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How πᾶσα Works in Romans 3:20
A focused form insight on Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine 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 πᾶσα function in Romans 3:20?
Short Answer
πᾶσα is an Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine in Romans 3:20. The form pushes the reader toward a comprehensive reading: the verse is not about one case of flesh but about the whole human condition under law.
What the Form Is Doing
πᾶσα appears in Romans 3:20 as an Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine. It marks the noun as comprehensive in force, so the verse speaks of flesh in general rather than a restricted subgroup.
In this clause, the singular feminine form agrees with σὰρξ and helps present the subject as an all-encompassing class. The grammar strengthens the reach of the statement, but the surrounding contrast with works of law and knowledge of sin carries the interpretive weight.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The form pushes the reader toward a comprehensive reading: the verse is not about one case of flesh but about the whole human condition under law.
The adjective makes Paul's denial of justification by works of law comprehensive with respect to flesh.
Translation Effect
The form directly supports rendering the phrase as all flesh or no flesh in the negative construction.
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 claim that the feminine form teaches anything about gender, or that the adjective alone settles every detail of the clause's logic.
Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
Do not make grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The witness reads πᾶσα in Romans 3:20, in the phrase οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ, so the form is part of a universal-sounding subject expression.
For readers and translators, the form warns against narrowing the statement too quickly. It supports renderings such as 'no flesh' or 'all flesh' depending on idiom, while keeping the universal force in view.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not derive a claim that the feminine form teaches anything about gender, or that the adjective alone settles every detail of the clause's logic.
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
- Do not claim the form changes the lemma into another word.