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How νόμου Works in Romans 3:20
A focused form insight on Noun Genitive Singular Masculine in Romans 3:20.
Romans 3:20 - BSB
Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.
The Question
How does νόμου function in Romans 3:20?
Short Answer
νόμου is a Noun Genitive Singular Masculine in Romans 3:20. The form nudges the reader toward law as the framework for the argument, but the sentence context determines that it serves to expose sin, not to provide the basis of justification.
What the Form Is Doing
νόμου appears in Romans 3:20 as a Noun Genitive Singular Masculine. It helps specify the kind of works in view and the means by which knowledge of sin is stated, so the reader hears law as the relevant standard in the argument.
The genitive works with the prepositions to express relation or means, so the clause speaks of works associated with law and of knowledge that comes through law.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The form nudges the reader toward law as the framework for the argument, but the sentence context determines that it serves to expose sin, not to provide the basis of justification.
The repeated genitive form anchors both works of law and through law in the verse's justification argument.
Translation Effect
The form directly supports law-related phrases such as works of law and through law.
The form guide should support the public Bible reading, not replace it with a private rendering.
What It Does Not Prove
Do not derive from the genitive alone a full doctrine of what every use of law must mean, or treat grammatical gender as a theological statement.
Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
The genitive shows relationship here, but the exact nuance must come from the sentence, not from the case alone.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The witness reads νόμου twice in Romans 3:20, within ἐξ ἔργων νόμου and διὰ γὰρ νόμου, so the repeated form anchors the verse's language about law.
For readers and teachers, the form helps clarify that Paul's point is not about any action in general but about works connected with law and about law's diagnostic role.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not derive from the genitive alone a full doctrine of what every use of law must mean, or treat grammatical gender as a theological statement.
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The genitive shows relationship here, but the exact nuance must come from the sentence, not from the case alone.
- Do not make grammatical gender into a theological gender claim, and do not treat form as if it changes the lemma into another word.