Matthew 1:16, continued

Ιακώβ δε εγέννησεν τον Ιωσήφ τον άνδρα Μαρίας,
εκ ης εγεννήθη Ιησούς ο λεγόμενος χριστός

Jacob fathered the Joseph the husband of Mary,
from whom was born Jesus the one called Messiah

We've already seen that 'Jesus' ('Ιησούς') is the subject of the last phrase. The word 'ο' is the masculine singular nominative definite article, here being used somewhat as a pronoun:

Jesus, the one called
Jesus, he who is called

The next word, 'λεγὀμενος', is our first example of a participle, a part of speech which is very important in Greek. In the sentence

'The woman walking down the street is my mother.'

the word 'walking' is a participle. It is verb-like, in that it refers to an action; but also adjective-like, in that it modifies a noun ('woman'). Participles can be thought of, then, as verbal adjectives. They agree with the noun they modify in number, gender, and case.

Consider the following three examples:

Ο απόστολος λεγόμενος Πέτρος εστίν πιστός.
The apostle called Peter is faithful.

H γυνή λεγομένη Σοφία εστίν πιστή.
Τhe woman called Sofia is faithful.

Βλέπω τον απόστολον λεγόμενον Πέτρον.
I see the apostle called Peter.

In the first example, the participle 'λεγόμενος' is in its masculine, singular, nominative form, to agree with 'ο απόστολος', which is also masculine, singular, and nominative.

In the second example, the participle, while still meaning 'called', changes its form to 'λεγομένη', indicating that the word it modifies ('γυνή', 'woman') is feminine, singular, and nominative.

In the third example, the participle is in the masculine, singular, accusative form, because in this sentence 'τον απόστολον', which the participle modifies, is the direct object as opposed to the subject of the sentence.


A final word about the word 'Χριστός'. English speakers tend to read this word as 'Christ' and let it go at that. 'Christ' has become a standard epithet for Jesus - just another name. A koine Greek dictionary, however, will tell you that 'Χριστός' is the equivalent of the Hebrew word which we read as 'Messiah.' In addition, the Greek word is related to the verb 'χρίω', which means 'to annoint (with scented oil)'. Thus, Χρίστος can also be thought of as having the meaning 'the anointed one.'

I've no doubt much more has been written on this single word, and would welcome additional enlightenment from any reader.