οὗ (ou) in John 1:27: Pronoun Genitive Singular Masculine
οὗ (ou) in John 1:27
Textual Witness
The cited form is οὗ in John 1:27 in the Textus Receptus witness, and the immediate context speaks of the one who comes after yet is before the speaker.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar sharpens the relational focus of the verse: the speaker's unworthiness is stated in reference to the one already named as greater.
How To Communicate It
In exposition, this form can be explained as a linking pronoun that keeps attention on the same referent and supports the verse's confession of deference.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case here indicates relationship in discourse, not a standalone doctrinal code.
- Masculine gender is grammatical agreement only and does not create a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points to a previously mentioned person or thing and depends on context for its reference.
Genitive: the form usually marks a relationship such as source, possession, or association, and here it signals dependence on the surrounding clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it refers to one person or one referent in the discourse.
Masculine: the form is grammatically masculine, which helps agreement with its referent but does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
οὗ
It is connected to the following confession, especially the phrase about whose sandal strap the speaker is not worthy to untie.
It functions as a relative genitive that links the statement back to the one already identified as greater.
It is not introducing a new subject or a different person, and it does not by itself change the meaning of the surrounding clause.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive relative pronoun links John the Baptist's humility statement to the greater one already in view.
Genitive relative pronoun in a humility statement. keeps the action of untying tied to the one John says is greater. Attached to the sandal-strap phrase. Governed by the relative clause that measures John's unworthiness in relation to the coming one. The pronoun clarifies reference and relation; it does not introduce a new person.
Whose sandal strap is John speaking about? The pronoun points back to the greater one already identified in the discourse.
Direct: The form directly supports relative wording such as whose sandal strap.
The genitive relation belongs to the humility statement, so it should not be detached from the sandal phrase. Masculine gender reflects agreement with the referent and is not a separate theological claim.
Relative pronoun creates a new referent: The pronoun points back into the discourse; the immediate context identifies the person.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The cited form is οὗ in John 1:27 in the Textus Receptus witness, and the immediate context speaks of the one who comes after yet is before the speaker.
The lemma is ὅς, a relative pronoun that can point back to a prior referent and specify it by context.
Here the genitive form supports a relationship sense in the sentence, allowing the reader to hear the speaker's unworthiness in relation to that person.
The verse presents John as confessing the superiority of the one already identified, and the grammar reinforces that the speaker's action and worth are measured against him.
The form fits a wider Gospel pattern in which Jesus is identified as greater than the forerunner, while the forerunner speaks with lowered self-position.
For translation and teaching, the form should be rendered in a way that keeps the reference clear and preserves the humble, relational force of the statement.
Do not infer a separate theological category from the genitive alone, and do not treat the form as if it overrides the immediate discourse.