthew 1:16 within the clause ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar keeps attention on Jesus as the identified person in the clause, but the verse's meaning comes from the full sentence, not from the case ending alone.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to explain that Matthew's genealogy lands on a specific person by name, making Jesus the focal referent of the closing statement.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Masculine gender is a grammatical class here and should not be turned into a theological gender claim.
- If syntax is uncertain from the local context, state only the conservative role the form can support.
- Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a person, and here it refers to Jesus by name in the clause.
Nominative: this form can mark a subject or a closely related nominative role, and the clause should determine the exact function.
Singular: this form is grammatically singular here, so it presents one referent rather than a plural group.
Masculine: the noun is in the masculine grammatical class, which describes its form and does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐγεννήθη
The noun sits with the passive verb ἐγεννήθη and names the person who is being spoken of as born in the sentence.
It functions as the named subject-like referent of the passive clause, identifying Jesus as the one in view.
It should not be treated as a possessive, object, or adjective; the form does not change the name into another kind of word.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The nominative name identifies Jesus as the focal referent at the genealogy's conclusion.
Nominative singular masculine proper noun. names the person spoken of as born in the closing genealogy statement. Attached to the passive birth statement. Governed by the genealogy clause in Matthew 1:16. The case helps identify the referent; the genealogy and titles in the verse carry the broader claim.
Who is the genealogy focusing on here? The nominative name identifies Jesus as the person named in the passive birth clause.
Direct: The form directly supports Jesus as the named referent in the English clause.
The passive construction should be read with the whole genealogy sentence. The name form marks the referent but does not by itself explain every title attached to him.
Case ending proves genealogy theology alone: The case identifies the named referent; the genealogy and titles carry the theological force. masculine form becomes a separate doctrinal point: The masculine form belongs to the proper noun and should not be made into a separate claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads Ἰησοῦς in Matthew 1:16 within the clause ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός.
The lemma is Ἰησοῦς, the personal name Jesus, and the form here is a grammatical instance of that same name.
The nominative case suits the sentence's focus on Jesus as the one identified by the passive birth statement, while the surrounding words supply the relational and christological framing.
The verse traces the genealogy to Jesus and identifies him as the one born from Mary, the one commonly called Christ.
This form supports the Gospel's wider presentation of Jesus as the named center of the genealogy and the promised Messiah, without requiring the grammar to carry that claim by itself.
In teaching or translation, this form clarifies that the verse is naming Jesus as the central referent of the final genealogy clause.
Do not infer extra theological detail from nominative case, singular number, or masculine gender beyond what the context already states.