Ὑμεῖς (Umeis) in Matthew 5:13: P-2NP
Ὑμεῖς (Umeis) in Matthew 5:13
Textual Witness
The witness reads Ὑμεῖς in Matthew 5:13.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
Makes the salt saying direct and communal.
How To Communicate It
Use it to show that the salt saying is directed to the hearers as a group.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Keep the form tied to Matthew 5:13.
- Do not detach it from Jesus direct address in Matthew 5:13.
- Do not use morphology alone to build a complete doctrinal claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the form points to a person, group, thing, or question within the clause.
Nominative: marks the pronoun as the subject or subject-related form in the clause.
Second person: the form addresses the hearer or hearers.
Plural: the form points to more than one grammatical referent or addressee where context requires.
Gender: this pronoun form should not be used to make a theological claim from grammar alone.
What The Form Does In This Verse
You are the salt of the earth
Jesus direct address in Matthew 5:13
Identifies the disciples as the directly addressed group in the salt saying.
Do not make the pronoun a general statement about every person apart from the addressed disciples.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Medium: direct address
Explicit second person subject. names the addressed group. Attached to you are the salt of the earth. Governed by Jesus direct address in Matthew 5:13. Read with You are the salt of the earth.
Who is being addressed in the salt saying? The disciples addressed by Jesus are directly named as you.
Direct: The pronoun supports a direct plural you.
This occurrence must be read within Matthew 5:13, not as a standalone word study.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads Ὑμεῖς in Matthew 5:13.
The lemma is the second person pronoun, so the form points to the addressees rather than introducing a new action or quality.
The nominative plural form stands before the finite verb and makes the address explicit.
Jesus places the responsibility of the salt image on the disciples he is addressing.
The form fits Matthew 5 by keeping discipleship identity tied to Jesus own address.
Use it to show that the salt saying is directed to the hearers as a group.
Do not infer a complete doctrine of discipleship from the pronoun alone.