πάσης (pases) in Colossians 2:10: Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
πάσης (pases) in Colossians 2:10
Textual Witness
The witness reads πάσης in Colossians 2:10 within the clause ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the sense that Christ's headship is comprehensive, not limited, while still letting the clause's nouns and syntax define the exact relationship.
How To Communicate It
In readable translation or explanation, this form can be communicated as every or all, with a note that it describes the full scope of rule and authority in the sentence.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Feminine gender here is an agreement feature and not a theological gender claim.
- Do not overread the form beyond its clear adjectival and genitive function in the clause.
What Does The Label Mean?
Adjective: the word describes or qualifies a noun, here expressing totality or comprehensiveness.
Genitive: the form usually marks a modifying or dependent relationship, and here it works with the following nouns to describe the scope of what is named.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, matching the singular nouns it qualifies.
Feminine: the form is in the feminine grammatical class here, which reflects agreement with the noun it modifies and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It is attached to ἀρχῆς and ἐξουσίας in the phrase πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας.
It is governed by agreement with the feminine singular genitive nouns that follow, so it describes their scope rather than standing as a separate idea.
It functions adjectivally to say that Christ is the head over every kind of rule and authority, or over the whole realm of rule and authority in this context.
It does not create a new noun, and it does not by itself specify a technical class beyond the broad totality conveyed by the surrounding phrase.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive adjective marks comprehensive scope in the phrase about Christ as head over rule and authority.
Genitive adjective modifying the paired rule and authority nouns. marks the scope of rule and authority as every or the whole range. Attached to πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας. Governed by the genitive noun phrase after κεφαλὴ. The form strengthens scope but the whole clause states Christ's headship.
How broad is the rule and authority phrase? The adjective marks the phrase with comprehensive force: every rule and authority.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as every rule and authority or all rule and authority.
The adjective marks scope, but it does not define every class of spiritual or earthly authority by itself. Feminine gender agrees with the nouns and is not a theological gender claim.
All-language is treated as a complete taxonomy: The adjective gives comprehensive scope; the verse does not list every member of the category.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads πάσης in Colossians 2:10 within the clause ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας.
The lemma πᾶς regularly means all, every, or the whole, so the form contributes the idea of total scope in a dependent phrase.
Because it agrees with feminine singular genitive nouns, the adjective most naturally marks the extent of ἀρχῆς and ἐξουσίας rather than introducing a separate subject or object.
The verse says the one in whom believers are made complete is also the head over every rule and authority, so the wording emphasizes fullness and supremacy.
Within the larger letter, the form supports the passage's emphasis on Christ's sufficiency and rank without needing to press the grammar beyond the clause.
For teaching or translation, the form can be rendered with words like every, all, or whole, depending on how the English sentence best conveys the comprehensive sense.
Do not infer from the feminine form alone any gendered meaning, and do not treat the adjective as if it changes the nouns or settles more than the context supports.