Ἰούδας (Ioudas) in Matthew 1:3: Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
Ἰούδας (Ioudas) in Matthew 1:3
Textual Witness
The Textus Receptus reading here is Ἰούδας, the opening name in Matthew 1:3, with the same form shape tied to the lemma Ἰούδας.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar makes Judah the named subject of the line, which supports a straightforward genealogical reading.
How To Communicate It
This form helps communicate the ancestry sequence by marking the person who begins this clause, while leaving the larger meaning to the surrounding context.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
- Do not read more into case, number, or gender than the clause itself supports.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a person, here the ancestor Judah in the genealogy, rather than an action or modifier.
Nominative: this form is the clause subject in the opening statement, introducing who performs the genealogy action.
Singular: this form refers to one individual in this occurrence, matching the single named ancestor in the line.
Masculine: this is the noun's grammatical class in this form, but it does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Ἰούδας δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν
The nominative form stands with the main verb ἐγέννησε and serves as the sentence subject in this genealogy line.
It identifies Judah as the one named at the head of the statement, the source figure from whom the next names are traced.
It is not the object of ἐγέννησε, and the nominative ending should not be treated as changing the lemma or adding hidden meaning.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The nominative form introduces Judah as the subject at the head of the next genealogy line.
Nominative proper name as genealogy subject. marks Judah as the source figure in the next descent statement. Attached to Ἰούδας δὲ ἐγέννησε. Governed by the verb ἐγέννησε in the genealogy formula. The form organizes the genealogy line without adding hidden meaning to the name.
Who begins this genealogy line? The nominative name identifies Judah as the subject who fathers the next named descendants.
Direct: The nominative directly supports rendering Judah as the subject of the begetting clause.
The nominative does not change the lemma or introduce a different Judah. The form starts a genealogy line but does not carry the whole covenant argument by itself. The grammar should not be loaded with more than subject role.
Case alone proves the full interpretation: The case form identifies clause role; the sentence and passage supply the full interpretive claim. grammatical gender carries a theological claim: The gender label describes Greek form class or agreement and should not be made into a separate doctrinal claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The Textus Receptus reading here is Ἰούδας, the opening name in Matthew 1:3, with the same form shape tied to the lemma Ἰούδας.
The lexicon identifies this form as Judah, Judas, or Jude, a personal name used for one of the Israelites and related references.
As a nominative singular noun before the verb, it functions naturally as the subject of the genealogy statement that follows.
The verse presents Judah as the starting point of this segment of the family line, then moves through the births of Perez, Zerah, Hezron, and Ram.
Within Matthew's opening genealogy, the form helps the narrative locate Jesus within Israel's covenant family history without requiring extra claims from morphology alone.
For readers or teachers, the form shows who is being named at the head of the clause, so the genealogy can be read in a clear subject-verb-object pattern.
Do not derive special theology, alternative identity, or a change of lemma from the nominative form alone; context must carry the interpretive weight.