Greek Form Guide

παρέλαβε (parelaben) in Matthew 1:24: Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative

παρέλαβε (parelaben) in Matthew 1:24

Textual Witness

παρέλαβε parelaben Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative

The witness reads παρέλαβε in Matthew 1:24 within the phrase καὶ παρέλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, so the form is anchored in a narrative sequence about Joseph.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form helps the verse read as a decisive narrative move: Joseph acts on the command he received, and the story advances with a completed response.

How To Communicate It

In preaching or translation, the form supports clear past narration and active agency, but the meaning should still come from the clause and verse, not from morphology alone.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not turn verbal aspect or voice into a separate doctrine.
  • Do not overread the form into claims about gender, status, or motive.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Verb: this form names an action or event, here the action of taking or receiving someone with oneself.

Tense / Aspect

Second Aorist: commonly views the action as a whole event. It should not be treated as automatically punctiliar or automatically past in every context.

Voice

Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.

Mood

Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.

Person

Third person: the form speaks about someone or something rather than directly as I/we or you.

Case

Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Number

Singular: the verb is marked for a single subject, which here fits Joseph as the one performing the action.

Gender

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ

Governed By

The verb is governed by the clause about Joseph after he awoke and did what the angel commanded him.

Role In The Phrase

It states the next narrated action: Joseph took his wife to himself, continuing the obedience already described.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not by itself define the marital status, emotion, or full social meaning of the action beyond what the context supplies.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The verb reports Joseph taking Mary as his wife in obedience to the angelic instruction.

Syntax Profile

Third-person singular second aorist active indicative receiving-taking verb. states Joseph action of taking his wife to himself. Attached to Joseph as subject and his wife as direct object. Governed by the narrative sequence after Joseph wakes and obeys the command. The verb reports the narrated action; the surrounding verse explains it as obedience to the command.

Reader Question

What action does Joseph take after waking? The singular verb reports that Joseph took his wife to himself.

Translation Effect

Direct: The aorist active form directly supports English wording such as "he took."

Where Caution Is Needed

The form reports the action, but the narrative context supplies its obedient and marital setting.

Fallacies To Avoid

Aorist taking verb proves every marital implication by itself: The verb reports Joseph action; the surrounding narrative defines its scope.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads παρέλαβε in Matthew 1:24 within the phrase καὶ παρέλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, so the form is anchored in a narrative sequence about Joseph.

Lexical Identity

The lemma παραλαμβάνω means to take or receive, and in the lexicon summary it can take a person as its object, including a wife.

Grammar In Context

The aorist indicative supports a simple past narrative step, while the transitive verb with an accusative object shows Joseph acting upon the woman mentioned.

Passage Meaning

In this verse the grammar contributes to the account that Joseph obeyed the angel and took Mary as his wife into the lived order of his household.

Canonical Fit

Within Matthew 1, the action fits the larger infancy narrative by showing obedient response to divine direction without needing extra force from the verb form.

Communication Use

For readers and teachers, the form helps present the verse as a completed, concrete act in the storyline, not as a general principle or repeated habit.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a separate theological claim from second aorist, active voice, or singular number beyond the narrated action itself.