αὐτοῦ, (autou) in Matthew 1:24: Genitive Singular Masculine
αὐτοῦ, (autou) in Matthew 1:24
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτοῦ in Matthew 1:24 within the phrase παρέλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ,.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The pronoun helps the reader keep the action anchored to Joseph and hear the phrase as a simple statement about his wife.
How To Communicate It
It makes the relationship explicit in compact Greek, allowing the clause to remain brief while still clear to the audience.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Masculine gender here is a form feature tied to the antecedent and should not be turned into a theological gender claim.
- The pronoun marks relationship in context, but it should not be overread beyond the sentence's plain reference.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points to a participant already identifiable from context rather than naming it anew.
Genitive: the form usually marks relationship or possession, and here it ties the wife to Joseph in the phrase.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and refers to one person in the scene.
Masculine: the pronoun is marked masculine in form, which fits the male antecedent here and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τὴν γυναῖκα
The genitive is linked to the noun phrase and likely expresses whose wife she is, while the sentence context identifies Joseph as the referent.
It functions as a possessive or relational modifier, showing association between Joseph and the wife he took.
It does not introduce a new person, nor does it alter the meaning of γυναῖκα into another noun or office.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The genitive pronoun identifies Mary as Joseph's wife in the obedience scene.
Genitive pronoun modifying wife. links the wife to Joseph as the referent. Attached to the his wife phrase. Governed by the clause reporting Joseph's obedience. The form clarifies family relation while the verb reports Joseph's obedience.
Whose wife did Joseph take? The pronoun identifies her as Joseph's wife.
Direct: The form directly supports his wife.
The genitive marks relationship and should not be used alone to infer details beyond the narrative. Masculine grammar follows Joseph as antecedent and adds no theological claim.
Possessive pronoun supplies unstated marital details: The form marks relationship; Matthew's narrative supplies the scope.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτοῦ in Matthew 1:24 within the phrase παρέλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ,.
The lemma αὐτός is a flexible pronoun that can be emphatic or referential, and here it is used in an oblique case.
In this sentence the genitive singular masculine form most naturally points back to Joseph, supporting a simple possessive relation in the phrase.
The verse reports that Joseph obeyed the angel and then took his wife, with the pronoun clarifying that the woman is his wife.
Within the Gospel narrative, the form supports the straightforward family relation already established by the context.
For readers and translators, the form signals an ordinary reference to Joseph without requiring added emphasis or a special theological nuance.
Do not derive a different subject, a separate referent, or a doctrinal claim from the genitive form alone.