Θεοῦ (Theou) in Romans 3:21: Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
Θεοῦ (Theou) in Romans 3:21
Textual Witness
The witness reads Θεοῦ in Romans 3:21 within the phrase χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form nudges the reader to hear the righteousness as belonging to or associated with God, which sharpens the verse's contrast with law without adding information the sentence does not state.
How To Communicate It
For communication, the form supports a concise rendering that preserves the connection between righteousness and God, while still leaving the larger doctrinal development to the surrounding context.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case here indicates relationship, but the precise nuance must be read from the verse, not assumed from the label alone.
- Masculine grammatical gender is not a theological gender claim and should not be treated as one.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names God as the one being referred to, rather than an action or descriptor.
Genitive: the form usually signals a relatedness, source, possession, or other limiting connection in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular here, pointing to one referent in view.
Masculine: the noun is tagged masculine in form, which is a grammatical class and not a theological claim about gender.
What The Form Does In This Verse
δικαιοσύνη
The genitive is linked to the noun δικαιοσύνη and most naturally describes the righteousness as related to God, while the surrounding clause keeps the focus on what has now been revealed.
It functions as a qualifying genitive that identifies the righteousness in view as God's righteousness, or righteousness belonging to God, without forcing a more specific relation than the context supplies.
It is not the subject of πεφανέρωται, and it does not by itself state the whole action or add a separate clause.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive noun qualifies righteousness in a central Romans statement about righteousness revealed apart from law.
Genitive singular noun modifying righteousness. identifies the righteousness by relation to God. Attached to the righteousness phrase in Romans 3:21. Governed by the statement that righteousness has now been manifested. The form qualifies righteousness; the manifestation clause and argument define its saving context.
Whose righteousness is being discussed? The genitive identifies the righteousness as God's righteousness or righteousness related to God.
Direct: The genitive directly supports wording such as "righteousness of God."
The genitive may be source, possession, or descriptive relation; Romans 3 must guide the nuance. The form does not by itself settle every debated nuance of the phrase righteousness of God.
Genitive case settles all righteousness debates: The form marks relation to God; Paul's argument defines the theological force. grammar alone contrasts law and gospel: The genitive qualifies righteousness, while the clause supplies the apart-from-law contrast.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads Θεοῦ in Romans 3:21 within the phrase χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται.
The lemma is θεός, which in this context points to God, not to a different lexical item or a shifted meaning created by case alone.
Because the genitive stands next to δικαιοσύνη, it most plausibly defines that righteousness by relation to God, while the main verb says it has been manifested apart from law.
The verse presents a righteousness now made visible that is not grounded in law, and the genitive supports understanding it as God's righteousness rather than a human achievement.
This wording fits the broader biblical pattern of God as the source and standard of saving righteousness, while the text itself remains focused on the revelation stated here.
In teaching or translation, the form can be rendered with an explanatory phrase such as righteousness of God, with care not to over-define the exact relation beyond the context.
Do not infer that the genitive alone settles every theological nuance, and do not read grammatical gender as a statement about divine sex or identity.