ἀγαπᾶτε (agapate) in John 13:34: Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive

Verb: the form names an action, state, or verbal idea. The verse determines how strongly the verbal form should be pressed.

Present: tense and aspect describe how the action is presented in this form, but context decides the exact force.

Active: voice describes how the subject relates to the verbal action in this form.

Subjunctive: the form's mood helps explain how the verbal idea functions in the clause.

Second Person: the form marks who is involved in the verbal assertion, command, or clause.

Not applicable: this finite verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Plural: the form is marked for grammatical number and should be tied to the subject or clause it serves.

Not applicable: this finite verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους· καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς,

Jesus' new commandment in John 13:34

ἀγαπᾶτε is a Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive within "καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους· καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς,". The subjunctive verb states the command's content: that the disciples love one another.

The form does not reduce love to emotion or detach it from Jesus' example.

High: The form matters because it functions as purpose-result in John 13:34.

Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive. expresses the commanded response in the content clause. Attached to the hina clause that gives the commandment's content. Governed by Jesus' new commandment in John 13:34. The syntax should be explained from the clause, not isolated from the passage.

What does Jesus' new commandment require? The subjunctive verb states the command's content: that the disciples love one another.

Direct: The verb directly supports the commandment's content, that the disciples love one another.

The same morphology label can function differently in another verse. The immediate wording should decide the contextual force. Grammar identifies the form's role; the passage supplies the interpretive weight. Grammatical gender is not a separate theological claim.

Grammar alone proves doctrine: The form supports interpretation only as it serves the verse and its context. present tense proves constant emotional state: The present subjunctive belongs to the command's content. It should not be used by itself to define love as an unbroken feeling. grammatical gender proves theology: Grammatical gender is a language feature and should not be pressed beyond the verse.

The Textus Receptus witness for John 13:34 reads ἀγαπᾶτε with the morphology label Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive.

The lemma is ἀγαπάω. The guide uses the gloss "I love" only to orient this occurrence.

ἀγαπᾶτε appears in the phrase "καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους· καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς,". The subjunctive verb states the command's content: that the disciples love one another.

John 13:34 calls Jesus' disciples to love one another according to the pattern of his own love.

The form fits John's repeated link between love, obedience, and visible discipleship.

When teaching John 13:34, use this form to keep love anchored in Jesus' command and his example, not in a vague feeling.

Do not claim that present subjunctive alone proves a complete doctrine of love. The clause names the commanded response, and Jesus' own love supplies the pattern.