πόλεως (poleos) in Revelation 22:19: Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
πόλεως (poleos) in Revelation 22:19
Textual Witness
The witness reads πόλεως in Revelation 22:19 within the phrase ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form supports a reading of exclusion from the holy city as part of the warning, but the surrounding syntax carries the force, not the case ending alone.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or translation, the phrase may be rendered plainly as 'from the holy city,' preserving the sense of separation without overstating the grammar.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case can suggest relationship or separation here, but the preposition and clause shape the meaning more fully.
- Grammatical gender is a noun class feature and should not be turned into a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a city or inhabited place, so it contributes a concrete referent to the clause.
Genitive: the form usually expresses a relationship, source, separation, or belonging, and here it is read in context with the nearby preposition.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and points to one city in the phrase.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a lexical feature and does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας
The preposition ἐκ governs the genitive and presents the city as the place from which something is removed or excluded.
The noun functions as part of a prepositional phrase that marks separation from the holy city, so the focus is on exclusion from that realm.
It is not the main subject or direct object of the verb, and the genitive form by itself does not identify the city as agent or recipient.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive city phrase marks exclusion from the holy city in a severe warning passage.
Genitive noun governed by ek in an exclusion phrase. marks the holy city as the realm from which exclusion is threatened. Attached to the from the holy city phrase. Governed by the preposition ek. The preposition and clause create the separation sense; the case ending should not be isolated.
From what realm does the warning speak of removal or exclusion? The phrase points to exclusion from the holy city.
Direct: The form directly supports from the holy city wording.
The warning's theological force comes from the whole verse, not from the genitive case alone. Feminine grammatical gender is noun class agreement and not a separate symbolic claim.
Case ending is used to build a standalone theology of the city: The form marks exclusion in context; Revelation's broader vision governs the city imagery.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads πόλεως in Revelation 22:19 within the phrase ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας.
The lemma πόλις means a city, town, or urban place, and here it refers to the holy city named in the verse.
With ἐκ, the genitive signals removal or exclusion. The phrase therefore links the penalty not only to the book of life but also to being outside the holy city.
The verse warns that subtracting from the prophecy brings loss of access and inheritance language, including exclusion from the holy city.
In Revelation, the holy city is a loaded image for the final redeemed order, so the phrase fits the book's larger contrast between inclusion and exclusion.
For readers, the grammar helps show that the warning reaches beyond abstract loss and includes being kept from the holy city.
Do not turn the genitive case into a standalone theology of the city, and do not overread gender, number, or case beyond the separation sense created by context.