Greek Form Guide

εἰδωλολάτραι, (eidololatrai) in Revelation 22:15: Noun Nominative Plural Masculine

εἰδωλολάτραι, (eidololatrai) in Revelation 22:15

Textual Witness

εἰδωλολάτραι, eidololatrai Noun Nominative Plural Masculine

The witness reads εἰδωλολάτραι in Revelation 22:15, within a plural nominative catalog of excluded groups.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The grammar sharpens the verse's list of excluded persons, so the reader hears idol worshipers as one category among several, not as an isolated aside.

How To Communicate It

In teaching and translation, this form can be rendered as a plural group label, preserving the verse's catalog of those outside while keeping the focus on the context.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Nominative plural here identifies a listed group, but the surrounding sentence still controls the interpretation.
  • Grammatical masculine is a form class, not a basis for a gendered theological claim.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Noun: this form names a class of persons, here those described as idol worshipers in the verse's list.

Case

Nominative: this form normally marks a subject or a listed nominative item, and here it functions in a catalog of excluded groups.

Number

Plural: the form refers to more than one person or to a class of persons in this occurrence.

Gender

Masculine: this is the noun's grammatical class in the form, but that feature alone does not make a theological gender claim.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

It is attached to the article οἱ in the sequence οἱ εἰδωλολάτραι.

Governed By

It is governed by the verse's coordinated nominative list after ἔξω, where each item names those outside the holy city.

Role In The Phrase

It functions as one member of the exclusion list, identifying idol worshipers among the groups kept outside.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not by itself introduce a new action or change the lemma into another word, and it does not require a special theological nuance beyond the context.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The form identifies idol worshipers as one group in Revelation 22:15's exclusion list.

Syntax Profile

Listed nominative group. names one group among those outside rather than adding a separate action. Attached to the article and coordinated list after outside. Governed by the verse's exclusion list. The nominative plural classifies the listed group, but the list and context carry the warning.

Reader Question

Who is named in this part of the exclusion list? The form names idol worshipers as one listed group among those outside the city.

Translation Effect

Direct: The plural nominative supports rendering the group as idolaters or idol worshipers in the list.

Where Caution Is Needed

The form identifies a listed group; it should not be isolated from the larger warning and blessing context.

Fallacies To Avoid

Listed nominative group supplies the whole doctrine of exclusion: The grammar names a group, but Revelation 22:15 and the surrounding passage supply the warning's scope. masculine plural proves the group is only male: The masculine plural form is grammatical and does not by itself narrow the warning to males only.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads εἰδωλολάτραι in Revelation 22:15, within a plural nominative catalog of excluded groups.

Lexical Identity

The lexeme εἰδωλολάτρης refers to an idol worshiper, an image worshiper, or one devoted to idols.

Grammar In Context

The article plus nominative plural form marks this as one of several named groups in the outside list, alongside dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral people, and murderers.

Passage Meaning

In this verse the form contributes to the picture of those kept outside the city, identifying idol worshipers as part of the excluded company.

Canonical Fit

Across the canon the word group consistently points to idolatry as covenant unfaithfulness, and here that moral frame suits the verse's exclusion language.

Communication Use

For readers, the form helps show that the verse is naming a class of people, not merely describing an abstract idea.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a hidden gender meaning, a different lexical sense, or a standalone doctrinal claim from nominative plural form alone.