Greek Form Guide

αὐτῆς (autes) in Matthew 1:25: Genitive Singular Feminine

αὐτῆς (autes) in Matthew 1:25

Textual Witness

αὐτῆς autes Genitive Singular Feminine

The witness reads αὐτῆς in Matthew 1:25 within the phrase τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς, so the form points back to the nearer female referent in the sentence context.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form narrows reference and makes the sentence read as a maternal possession or relation, which helps the reader follow the narrative clearly.

How To Communicate It

In teaching or translation, this form can be rendered with a simple possessive sense such as 'her son,' while keeping the birth and naming report in view.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • The feminine case ending identifies reference in context, but it does not create a gendered theological claim.
  • The pronoun does not change the lemma into another word, and it should not be overread beyond its local relational force.
  • Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Pronoun: the form points back to a previously mentioned person and does not introduce a new noun.

Case

Genitive: the form normally marks a relation of possession, source, or close association in context.

Number

Singular: the form is grammatically singular here, so it refers to one person in the clause movement.

Gender

Feminine: the form is feminine in grammatical agreement, which helps identify the referent but does not itself make a theological claim.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

It is attached to υἱὸν and stands in relation to the phrase ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν.

Governed By

The genitive is governed by the surrounding noun phrase and naturally reads as a possessive or relational link to the son just mentioned.

Role In The Phrase

It identifies the son as her son, shaping the phrase as a maternal relation within the birth report.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not change the subject of the sentence, and it does not by itself decide wider theological questions about identity or status.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The genitive feminine pronoun clarifies the mother-son relation in Matthew's birth report.

Syntax Profile

Genitive possessive pronoun. marks the son as related to the woman already in view in the narrative. Attached to the son born in Matthew 1:25. Governed by the noun phrase her son. The pronoun clarifies relationship in the narrative and should not be made to carry more than that local role.

Reader Question

Whose son is being described in the birth report? The pronoun points to the woman already in view and supports the wording her son.

Translation Effect

Direct: The genitive feminine pronoun directly supports a rendering such as 'her son.'

Where Caution Is Needed

Pronoun reference comes from the narrative context, not from the form alone. The genitive marks relation or possession in the phrase but does not decide broader theological questions by itself.

Fallacies To Avoid

Pronoun gender proves more than reference: Feminine marks the local referent and does not carry a separate doctrinal argument. possessive pronoun settles all identity questions: The pronoun supports the mother-son relation in the phrase; the chapter supplies the wider identity claims.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads αὐτῆς in Matthew 1:25 within the phrase τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς, so the form points back to the nearer female referent in the sentence context.

Lexical Identity

The lemma αὐτός is a flexible pronoun, and here the genitive feminine singular form serves a possessive or relational use in ordinary narrative Greek.

Grammar In Context

In this verse the form links the birth to the woman already in view, so the line says that she bore her son, the firstborn, before the naming action.

Passage Meaning

The grammar supports a straightforward reading of a birth account that identifies the child as belonging to the woman in the narrative frame.

Canonical Fit

Within Matthew's opening chapter, the form fits a family and naming sequence that reports events rather than making a standalone doctrinal statement.

Communication Use

For readers, the form clarifies reference and keeps the sentence focused on the mother-son relationship in the story.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive from the feminine genitive alone any claim about the lemma changing meaning, or any theological conclusion beyond the local relational sense.