ἄνδρα (andra) in Matthew 1:16: Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἄνδρα (andra) in Matthew 1:16
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἄνδρα in Matthew 1:16, in the phrase τὸν Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps present Joseph in a relational way, as Mary's husband, which supports the genealogy's movement toward Jesus without distracting from the narrative line.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or reading, this form can be explained as a contextual accusative description that makes Joseph's relation to Mary clear.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Masculine gender is grammatical here and should not be turned into a theological claim about gender.
- If syntax is not fully certain from the local context, state only the conservative reading that the phrase identifies Joseph as Mary's husband.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a person, and here it points to Joseph as a male individual in the genealogy narrative.
Accusative: the form usually marks a direct object or related complement, and here it works with the article to describe Joseph in apposition.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, referring to one person rather than a group.
Masculine: the noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class, which describes form and usage and does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τὸν Ἰωσὴφ
The accusative phrase follows the object name Joseph and is shaped by the article into an identifying description rather than a separate new participant.
It functions as an appositional descriptor, clarifying Joseph as Mary's husband within the genealogy statement.
It is not the main verb's direct object in a simple action sense, and it does not introduce a different person from Joseph.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The accusative noun clarifies Joseph's relationship to Mary inside Matthew's genealogy.
Accusative appositional descriptor. clarifies Joseph as Mary's husband rather than introducing a separate participant. Attached to τὸν Ἰωσὴφ. Governed by the genealogy clause naming Joseph. The form identifies Joseph's relationship in the genealogy; the surrounding birth narrative governs the theological reading.
How is Joseph identified in the genealogy? The accusative noun describes Joseph as Mary's husband in apposition to his name.
Direct: The appositional noun directly supports rendering Joseph as the husband of Mary.
The accusative form clarifies relationship here and should not be treated as a separate action object.
Accusative always means direct object: Accusative case often marks an object, but here the article and name form an appositional identity phrase.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἄνδρα in Matthew 1:16, in the phrase τὸν Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας.
The lemma ἀνήρ normally denotes a man, often specifically an adult male, and in this context it can naturally bear the sense husband.
The accusative singular masculine form, joined to Joseph by the article, supports an identifying role in the phrase rather than a general statement about manhood.
The verse names Joseph as Mary's husband while continuing the genealogy that leads to Jesus.
This use fits the wider New Testament pattern where ἀνήρ can denote a husband when the context points that way.
For readers, the form helps the sentence read smoothly and keeps the family relation explicit without adding extra emphasis.
Do not derive a generic doctrine about masculinity, a change of lemma, or a claim that the form alone proves a specific syntactic function beyond the local context.