υἱὸν (uion) in Matthew 1:25: Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
υἱὸν (uion) in Matthew 1:25
Textual Witness
In the cited text of Matthew 1:25, the surface form is υἱὸν within the phrase τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the plain reading that one specific child is in view as the one born, while leaving broader meaning to the surrounding sentence.
How To Communicate It
In translation or teaching, this form can be rendered simply as 'son' or 'child' in context, with the note that the grammar marks him as the one born.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Accusative case here identifies the child's role in the clause, but it does not by itself settle every interpretive question.
- Masculine grammatical gender is a feature of the noun form, not a theological statement about gender.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a person, and here it points to the child mentioned in the sentence.
Accusative: the form normally marks a direct object or related object-like role in the clause, and here it fits the birth expression.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, referring to one child in the narrative.
Masculine: the noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class, which here reflects the word's form and not a theological claim about gender.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἔτεκε and the article τὸν with the possessive phrase αὐτῆς.
The form is governed by the verb of bearing and the article-noun structure that presents the child as the one born.
It functions as the object of the birth statement, identifying the child Mary bore and the one later named in the verse.
It does not by itself state status, age, or doctrinal significance, and it does not turn the noun into a different lexical item.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The accusative noun names the child Mary bore before the naming of Jesus.
Accusative object of the birth verb. identifies the child Mary bore as the object of the birth statement. Attached to ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς. Governed by ἔτεκε. The grammar marks the born child; the naming clause identifies him as Jesus.
Whom did Mary bear in this clause? The noun identifies her son as the child born.
Direct: The direct-object role directly supports rendering she bore her son.
The noun identifies the child in the birth statement; the verse's naming clause gives the explicit name.
Object noun settles every birth-narrative question: The noun marks the child born in this clause; broader narrative questions require the surrounding passage.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
In the cited text of Matthew 1:25, the surface form is υἱὸν within the phrase τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον.
The lemma is υἱός, meaning son or descendant, so the form names the child without changing the basic lexical sense.
The accusative works with ἔτεκε to show who was born, while the article and modifier present him as her son, the firstborn.
The verse says that Joseph did not know her until she bore her son, and then he named him Jesus.
Within the Gospel context, the wording keeps the focus on the birth itself and on the naming of the child, without adding more than the sentence states.
For readers, the form helps identify the child as the object of the birth action and supports a straightforward narrative reading.
Do not derive more from accusative case than the sentence supports, and do not make grammatical gender carry a theological argument.