αὕτη (aute) in John 1:19: Nominative Singular Feminine
αὕτη (aute) in John 1:19
Textual Witness
The provided TR/Scrivener witness reads αὕτη in the phrase Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, so the form is the manuscript-level cue for the clause's demonstrative focus.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form gives the verse a pointed, introductory force: it signals, this is the testimony to which the narrative now turns.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or translation notes, this form can be rendered as a demonstrative that introduces the stated testimony without overloading it with extra meaning.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Feminine grammatical gender here is not a theological gender claim.
- Use the clause to identify the referent cautiously when syntax alone does not settle every nuance.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form functions substantivally here, naming the stated matter rather than changing the word into a different lemma.
Nominative: this form normally marks a subject or a predicate idea, and here it fits the clause that identifies what follows.
Singular: this form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it points to one stated item or summary unit.
Feminine: this noun-form is feminine in grammatical class, which helps agreement in the clause but does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία
The form stands with the copular statement and points forward to the content being identified as John's testimony. Its grammar supports the clause as a summary pointer, not as a standalone assertion.
It functions as the demonstrative subject of the clause, introducing or highlighting the testimony that follows in context.
It is not a person reference that must be read as male or female, and it is not by itself the full content of the testimony.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The demonstrative introduces the testimony as a unit and prepares the reader for its content.
Nominative demonstrative subject. points to the testimony being identified in the clause. Attached to αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία. Governed by ἐστὶν. The feminine form agrees with testimony language and does not make a personal gender claim.
What is being introduced here? The demonstrative introduces this testimony, pointing the reader to the witness that follows.
Direct: The form directly supports a rendering such as this is the testimony.
The feminine gender follows the grammar of testimony language, not a person reference.
Feminine pronoun makes a gender claim: The feminine marking is grammatical agreement with testimony language, not a theological or biological claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The provided TR/Scrivener witness reads αὕτη in the phrase Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, so the form is the manuscript-level cue for the clause's demonstrative focus.
The lemma οὗτος is a demonstrative pronoun, and here αὕτη is its feminine nominative singular form, used to point to the testimony being introduced.
Because it stands with ἐστὶν and ἡ μαρτυρία, the form naturally serves as the clause's demonstrative subject or summary pointer. The grammar supports emphasis on the following testimony, but the surrounding words determine the exact reference.
The verse announces the identity of John's witness and then narrates when and why that witness was given. The form helps frame the sentence as an introduction to the testimony.
Within John's opening witness material, the demonstrative fits a pattern of introducing testimony or stated reality before recounting details.
For readers and teachers, the form helps signal that the verse is not merely reporting an event but formally identifying the testimony to be heard.
Do not derive a gendered theological claim, a different lemma, or a more precise referent than the sentence and context can support.