πνεύματος (pneumatos) in John 3:6: Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
πνεύματος (pneumatos) in John 3:6
Textual Witness
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:6 reads πνεύματος with the morphology label Noun Genitive Singular Neuter.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The genitive noun in the ?? phrase identifies the source relation: the second half of the contrast concerns what is born of the Spirit.
How To Communicate It
When teaching John 3:6, use the genitive after ?? to show the source relation while letting the whole contrast between flesh and Spirit control the point.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not turn neuter grammatical class into a theological claim about the Spirit.
- Do not decide the whole wind, breath, and Spirit range from this form alone.
- Do not detach the phrase from the flesh and Spirit contrast.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names the referent in the phrase, here the Spirit in the source phrase after ??.
Genitive: the noun is governed by the preposition ?? and marks the source or origin relation in the phrase.
Singular: the noun is grammatically singular in this prepositional phrase.
Neuter: the noun belongs to the neuter grammatical class, which should not be turned into a claim about the Spirit's personhood or gender.
Not applicable: this noun form does not use verbal tense or aspect.
Not applicable: this noun form does not use verbal voice.
Not applicable: this noun form does not use verbal mood.
Not applicable: this noun form does not use grammatical person.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The ?? phrase modifying the born participle
The preposition ?? in the phrase about what is born of the Spirit
????????? Is the genitive noun in the phrase "?? ???????????? ?? ??? ?????????". It identifies the source relation in the second half of Jesus' flesh/Spirit contrast.
The genitive case does not by itself settle every lexical nuance of ?????? or supply a full doctrine of the Spirit.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive phrase marks the source relation in the Spirit side of Jesus' contrast.
Noun Genitive Singular Neuter. identifies the source relation for what is born of the Spirit. Attached to the phrase ?? ??? ?????????. Governed by the preposition ??. The syntax should be explained from the clause, not isolated from the passage.
From whom or from what is the second born reality described? The genitive noun governed by ?? points to the Spirit as the source relation in the contrast.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as "of the Spirit" or "from the Spirit."
The word's range includes wind, breath, and Spirit; John 3:5-8 governs the reading here. Genitive after ?? marks source relation, but it should not be isolated from the participle it modifies. Neuter grammar should not be turned into a denial of the Spirit's personhood.
Neuter means impersonal: Greek grammatical gender does not decide theological personhood. lexical range decides context automatically: The word's range must be narrowed by Jesus' flesh and Spirit contrast.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:6 reads πνεύματος with the morphology label Noun Genitive Singular Neuter.
The lemma is πνεῦμα. The gloss "wind, breath, spirit" orients this occurrence, but the sentence controls the public claim.
????????? Is the genitive noun in the phrase "?? ???????????? ?? ??? ?????????". It identifies the source relation in the second half of Jesus' flesh/Spirit contrast.
John 3:6 contrasts what is born of flesh with what is born of the Spirit.
The form belongs to the Spirit side of Jesus' new-birth contrast and should be read with John 3:5 and 3:8.
When teaching John 3:6, use the genitive after ?? to show the source relation while letting the whole contrast between flesh and Spirit control the point.
Do not use neuter grammar or the genitive form to reduce the Spirit to an impersonal force; the passage context must govern the claim.