ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai) in Matthew 1:19: Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai) in Matthew 1:19
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἀπολῦσαι in Matthew 1:19, within the phrase ἐβουλήθη λάθρα ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes Joseph's plan sound deliberate and controlled, while leaving the exact outcome to the wider narrative.
How To Communicate It
This wording communicates restraint: Joseph wants a private resolution, and the infinitive frames the action as intended rather than performed in this verse.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- An infinitive can show intended action, but it should not be pressed into a fuller claim than the sentence supports.
- Grammatical gender, tense, or aspect here should not be turned into a theological conclusion.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form names an action or process, and here it presents the action as an infinitive rather than as a finite statement.
Aorist: commonly views the action as a whole event. It should not be treated as automatically punctiliar or automatically past in every context.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Infinitive: names the verbal idea without finite person. It often works as purpose, result, complement, or explanation in context.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Not applicable: infinitives do not carry singular or plural number in the same way nouns and finite verbs do.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐβουλήθη λάθρα
The infinitive is governed by ἐβουλήθη and expresses what Joseph intended to do, namely to dismiss or send Mary away privately.
It functions as the complementary action in the clause, showing the intended outcome of Joseph's resolve.
It is not a standalone main verb, and it does not by itself state the time or full force of the whole decision.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The infinitive states Joseph's intended private action toward Mary in a sensitive birth-narrative setting.
Aorist active infinitive. names the action Joseph intended, to release or dismiss her privately. Attached to Joseph's resolve. Governed by the verb expressing what Joseph intended. The infinitive presents intended action; it does not say the action was completed.
What did Joseph intend to do? He intended to dismiss Mary privately.
Direct: The infinitive directly supports to release, to dismiss, or to divorce, with context guiding the English choice.
The lexical range includes release, dismiss, and divorce; Matthew 1:19 narrows the sense through marriage context. Aorist infinitive form does not prove completed legal action. The private manner comes from lathra, not from the infinitive alone.
Infinitive means completed action: The infinitive names Joseph's intended action, not an action already done. lexical gloss alone settles divorce procedure: The local marriage context guides the rendering, but the verse does not explain every legal detail.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἀπολῦσαι in Matthew 1:19, within the phrase ἐβουλήθη λάθρα ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν.
The lemma ἀπολύω can mean release, dismiss, or divorce, and here the surrounding marriage context narrows the sense toward dismissing Mary.
As an infinitive after a verb of intent, it marks the planned action without making it a completed event in the verse.
The verse says Joseph intended to act privately and without public shame, so the grammar supports a restrained and deliberate decision.
Within Matthew's narrative, this wording fits a lawful and cautious response rather than a public accusation or immediate action.
For readers and teachers, the form helps show that Joseph's resolve is stated as intention, and the object αὐτήν clarifies who would be released or sent away.
Do not infer more than the clause provides, such as a completed divorce procedure, a change in Joseph's character, or a theological claim from verbal aspect alone.