Greek Form Guide

ἑνός· (enos) in Romans 3:12: Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine

ἑνός· (enos) in Romans 3:12

Textual Witness

ἑνός· enos Adjective Genitive Singular Masculine

The witness reads 'οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός' in Romans 3:12, with the form standing at the close of the verse.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form adds precision to the negative claim by helping the sentence exclude every possible exception, including a single one.

How To Communicate It

When communicating the verse, this form may be glossed as 'one' within a limiting phrase, but the interpretation should stay tied to the sentence's strong denial.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Masculine gender here is grammatical, not a gendered theological statement.
  • The form supports the verse's meaning, but it does not create that meaning apart from the clause.
  • Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Adjective: the form describes or quantifies a noun, and here it functions with numeral force.

Case

Genitive: the form usually expresses relation, limit, or reference, and here it works with the phrase around it.

Number

Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and points to one rather than many.

Gender

Masculine: the form is in the masculine grammatical class, which is a language feature and not a theological claim.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The form is attached to the limiting phrase headed by ἕως and completes the expression ἕως ἑνός.

Governed By

The form follows ἕως and most naturally belongs to the limiting phrase 'until one' or 'to the point of one'. The genitive signals relation inside that phrase, but the broader sense comes from the clause as a whole.

Role In The Phrase

It helps mark the limit of the statement by indicating a single remaining instance or person, in contrast with the preceding 'none'.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not by itself prove a special doctrinal category, and it does not change the lemma into a different word.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The genitive singular adjective contributes to the emphatic "not even one" conclusion.

Syntax Profile

Genitive numeral adjective in a limiting phrase. marks the limiting boundary of the negated statement down to a single one. Attached to the phrase not even one. Governed by heos in Romans 3:12. The form supports the totalizing force, but the whole clause makes the indictment.

Reader Question

How complete is the negation? The phrase presses the denial to the limit: not even one.

Translation Effect

Direct: The form directly supports "one" in the emphatic phrase.

Where Caution Is Needed

The genitive form should be explained as part of the limiting phrase, not as an isolated case claim. Masculine grammatical form should not be turned into a gendered theological statement.

Fallacies To Avoid

Case ending alone creates universal sin doctrine: The case supports the local wording; the quotation and argument carry the universal indictment. masculine form limits the indictment to men: Masculine grammatical form does not limit the theological scope by itself.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads 'οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός' in Romans 3:12, with the form standing at the close of the verse.

Lexical Identity

The lemma εἷς normally means 'one', and this inflected form keeps that basic identity while appearing in genitive singular masculine form.

Grammar In Context

Placed after ἕως, the form works as a boundary marker in the sentence. In the surrounding negation, it strengthens the idea that no person is left out of the verdict.

Passage Meaning

The verse says that none does good, and this form helps express that the absence reaches all the way down to one, with no exception.

Canonical Fit

The wording fits Paul's larger argument in Romans 3 about universal human sin and the need for divine grace.

Communication Use

For readers and teachers, the form can be explained as a small but forceful piece of the verse's total negation: not even one.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a separate theological doctrine from genitive case alone, and do not let the form override the verse's plain negated sense.