ἁμαρτίαν (amartian) in Romans 3:9: Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἁμαρτίαν (amartian) in Romans 3:9
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἁμαρτίαν in Romans 3:9 within the phrase ὑφ᾽ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι, which is the form to be interpreted here.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form reinforces that sin is the sphere or condition in view, so the verse reads as a broad statement about human beings rather than a narrow statement about one group only.
How To Communicate It
This form helps the reader hear the verse as a unified claim about universal human condition and accountability.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The feminine gender here is grammatical, not a direct theological gender statement.
- Case and number help describe the phrase, but they do not by themselves settle every interpretive question.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a reality or concept, here the idea of sin rather than a verbal action.
Accusative: the form commonly marks an object or complements a governing idea, and here it works with the surrounding phrase to express a state.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, presenting sin as a single conceptual reality.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a language feature and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ὑφ᾽ ... εἶναι
The accusative is governed by the preposition ὑπό in this phrase, and the whole clause is completed by the infinitive εἶναι.
It helps express the condition or sphere in which both Jews and Greeks are said to be, namely under sin.
It does not by itself identify the subject of the clause, nor does it require a specific moral theory beyond the statement the verse makes.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The accusative noun in the ὑπό phrase names sin as the condition under which Jews and Greeks are placed.
Accusative object of ὑπό in a condition phrase. expresses being under sin as the shared condition in Paul's argument. Attached to ὑφ᾽ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι. Governed by the preposition ὑπό and the infinitive εἶναι. The phrase clarifies condition or sphere; Romans 3 supplies the universal indictment.
Under what condition are Jews and Greeks said to be? The accusative noun names sin as the condition or sphere in the phrase 'under sin'.
Direct: The prepositional construction directly supports renderings such as 'under sin'.
The phrase should be read in Paul's universal argument, not as an isolated lexical claim. The case does not create a hidden subject or verb. The singular concept of sin should not be flattened into one individual act only.
Preposition plus case proves every doctrine of sin by itself: The phrase names the condition; the wider argument explains the doctrine. 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
The witness reads ἁμαρτίαν in Romans 3:9 within the phrase ὑφ᾽ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι, which is the form to be interpreted here.
The lemma ἁμαρτία names sin, guilt, or missing the mark, and in this passage it is used in an ethical sense.
The accusative after ὑπό works with the infinitive to describe a condition of being under sin, not a standalone assertion about the noun itself.
Paul's point is that both Jews and Greeks are included in the same condition, so the form supports the claim of universal human liability rather than distinction.
This use fits the broader Pauline way of speaking about sin as a ruling reality, but the present verse should still be read in its own argument.
For teaching and translation, the form supports renderings like under sin or under the power of sin, depending on context-sensitive style.
Do not derive a separate subject, a hidden verb, or a theological conclusion from the case ending alone.