καιρῷ, (kairo) in Romans 3:26: Noun Dative Singular Masculine
καιρῷ, (kairo) in Romans 3:26
Textual Witness
The witness reads καιρῷ in Romans 3:26 within the phrase ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, so the form is a temporal noun inside a prepositional phrase.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form narrows the sense to a present temporal setting, so the verse reads as a statement about God's righteousness being shown now, not merely at some undefined time.
How To Communicate It
In translation or teaching, the phrase may be communicated as a present-time setting that supports the verse's purpose statement, while preserving the sentence's larger flow.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Dative singular form indicates usage in the phrase, but the verse's meaning comes from the whole clause, not from case alone.
- Grammatical gender is a lexical class marker here and must not be turned into a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a time or season, and here it functions as a concrete temporal idea rather than a verb or modifier.
Dative: the form commonly marks a related circumstance or sphere, and here it works with the preposition to frame the time in view.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so the phrase points to one present time frame as a unit.
Masculine: the noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class, which is a lexical feature and does not itself make a gendered theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐν τῷ νῦν
The dative is governed by the preposition ἐν, which places the noun inside the phrase of location or circumstance rather than making it the clause's main actor.
It functions as part of the temporal phrase, indicating the present time in which the stated purpose is seen to operate.
It is not the subject of the sentence, and it should not be read as if the case alone decided the theological point of the verse.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The dative noun completes the present-time phrase in a verse about God displaying righteousness now.
Dative singular noun governed by the preposition in. identifies the present time or season in which the purpose statement is framed. Attached to the present-time phrase in Romans 3:26. Governed by the preposition marking temporal setting. The dative is temporal because the preposition and modifier "now" set the phrase in time.
When is this display of righteousness being framed? The dative phrase points to the present time in the argument.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as "at the present time" or "in the present season."
The dative is governed by the preposition and should not be treated as a generic indirect object. The timing phrase supports the purpose statement but does not by itself define the whole theology of divine timing.
Dative case alone defines theological timing: The form marks the temporal phrase; the full verse explains why the timing matters. kairos becomes a hidden code word: The noun means time or season here and should remain tied to the phrase "now."
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads καιρῷ in Romans 3:26 within the phrase ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, so the form is a temporal noun inside a prepositional phrase.
The lemma καιρός commonly refers to time, season, or an opportune moment, so the word naturally contributes a timing sense here.
Because it stands with ἐν and the article, the form points to a specific present time frame rather than to time in the abstract.
In context, the phrase supports the claim that God's righteousness is being displayed in the present moment as part of the stated purpose.
This use fits the broader biblical pattern in which appointed or fitting time language can mark decisive divine action, without requiring the form itself to carry that whole theology.
For readers and teachers, the phrase can be rendered simply as 'in the present time' or 'at the present season,' while keeping the focus on the clause's purpose.
Do not derive from the noun alone a full doctrinal system about timing, and do not treat grammatical gender as a claim about persons.