Ἰησοῦ. (Iesou) in Revelation 22:20: Noun Singular Masculine
Ἰησοῦ. (Iesou) in Revelation 22:20
Textual Witness
The witness reads 'Ναί, ἔρχου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ.' and places the form at the end of the appeal.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the sense of direct, personal address and helps the verse sound like a final prayerful appeal.
How To Communicate It
In translation and teaching, preserve the address to Jesus clearly so the closing petition remains personal and immediate.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Nominative form here does not by itself prove subject function, because the address context is controlling.
- Masculine grammatical gender is a form feature, not a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the form names a person, so it points to Jesus as a referent rather than describing an action.
Vocative/direct address: the morphology code points to address, and the verse uses the name in the closing petition with Lord.
Singular: the form is singular here, which fits a single personal address in the closing petition.
Masculine: the noun is in the masculine grammatical class, which is standard for this name and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Κύριε
The form is used in direct address and stands in apposition with Κύριε in the petition, 'Yes, come, Lord Jesus.'
It names the one being addressed, so the grammar supports a vocative-like appeal in the closing prayer.
It is not the subject of 'come' and should not be read as performing the action in the clause.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form names Jesus in the final direct-address prayer of Revelation.
Singular masculine name in direct address. identifies the one being addressed in prayer. Attached to the address Lord Jesus. Governed by the closing petition come, Lord Jesus. The name supplies the addressee; the imperative come carries the requested action.
Who is being addressed in the final petition? The petition addresses the Lord Jesus.
Direct: The direct-address function supports English wording such as "Lord Jesus."
The name identifies the addressee, but it is not the subject of the command form in the same way a nominative subject would be.
Masculine grammatical form makes a separate theological gender claim: The masculine form is the grammatical form of the name here; the verse uses it to address Jesus.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads 'Ναί, ἔρχου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ.' and places the form at the end of the appeal.
The lemma is Ἰησοῦς, the proper name Jesus, so the form identifies the person being invoked.
Although nominative in form, the surrounding imperative and address language show a spoken petition to Jesus rather than a descriptive clause.
The verse closes with a personal plea for Jesus to come, reinforcing the immediacy and devotion of the prayer.
This fits the broader biblical pattern of direct address to the Lord in prayer and confession without requiring the grammar to carry the whole theological weight.
Readers should hear the form as part of a reverent invocation, not as a technical label that changes the sense of the sentence.
Do not derive a different lemma, a hidden subject, or extra doctrinal claims from the case ending alone.