αὐτῆς, (autes) in Matthew 1:19: Genitive Singular Feminine
αὐτῆς, (autes) in Matthew 1:19
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτῆς in Matthew 1:19, within the phrase ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The pronoun narrows reference and clarifies relationship, helping the verse read as a concrete description of Joseph's conduct toward the woman in context.
How To Communicate It
In translation and teaching, it is best rendered in a way that preserves the relationship, such as 'her husband,' while keeping the focus on the sentence's narrative point.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case here signals relationship, but the exact force must be read from the sentence and its flow.
- Grammatical gender identifies the form class and does not by itself create a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the form points to a previously identified person or thing rather than naming it again.
Genitive: the form usually marks relationship, possession, or close association, and here it links the noun to someone connected with Joseph.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it refers to one person in view.
Feminine: the form is in the feminine grammatical class, which here fits the woman already in the verse and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ὁ ἀνὴρ
The genitive pronoun is tied to the noun phrase and identifies the man as belonging to, or closely associated with, the woman already mentioned in the context.
It specifies which man Joseph is, namely the husband connected with her, and it helps the reader track the relationship in the sentence.
It does not change Joseph into another person, and it does not by itself explain the legal or social details of the relationship beyond the connection stated.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive feminine pronoun identifies Joseph in relation to Mary, which matters for the verse's account of his response.
Genitive pronoun modifying husband. links Joseph to Mary as her husband. Attached to the her husband phrase. Governed by the clause describing Joseph's righteous response. The form clarifies relationship; the verse supplies Joseph's intended action.
How is Joseph related to Mary in the sentence? He is identified as her husband.
Direct: The form directly supports her husband.
The genitive marks relationship but should not be used alone to reconstruct every legal detail. Feminine grammatical gender follows Mary as the referent and adds no doctrinal claim.
Genitive relationship proves all marital-legal details: The form identifies relationship; the narrative context governs the social and legal setting.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτῆς in Matthew 1:19, within the phrase ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς.
The lemma αὐτός can refer to the same person or to a third person, and in this context it points back to the woman already in view.
The genitive singular feminine form naturally expresses association with the nearby female referent, so the phrase identifies Joseph as her husband without requiring more than the text gives.
In the sentence, the pronoun helps show that Joseph is not being described in isolation but in relation to Mary, which supports the narrative focus on his conduct toward her.
Within Matthew 1, the wording fits the account of Joseph and Mary and keeps attention on Joseph's righteous and restrained response.
For readers, the form quietly keeps the referent clear and avoids repetition, letting the sentence move from identification to Joseph's intentions.
Do not derive extra doctrinal or social conclusions from genitive gender alone, and do not treat the form as proof of details not stated in the verse.