Greek Form Guide

καρποὺς (karpous) in Revelation 22:2: Noun Accusative Plural Masculine

καρποὺς (karpous) in Revelation 22:2

Textual Witness

καρποὺς karpous Noun Accusative Plural Masculine

The witness reads καρποὺς in Revelation 22:2 within the phrase ξύλον ζωῆς, ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα, κατὰ μῆνα.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form reinforces the sense of repeated abundance and helps the verse communicate steady, life-giving provision.

How To Communicate It

In explanation or translation notes, this form can be described as the tree's multiple fruits, emphasizing regular and abundant output.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Accusative plural can support the verse's image, but it does not by itself settle every interpretive detail.
  • Do not turn masculine grammatical class into a theological claim about gender or personhood.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Noun: this word names fruit or produce, a tangible result that can be counted or described in context.

Case

Accusative: this form commonly marks an object or the thing affected, though context must still decide the exact phrase relation here.

Number

Plural: the form is grammatically plural, so it presents fruit as multiple pieces or repeated yield in this verse.

Gender

Masculine: this noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class in the form given, but that classification does not by itself carry a theological claim.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

It is attached to ποιοῦν and is immediately followed by δώδεκα, then by the monthly pattern of the clause.

Governed By

The participle ποιοῦν and the surrounding description of the tree govern the phrase, while the noun is part of the tree's described output.

Role In The Phrase

The form functions as the countable object within the description, referring to the tree's twelve fruits and supporting the image of regular yield.

What It Is Not Doing

It should not be taken to introduce a new subject, and it does not by itself determine a hidden abstract meaning apart from the verse's picture.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The accusative plural form contributes to the picture of the tree's repeated twelvefold fruitfulness.

Syntax Profile

Accusative plural object in the tree's yielding description. names the multiple fruits produced by the tree of life. Attached to ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα. Governed by the participle ποιοῦν and the numeral δώδεκα. The plural and numeral support abundance, while Revelation's vision governs the image's meaning.

Reader Question

What does the tree produce? The accusative plural noun names the twelve fruits produced in the vision.

Translation Effect

Direct: The form directly supports rendering the tree as producing or bearing twelve fruits.

Where Caution Is Needed

The plural supports multiple or repeated yield but does not create a complete symbolic system by itself. The monthly pattern belongs to the surrounding phrase, not to the case ending alone. Masculine grammatical class is not a claim about persons.

Fallacies To Avoid

Plural fruit language proves a hidden symbolic code: The plural helps the image of abundance, but the vision and context govern interpretation. grammatical gender carries a theological claim: The gender label describes Greek form class or agreement and should not be made into a separate doctrinal claim.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads καρποὺς in Revelation 22:2 within the phrase ξύλον ζωῆς, ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα, κατὰ μῆνα.

Lexical Identity

The lemma is καρπός, a noun that can denote fruit literally and, by extension, result or yield in suitable contexts.

Grammar In Context

Here the plural accusative works with the participle and numeral to picture the tree as bearing a measured supply of fruit rather than a single undifferentiated item.

Passage Meaning

The verse depicts the tree of life as continuously fruitful, with monthly provision that fits the scene of life, abundance, and restoration.

Canonical Fit

The wording fits broader biblical use in which fruit can signal visible yield, blessing, or effective product, while the local image remains concrete.

Communication Use

For readers and teachers, the grammar supports a plain image of ongoing supply and makes the verse's abundance easier to hear in translation.

Do Not Derive

Do not overread the plural or case to force a symbolic system, and do not treat grammatical gender as a statement about persons.