ἅγιος (agios) in Revelation 22:11: Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ἅγιος (agios) in Revelation 22:11
Textual Witness
The TR/Scrivener witness at Revelation 22:11 reads ὁ ἅγιος ἁγιασθήτω ἔτι, placing this form in a direct exhortative parallel with the other clauses.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar sharpens the verse's parallel structure and lets 'the holy one' stand as the addressed figure whose continued holiness is enjoined.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or translation notes, this form can be rendered as a substantive phrase, helping readers hear the verse as a direct, balanced exhortation.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Masculine grammatical gender does not itself create a gendered theological claim.
- The form does not change the lemma into another word, and syntax should be stated conservatively when the clause already gives the clearest guide.
What Does The Label Mean?
Adjective: the word describes or identifies a noun, here functioning with the article to label a person or class of person.
Nominative: the form normally marks a subject or a predicate relation, and here it fits the labeled subject-like phrase in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, matching a single labeled referent in the sentence.
Masculine: the form is in the masculine grammatical class, but that is a form feature and not a theological claim about male identity.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It is attached to the article ὁ in the phrase ὁ ἅγιος.
The adjective is governed by the surrounding nominative singular masculine pattern and works with the article to form a nominal reference, not an isolated descriptor.
It names the one described as holy in the final balanced exhortation, so the phrase functions as the subject-like participant addressed by the imperative.
It does not by itself tell us the person's identity, office, or moral standing beyond the context's simple designation as holy.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The substantive adjective identifies the holy one in Revelation's closing exhortation.
Nominative substantive adjective with article. names the holy person as the participant addressed by the continuing exhortation. Attached to ὁ ἅγιος. Governed by the imperative frame of the clause. The article and adjective form a nominal phrase; the imperative supplies the exhortation.
Who is addressed in this part of the exhortation? The phrase identifies the holy one as the person in view.
Direct: The substantive adjective directly supports rendering the phrase as the holy one.
The phrase identifies the participant in the exhortation, but the moral force comes from the whole sentence.
Adjective alone defines final perseverance: The adjective names the holy person; the exhortation and context supply the pastoral force.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The TR/Scrivener witness at Revelation 22:11 reads ὁ ἅγιος ἁγιασθήτω ἔτι, placing this form in a direct exhortative parallel with the other clauses.
The lemma ἅγιος carries the sense holy or set apart, so the form points to holiness as the defining quality in view.
Here the nominative masculine singular with the article most naturally functions substantively, referring to a person characterized as holy and linked to the command that follows.
In this verse the grammar supports a concise call for the holy one to continue in holiness, alongside the parallel statements about the unjust, filthy, and righteous.
This fits the book's recurring contrast between distinct kinds of persons and states, while remaining a local exhortation rather than a full doctrinal definition.
For readers, the form helps show that the sentence is not merely describing holiness in the abstract but addressing the holy person as a classed participant in the warning.
Do not derive a new lexical meaning, a hidden office, or a gender-based theological claim from the masculine form alone.