μητρὸς (metros) in Matthew 1:18: Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
μητρὸς (metros) in Matthew 1:18
Textual Witness
The witness reads μητρὸς in Matthew 1:18 within the phrase μνηστευθείσης ... τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar sharpens the relational setting of the birth account by identifying Mary as Jesus' mother, while leaving the main narrative claim to the wider sentence.
How To Communicate It
In communication, this form helps readers follow that Mary is Jesus' mother in the birth account and Joseph's betrothed in the narrative setting.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case here signals relationship in the phrase, but context determines the exact nuance.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a gendered theological claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a person, namely a mother, and it functions as a substantive in the clause.
Genitive: the form usually marks a relationship, dependence, description, or possession, and here it links the noun to the surrounding phrase.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and refers to one mother in the narrative setting.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a form feature and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας
The genitive phrase identifies Mary as Jesus' mother before the sentence describes her betrothal to Joseph.
It names the mother connected with Jesus and prepares the reader for the conception report that follows.
It does not identify a maternal relation to Joseph, and it does not by itself state the main action of the verse.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive noun identifies Mary as Jesus' mother in the birth narrative opening.
Genitive singular noun in the his-mother-Mary phrase. identifies Mary by maternal relation to Jesus in the birth account. Attached to τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας. Governed by the genitive phrase that identifies Jesus' mother before the betrothal setting. The form names the relational identity before the sentence continues with Mary's betrothal to Joseph and the conception report.
Whose mother is being identified in the verse opening' The phrase identifies Mary as Jesus' mother before mentioning her betrothal to Joseph.
Direct: The form supports a direct relational rendering such as his mother Mary or Mary his mother.
The genitive phrase identifies Mary as Jesus' mother, not as Joseph's maternal relation. The form supplies relationship and narrative setting; the conception report comes from the wider sentence.
Mother phrase is attached to the wrong relationship: The pronoun belongs to the birth-account setting, so the maternal relation points to Jesus. feminine grammar proves a separate theology: The feminine form identifies the noun class and the person in context; doctrine must come from the passage and canon.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads μητρὸς in Matthew 1:18 within the phrase μνηστευθείσης ... τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ.
The lemma is μήτηρ, a common noun for a mother, used here in its normal maternal sense.
The genitive form works with the article, pronoun, and Mary's name to identify Mary as Jesus' mother before the sentence continues with the betrothal-to-Joseph phrase.
Matthew 1:18 introduces Jesus' birth by naming Mary as his mother, locating her betrothal to Joseph, and then reporting that she was found with child from the Holy Spirit.
Within the wider Gospel narrative, this wording simply contributes to the account of Jesus' birth and does not by itself expand the doctrine beyond the passage's own claim.
For teaching or translation, the form can be rendered naturally as his mother or mother in the relational phrase, while keeping Joseph's betrothal as the narrative setting.
Do not derive a separate theological emphasis from feminine gender, and do not assign the maternal relationship to Joseph when the verse identifies Mary in relation to Jesus.