εἰμι, (eimi) in Revelation 22:9: Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative

Verb: the form names an action or state of being, and here it expresses the speaker's claim in the sentence.

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, matching one speaker who identifies himself as a fellow servant.

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

σύνδουλός σου γάρ

The verb is governed by the speaking frame introduced by λέγει μοι, and it states what the speaker says about himself.

It functions as the main verb of the quoted claim, marking the speaker's self-identification as a fellow servant and member of the same worshiping community.

It does not by itself supply a separate subject object relation, and it does not redefine the speaker beyond the statement made in context.

High: The verb supports the angelic self-identification that redirects worship to God.

First-person present active indicative copula. links the speaker to the fellow-servant identity. Attached to the fellow-servant predicate in the angelic reply. Governed by the direct speech that corrects John's attempted worship. The verb makes the self-identification explicit, while the command to worship God supplies the worship guardrail.

How does the speaker identify himself? He identifies himself as a fellow servant, not as the object of worship.

Direct: The first-person verb directly supports English wording such as "I am."

The verb identifies the speaker in the correction; the worship conclusion comes from the whole reply.

The copula alone settles the worship theology: The copula states identity; the whole command and correction establish that worship belongs to God.

The received text at Revelation 22:9 reads σύνδουλός σου γάρ εἰμι, and the form occurs within a prohibition of worship followed by a call to worship God.

The lemma is εἰμί, the common verb of being or existence, and this occurrence uses that basic identity in a relational statement.

The first person singular present indicative supports a plain present assertion by the speaker, binding the claim to the immediate dialogue rather than to a timeless abstraction.

In context, the verb helps the speaker say he stands with the hearer and with other servants under God, so the point is shared status, not divine status.

The wording fits the wider biblical pattern that created messengers decline worship and direct honor to God alone.

For readers and translators, the form calls for a simple present rendering such as I am or I exist, with the surrounding sentence carrying the fuller force.

Do not derive ontological claims, status as deity, or extra doctrinal categories from the verb form alone.