ἐξουσίαν (exousian) in Matthew 7:29: Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐξουσίαν (exousian) in Matthew 7:29
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἐξουσίαν in Matthew 7:29 within the phrase ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps frame Jesus' teaching as authoritative in manner, while the surrounding comparison with the scribes supplies the main interpretive contrast.
How To Communicate It
In translation and teaching, this supports renderings like 'as one having authority' and cautions readers to keep the phrase tied to the verse's contrast.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Case, number, and gender can guide reading, but they do not by themselves create the whole interpretation.
- The feminine form is grammatical, not a theological gender statement.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a reality, here authority or power, rather than an action or modifier.
Accusative: the form normally marks the object of a verb or a related complement in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and points to one abstract idea.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which here is a language feature and not a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
This occurrence of ἐξουσίαν is tied to its immediate phrase or clause in Matthew 7:29. It contributes the idea of authority as the kind of possession associated with Jesus' teaching in this verse.
The phrase is shaped by ἔχων, which presents possession or having in a comparative manner with ὡς. The accusative is best read as the complement of that participial idea in context.
It contributes the idea of authority as the kind of possession associated with Jesus' teaching in this verse.
It should not be read as the subject of the clause, and the case alone does not decide every nuance of how the comparison works.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form explains how Jesus' teaching is characterized in contrast with the scribes.
Complement of the participial idea of having. names what characterizes Jesus' teaching in the comparison. Attached to the phrase as one having authority. Governed by the participial comparison that describes Jesus' teaching. The accusative complements the having idea, while the comparison supplies the interpretive contrast.
What marks Jesus' teaching in this comparison? Authority is the quality named as characterizing his teaching, in contrast with the scribes.
Direct: The form supports a direct object or complement rendering such as having authority.
The case supports the comparison but does not settle every nuance of how authority is exercised.
Accusative complement supplies the whole doctrine of authority: The form supports the comparison, but the passage context defines the authority being observed. feminine noun class carries gender meaning: The feminine form is grammatical and should not become a theological gender claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἐξουσίαν in Matthew 7:29 within the phrase ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων.
The lemma ἐξουσία means authority or power, so the form points to that concept without changing the lemma.
In context, the grammar supports a description of how Jesus taught, namely as one who had authority, rather than as one merely repeating inherited instruction.
The verse contrasts Jesus' teaching with that of the scribes and highlights the distinctive authority perceived in his manner of teaching.
This fits the larger Gospel pattern that presents Jesus as teaching with unique authority, consistent with his identity and mission.
For readers and teachers, the form helps communicate that the issue is not only what Jesus said, but the authoritative manner in which he said it.
Do not derive a full doctrine from case alone, and do not turn grammatical feminine gender into a claim about personal gender or theology.