Greek Form Guide

αἱμάτων, (aimaton) in John 1:13: Noun Genitive Plural Neuter

αἱμάτων, (aimaton) in John 1:13

Textual Witness

αἱμάτων, aimaton Noun Genitive Plural Neuter

The witness reads οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων in John 1:13, within a chain of three denied sources followed by a contrast with birth from God.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The grammar helps the verse deny a merely human source for the birth in view, while leaving the broader theological meaning to the sentence and its contrast with being born of God.

How To Communicate It

In translation and explanation, this form can be communicated as a denied source or origin, with context making clear that the focus is on divine rather than human generation.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • The genitive and plural together suggest relation and source, but they do not determine every nuance on their own.
  • Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological gender claim or say the form changes the lemma into another word.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Noun: the word names a reality, and here it can function as a substantive idea rather than a verb or modifier.

Case

Genitive: the form usually marks a relationship, and in this phrase it follows ἐκ to express source or origin.

Number

Plural: the form is grammatically plural in this occurrence, so the phrase speaks in a pluralized way rather than as a single item.

Gender

Neuter: the noun belongs to the neuter grammatical class, which does not by itself make a theological claim about persons.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

ἐξ αἱμάτων

Governed By

The preposition ἐκ governs the genitive here, so αἱμάτων presents the source or basis being denied.

Role In The Phrase

The phrase functions as part of a series of excluded origins, describing what did not account for the birth just mentioned.

What It Is Not Doing

It is not the subject of the clause, and it does not by itself state a literal bloodline, doctrine, or cause apart from the context.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The genitive plural under ek is part of John 1:13 denying human source for the birth from God.

Syntax Profile

Genitive plural source phrase. marks a denied source or origin in the sequence of excluded human origins. Attached to the phrase not of bloods. Governed by the preposition ek in John 1:13. The genitive relation must be read from the preposition or phrase that governs it.

Reader Question

What source is being denied? The birth described is not from human bloodline or physical origin, but from God.

Translation Effect

Direct: The genitive after ek directly supports the source wording not of bloods or not of blood.

Where Caution Is Needed

The plural bloods should be explained as part of the denied-source phrase, not as a separate biological theory. The genitive marks relation, but context decides the precise nuance.

Fallacies To Avoid

Genitive has only one meaning: Genitive marks relation; the phrase and sentence determine which relation is in view. neuter gender makes a theological claim: Neuter is grammatical gender for the noun form, not a theological claim.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων in John 1:13, within a chain of three denied sources followed by a contrast with birth from God.

Lexical Identity

The lemma αἷμα normally means blood, and the lexicon summary notes a special use for generation, origin, or kinship in this verse.

Grammar In Context

The genitive plural under ἐκ fits a source construction, so the phrase points away from human origin or basis without needing to specify more than the context allows.

Passage Meaning

In this verse the wording helps say that the new birth described here is not from human blood, human desire, or male will, but from God.

Canonical Fit

This aligns with the verse's larger contrast between humanly traceable origins and a birth attributed to God, a theme that fits the passage's focus on divine action.

Communication Use

For readers and teachers, the form supports a concise rendering like from blood or from bloods, while the context carries the main interpretive force.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a detailed biological theory, a standalone doctrine from the form alone, or a theological gender claim from the neuter plural.