πνεῦμά (pneuma) in John 3:6: Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
πνεῦμά (pneuma) in John 3:6
Textual Witness
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:6 reads πνεῦμά with the morphology label Noun Nominative Singular Neuter.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The predicate nominative names the resulting category in the second half of the contrast: what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
How To Communicate It
When teaching John 3:6, use the predicate nominative to show the contrast Jesus draws, while avoiding overclaims about substance or personhood from grammar alone.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not turn predicate nominative grammar into a full doctrinal system.
- Do not treat neuter grammar as a claim about the Spirit's personhood.
- Do not detach the predicate from the flesh and Spirit contrast.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names the predicate category in the second half of Jesus' contrast.
Nominative: the noun functions with ???? as a predicate nominative in the clause.
Singular: the noun is grammatically singular in this predicate statement.
Neuter: the noun belongs to the neuter grammatical class, which should not be turned into a biological or theological gender claim.
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 predicate statement after the born-of-Spirit phrase
The linking verb ???? in the second half of the contrast
?????? Is the nominative noun in the phrase "?????? ????". It functions as the predicate nominative, naming the character of what is born of the Spirit in Jesus' contrast.
The nominative noun does not mean a person becomes an impersonal substance, and it does not erase the broader personal work of the Spirit in the passage.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The noun states the predicate in Jesus' flesh and Spirit contrast.
Noun Nominative Singular Neuter. names what is true of what is born of the Spirit. Attached to the linking verb ????. Governed by the predicate statement in the second half of John 3:6. The syntax should be explained from the clause, not isolated from the passage.
What does Jesus say is true of what is born of the Spirit? The predicate nominative says it is spirit, in contrast with what is born of flesh.
Direct: The form directly supports wording such as "is spirit."
Predicate nominative grammar names the clause relationship; it does not define all ontology by itself. The contrast with flesh governs the force of the statement. Neuter grammatical form should not be misused as a theological gender or personhood argument.
Predicate nominative proves more than the clause says: The predicate nominative names the clause relation; the passage controls how far the claim goes. neuter means impersonal: Greek grammatical gender should not be turned into a claim about personhood.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:6 reads πνεῦμά with the morphology label Noun Nominative Singular Neuter.
The lemma is πνεῦμα. The gloss "wind, breath, spirit" orients this occurrence, but the sentence controls the public claim.
?????? Is the nominative noun in the phrase "?????? ????". It functions as the predicate nominative, naming the character of what is born of the Spirit in Jesus' contrast.
John 3:6 contrasts flesh-born reality with Spirit-born reality.
The form belongs to Jesus' flesh and Spirit contrast and serves the new-birth argument in John 3.
When teaching John 3:6, use the predicate nominative to show the contrast Jesus draws, while avoiding overclaims about substance or personhood from grammar alone.
Do not claim that the nominative noun by itself defines anthropology, the Spirit's personhood, or the whole doctrine of regeneration.