οὗτος (outos) in John 1:7: Nominative Singular Masculine
οὗτος (outos) in John 1:7
Textual Witness
The witness reads οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, with the pronoun placed first for emphasis in the clause.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the focus on a specific known person as the subject of the witness mission, without adding meaning beyond the surrounding sentence.
How To Communicate It
For readers, the grammar helps the verse sound pointed and deliberate: the one already in view came for testimony about the light.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Masculine gender here is grammatical, not a theological statement.
- If syntax is uncertain, state the most conservative subject reading and avoid overclaiming.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points to a previously known person or thing rather than naming it directly.
Nominative: the form normally marks the subject or a closely related predicate role in the clause.
Singular: the form refers to one person or one thing in grammar in this occurrence.
Masculine: the form belongs to the masculine grammatical class, but that alone does not make a theological claim about sex or status.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It stands before ἦλθεν and opens the clause as the stated subject.
Its nominative form fits the finite verb ἦλθεν and identifies the one who came in the sentence.
It functions as a demonstrative subject, pointing to a known referent in the context, likely John in the immediate flow.
It is not functioning as an object of εἰς or of the purpose clauses, and the form itself does not supply a new referent.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The nominative demonstrative identifies the known person who came for witness, supporting the mission statement in the verse.
Demonstrative subject. points to the known referent as the one who came. Attached to the verb of coming. Governed by the clause that reports his coming. The demonstrative functions as a subject, while the purpose clauses explain why he came.
Who came for witness in the verse? The demonstrative points to the known referent, John, as the subject who came.
Direct: The nominative form directly supports a subject rendering such as "he" or "this one."
The demonstrative depends on context for its referent and should not be isolated from the previous verse.
Pronoun supplies a new referent by itself: The pronoun points to a known referent; context identifies the person.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, with the pronoun placed first for emphasis in the clause.
The lemma οὗτος is a demonstrative pronoun meaning this one, he, she, or it, depending on context.
Here the nominative singular masculine form most naturally points to the clause subject and draws attention to the person already in view.
The verse says this person came for witness, so the grammar helps present him as the appointed witness to the light.
Within John 1, the demonstrative fits the narrative pattern of identifying John the Baptist as the one sent to bear witness.
In translation and teaching, the form supports a clear subject reading such as this one came or he came.
Do not derive a gender doctrine, a different lemma, or a meaning beyond the contextual pointing function of the pronoun.