πτωχοὶ (ptochoi) in Matthew 5:3: Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
πτωχοὶ (ptochoi) in Matthew 5:3
Textual Witness
The witness reads πτωχοὶ in Matthew 5:3.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The adjective identifies the first group in the Beatitudes.
How To Communicate It
Use it to keep poverty in spirit tied to the kingdom promise.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not detach poor from in spirit or from the kingdom promise.
- Do not build a full doctrine from this form alone.
- Do not use morphology to detach the word from Matthew's immediate argument.
What Does The Label Mean?
Adjective: the form describes or qualifies another word in the clause.
Nominative: the case marks how the form functions in this occurrence.
Plural: the number should be read from this occurrence, not generalized beyond the clause.
Masculine: grammatical gender marks form agreement and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The poor in spirit
Jesus' first Beatitude description of the poor in spirit
Describes the people named in the first Beatitude.
Do not reduce poor in spirit to economic poverty alone or vague low self-esteem.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The adjective names the first blessed group in the Beatitudes.
Substantival adjective naming the blessed group. identifies those called poor in spirit. Attached to the poor in spirit. Governed by Jesus' first Beatitude description of the poor in spirit. Read with in spirit and the kingdom reason.
Who are called blessed in the first Beatitude? The poor in spirit.
Direct: The form directly supports poor.
The phrase includes in spirit, so the adjective should not be isolated.
Poor adjective alone settles poverty theology: The occurrence names the poor in spirit; broader poverty themes require broader context.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads πτωχοὶ in Matthew 5:3.
The lemma πτωχός carries the gloss "poor, destitute", and here it names poor or destitute people; here it describes the poor in spirit.
The adjective stands with the article and the dative in spirit phrase to identify the group blessed by Jesus.
Jesus declares the poor in spirit blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The form fits Matthew's kingdom reversal, where neediness before God receives kingdom promise.
Use it to keep poverty in spirit tied to the kingdom promise.
Do not use the adjective alone to settle every social or spiritual interpretation of poverty.