Ἰορδάνου, (Iordanou) in John 1:28: Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
Ἰορδάνου, (Iordanou) in John 1:28
Textual Witness
The witness reads 'πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου' within the verse, so the form appears in a spatial setting phrase.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the verse's geographic setting by linking the Jordan to the surrounding place phrase.
How To Communicate It
A translation or teaching note can render the phrase naturally as 'beyond the Jordan' while keeping the focus on location.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make masculine gender into a theological or personal gender claim.
- Do not treat the genitive ending as if it alone determines the verse's meaning.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names the Jordan River, a place referenced as part of the scene setting in the verse.
Genitive: the form usually marks a dependent relationship, and here it helps express location in the phrase 'beyond the Jordan.'
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, referring to one river as a unit.
Masculine: the noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class, which in this place is a formal language feature and not a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τοῦ
The genitive form works with the article and the adverbial phrase 'πέραν' to identify the boundary or region beyond the Jordan.
It contributes to a locative sense in the setting, indicating where the reported events took place.
It does not name the main action of the verse or turn the river into the subject of the sentence.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The genitive place name helps locate the baptism scene beyond the Jordan.
Noun genitive singular masculine. identifies the river used to locate where the events took place. Attached to the phrase beyond the Jordan. Governed by the geographic setting statement in John 1:28. The form contributes to location and should not be made into the main action of the verse.
What location does the phrase identify? It identifies the scene as beyond the Jordan.
Direct: The genitive directly supports the geographic phrase beyond the Jordan.
Genitive case does not mean possession in this geographic phrase. The river locates the event; it is not the subject or main action. Geographic detail should be used to orient the scene rather than carry theology by itself.
Genitive means ownership: The genitive is part of a location phrase and should be interpreted with the surrounding wording. place name carries the whole interpretation: The place detail supports the narrative setting, while the testimony context carries the main meaning.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads 'πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου' within the verse, so the form appears in a spatial setting phrase.
The lemma identifies the Jordan River, and the genitive form keeps that same lexical identity while placing it in a dependent relation.
In context, the genitive supports the sense 'beyond the Jordan,' helping locate the event without carrying the main verbal force.
The verse says these things happened in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing, so the form helps situate the narrative geographically.
Across the passage, the form fits a simple narrative notice that anchors John's activity in a specific place.
For readers, the grammar mainly helps answer where the event occurred, not what kind of event it was.
Do not infer extra theology, symbolic status, or a different referent merely from the genitive form.