ἄμπελος (ampelos) in John 15:1: Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἄμπελος (ampelos) in John 15:1
Textual Witness
The Textus Receptus witness for John 15:1 reads ἄμπελος with the morphology label Noun Nominative Singular Feminine.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes the vine image Christ-centered from the first line of the discourse.
How To Communicate It
When teaching John 15:1, use this form to show that the vine image begins with Jesus' identity before it moves to the branches.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not treat this occurrence as a complete word study for G288.
- Do not make a morphology label carry doctrine or application apart from the verse.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a biological or theological claim by itself.
- The vine image should be read from Jesus' I am statement and the surrounding discourse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a person, reality, title, idea, or thing in the sentence. Context determines what the noun contributes here.
Nominative: the case marks how the form relates to the surrounding words in this occurrence.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular or plural in this occurrence and should be read within the clause context.
Feminine: the form belongs to this grammatical class here. Grammatical gender does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, καὶ ὁ
The nominative predicate phrase in John 15:1
ἄμπελος is a Noun Nominative Singular Feminine within "Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, καὶ ὁ". The nominative noun functions as the predicate, naming Jesus as the vine.
The noun does not make the branches the main point before Jesus' identity is established.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form matters because it functions as predicate in John 15:1.
Noun Nominative Singular Feminine. identifies what is predicated of Jesus. Attached to Jesus' I am statement at the opening of the vine discourse. Governed by the nominative predicate phrase in John 15:1. The syntax should be explained from the clause, not isolated from the passage.
How does Jesus identify himself at the start of the vine discourse? The nominative noun functions as the predicate, naming Jesus as the vine.
Direct: The nominative noun directly supports the rendering of Jesus as the vine.
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. metaphor detached from the sentence: The vine image should be read from Jesus' I am statement and the surrounding discourse. grammatical gender proves theology: Grammatical gender is a language feature and should not be pressed beyond the verse.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The Textus Receptus witness for John 15:1 reads ἄμπελος with the morphology label Noun Nominative Singular Feminine.
The lemma is ἄμπελος. The guide uses the gloss "a vine" only to orient this occurrence.
ἄμπελος appears in the phrase "Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, καὶ ὁ". The nominative noun functions as the predicate, naming Jesus as the vine.
John 15:1 opens the vine discourse by identifying Jesus as the true vine and the Father as the vinedresser.
The form fits John's pattern of Jesus' self-identification leading into teaching about life and fruitfulness.
When teaching John 15:1, use this form to show that the vine image begins with Jesus' identity before it moves to the branches.
Do not treat vine as a free-floating metaphor. The verse names Jesus as the true vine and immediately names the Father's relation to the vine.