ἐξουσίαν (exousian) in John 1:12: Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐξουσίαν (exousian) in John 1:12
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἐξουσίαν in John 1:12 within the phrase ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar highlights the gift character of the statement: becoming children of God is linked to a granted authority or right, not merely to human initiative.
How To Communicate It
Readers can communicate the verse as a received privilege from Christ, with the accusative showing that this is the item given.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Accusative case alone does not settle every nuance of authority, right, or power.
- Feminine gender here is grammatical class, not a theological statement about persons.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a reality of authority or right, and here it functions as a transferable grant in the sentence.
Accusative: the form usually marks a direct object or related complement, and here it receives the action of giving.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, presenting one granted authority or capacity as a unit.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which in Greek is a form feature and not a gendered theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἔδωκεν ... ἐξουσίαν
The form is governed by ἔδωκεν, the verb of giving, so it functions as the thing given rather than as the giver or receiver.
It names what Christ grants to those who received him, namely authority or right to become children of God.
It is not the subject of the clause, and the accusative alone does not require a narrow meaning beyond the gift context.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The accusative form names the granted authority or right at the heart of John 1:12's statement about becoming children of God.
Object of the giving verb. names the thing given rather than the giver or the recipients. Attached to the verb he gave. Governed by the clause about what was given to those who received him. The object relation highlights gift language while the wider clause explains the privilege.
What did he give? He gave authority or right, with the accusative form marking it as the content of the gift.
Direct: The accusative object relation supports an English object such as authority, right, or privilege, depending on translation style.
The form marks what is given, but the verse context decides the nuance between authority, right, or privilege.
Accusative case settles every nuance of authority: The case identifies the object of giving, but the immediate context controls the exact sense of authority or right. feminine noun class creates a theological gender statement: The feminine form is grammatical and should not be turned into a claim about persons.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἐξουσίαν in John 1:12 within the phrase ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι.
The lemma ἐξουσία ordinarily refers to authority, right, or power to act, and that basic sense fits the verse well.
As an accusative object of giving, the form identifies the granted reality, not the grammatical subject, and the nearby infinitive shows what this grant serves.
The verse says that those who receive and believe in him are given authority or right to become children of God.
This use fits the wider Johannine theme of Christ as the one who bestows divine privilege and authority derived from his own lordship.
In teaching or translation, the form supports rendering the term as a bestowed right, authority, or power to become God's children, depending on context.
Do not derive an automatic technical meaning, a theological system, or a claim about human status beyond what the sentence actually states.