ἁγίας, (agias) in Revelation 22:19: Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
ἁγίας, (agias) in Revelation 22:19
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἁγίας in Revelation 22:19 within the phrase ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps the reader hear the city as sacred and set apart, which strengthens the warning language without expanding it beyond the sentence.
How To Communicate It
Render the phrase naturally as the holy city or the city, the holy one, and let the surrounding clause carry the force of the warning.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Feminine agreement marks concord with the noun, not a theological gender claim.
- The adjective modifies the city phrase and does not by itself supply extra meaning beyond the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Adjective: the word describes a noun by marking it as holy, sacred, or set apart in this context.
Genitive: the form usually expresses a dependent relationship, and here it modifies the phrase for the city in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and matches the singular noun it qualifies.
Feminine: the adjective appears in the feminine grammatical class to agree with the feminine noun it modifies, without making a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τῆς πόλεως
The adjective agrees with πόλεως, so it functions as a modifier within the phrase "the city, the holy one" or "the holy city."
It identifies the city as holy or set apart, shaping the reader's understanding of the city mentioned in the warning.
It does not introduce a new subject, new object, or separate action, and it does not by itself define the city beyond the surrounding context.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive adjective identifies the city in the warning as holy.
Genitive adjective modifying πόλεως. describes the city as holy or set apart. Attached to τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας. Governed by the genitive city phrase. The adjective sharpens the warning context without defining the city apart from the passage.
What kind of city is named in the warning? The adjective identifies it as the holy city.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as the holy city.
The adjective modifies the city phrase; the warning force comes from the whole clause. Feminine agreement follows πόλις and is not a gendered theological claim.
Adjective alone defines the city fully: The form describes holiness; Revelation's larger vision supplies the city's full meaning.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἁγίας in Revelation 22:19 within the phrase ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας.
The lexeme is ἅγιος, which commonly means holy, sacred, or set apart.
Its agreement with τῆς πόλεως shows that holiness is being attributed to the city phrase, not treated as an independent statement.
The clause speaks of removal from the holy city, so the adjective supports the city's sacred status in the warning.
The form fits the broader biblical pattern of describing God's city as holy and therefore distinct in purpose.
In translation and teaching, it is best rendered as a simple descriptive modifier such as holy city, without adding more than the context supplies.
Do not derive a separate doctrine from feminine grammar, and do not treat the adjective as changing the lemma or adding details not present in the verse.