ἐκείνην· (ekeinen) in John 1:39: Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐκείνην· (ekeinen) in John 1:39
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἐκείνην in John 1:39 within the phrase τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form adds specificity and emphasis to the day mentioned, reinforcing that the stay happened on that particular day.
How To Communicate It
In translation and explanation, it is best communicated as that day, with the demonstrative serving the context rather than controlling it.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Feminine gender here is grammatical agreement, not a theological gender statement.
- The case and number point to syntactic function, but they do not by themselves determine every nuance.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points to a person or thing by reference rather than naming it directly.
Accusative: the form usually marks the direct object or another object-like role in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it points to one day in view.
Feminine: the form is in the feminine grammatical class, which here matches the noun it describes and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τὴν ἡμέραν
It works with the article and noun to describe the day as a particular one already known from the context.
It functions attributively, identifying which day they stayed with him, namely that day.
It is not the main subject of the clause and does not by itself introduce a new participant or action.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Light: The demonstrative identifies the particular day in the narrative.
Accusative singular feminine demonstrative modifying day. specifies that particular day. Attached to the noun day. Governed by the phrase describing when they stayed with Jesus. The form agrees with the noun it modifies and keeps the time reference concrete.
Which day is meant? The form points to that day in the narrative.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as "that day."
The feminine form reflects agreement with day, not a theological gender claim.
Agreement overclaim: Do not make grammatical agreement carry meaning beyond identifying the day.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἐκείνην in John 1:39 within the phrase τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην.
The lemma ἐκεῖνος is a demonstrative pronoun that can point to someone or something as that one, with remoteness or emphasis depending on context.
Here the accusative feminine singular form agrees with ἡμέραν and helps mark the day as a specific, previously identified day in the narrative.
The sentence says they stayed with him that day, so the form supports a concrete and memorable day rather than an unspecified span of time.
Within the passage, the wording fits the flow of invitation, coming, seeing, and remaining, and the demonstrative helps the narrative sound particular and restrained.
For readers and teachers, the form can be rendered simply as that day, preserving the directness of the narrative without overloading the grammar.
Do not infer more from the feminine accusative alone than the fact that it modifies the day in context.