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How ζωῆς Works in Revelation 22:14
A focused form insight on Noun Genitive Singular Feminine in Revelation 22:14.
Revelation 22:14 - BSB
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
The Question
How does ζωῆς function in Revelation 22:14?
Short Answer
ζωῆς is a Noun Genitive Singular Feminine in Revelation 22:14. The genitive makes 'life' modify and identify the tree, supporting the well-known image of 'the tree of life' and reinforcing the verse's picture of blessed access and restored entrance.
What the Form Is Doing
ζωῆς appears in Revelation 22:14 as a Noun Genitive Singular Feminine. It functions as a genitive modifier that specifies which tree is meant, identifying it as the tree associated with life.
The genitive helps the phrase read as 'the tree of life', so the focus falls on the tree characterized by or linked with life within the verse's promise of blessed access.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The genitive makes 'life' modify and identify the tree, supporting the well-known image of 'the tree of life' and reinforcing the verse's picture of blessed access and restored entrance.
The genitive noun identifies the tree in the blessing about access and entrance into the city.
Translation Effect
The genitive relation directly supports wording such as "the tree of life."
The form guide should support the public Bible reading, not replace it with a private rendering.
What It Does Not Prove
Do not derive a standalone doctrine from the case ending, do not force a technical semantic category beyond the context, and do not make grammatical gender into a gender claim about God or people.
Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
Genitive case suggests relationship, but the verse and phrase determine the most responsible reading.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The witness reads 'τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς' in Revelation 22:14, placing this form inside a fixed noun phrase in the blessing and entrance saying.
For readers and teachers, the grammar can be explained as a relationship word that helps specify the image, while the verse's promise remains the main communicative point.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not derive a standalone doctrine from the case ending, do not force a technical semantic category beyond the context, and do not make grammatical gender into a gender claim about God or people.
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case suggests relationship, but the verse and phrase determine the most responsible reading.
- Feminine grammatical gender is not a theological gender claim and should not be pressed beyond agreement.