εἰμι (eimi) in Revelation 22:16: Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εἰμι (eimi) in Revelation 22:16
Textual Witness
The text reads ἐγώ εἰμι in Revelation 22:16, with the speaker making a direct first person statement before the predicate titles.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form adds immediacy and clarity to the speaker's self-identification, but the meaning comes from the whole clause.
How To Communicate It
Readers should hear a direct present-tense claim from Jesus, with the verb serving the titles that explain who he is.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Verb person and tense can guide reading, but they do not replace the surrounding clause or its titles.
- Do not turn grammatical features into unsupported theological claims or isolate them from the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the word asserts being or existence, and here it functions as a copular statement in direct speech.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.
First person: the speaker or speakers are grammatically involved in the verbal form.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Singular: the form is first person singular, so it presents the speaker as the one speaking and identifying himself.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐγώ and the predicate phrase ἡ ῥίζα καὶ τὸ γένος τοῦ Δαβίδ, ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρὸς καὶ ὀρθρινός
The verb is governed by the speaker's self-identification in direct discourse, introducing the following predicate nouns and descriptions.
It links the first person speaker to the titles that follow, letting the sentence state identity rather than describe an action.
It does not by itself create a new title, and it does not force the predicate to be read apart from the surrounding context.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The verb introduces Jesus' first-person self-identification with the titles that close the book.
First-person present active indicative copula. links the speaker to the root, offspring, and morning-star predicates. Attached to the speaker and the title predicates that follow. Governed by direct speech from Jesus. The verb provides the identity link, while the titles and canonical setting carry the christological weight.
Who is being identified by the titles in this clause? The first-person speaker identifies himself with the titles that follow.
Direct: The first-person copula directly supports English wording such as "I am."
The form is grammatically simple; the interpretive weight rests on the predicate titles and Revelation's closing context.
The present form of to be carries the whole title theology: The present copula links speaker and predicates; the predicates and context carry the full claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The text reads ἐγώ εἰμι in Revelation 22:16, with the speaker making a direct first person statement before the predicate titles.
The lemma εἰμί is the common verb of being, and in this verse it functions in a straightforward self-identifying statement.
The present indicative fits the discourse as a present claim, and the singular first person points to one speaker speaking of himself.
The grammar supports reading the line as Jesus identifying himself with the titles that follow, not as an unrelated grammatical exercise.
This use fits the broader biblical pattern where being-verbs often carry identification, presence, or relationship within direct speech.
In translation and teaching, the form should be rendered plainly as a self-identification, keeping the focus on the sentence's claim.
Do not infer extra doctrine from tense or person alone, and do not make the verb's form override the named predicates or the verse context.