πυλῶσιν (pulosin) in Revelation 22:14: Noun Dative Plural Masculine
πυλῶσιν (pulosin) in Revelation 22:14
Textual Witness
The witness reads πυλῶσιν in Revelation 22:14, and the surrounding text speaks of blessed ones, the tree of life, and entrance into the city.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the picture of authorized entrance into the city, while leaving the exact nuance of the dative to the immediate syntax and translation context.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or translation notes, the form can be explained as a dative plural noun that serves the entrance scene, helping readers see why gates belong to the access imagery.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The dative case here should be explained conservatively from the verse, not pressed beyond the access scene.
- Grammatical gender is a parsing feature, not a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a thing or place, here a gateway or gate structure in the city image.
Dative: the form usually marks an indirect relation, and here it works with the entrance idea rather than naming the main subject.
Plural: the form is grammatically plural in this occurrence, so it points to more than one gate or gate area in the scene.
Masculine: the noun belongs to the masculine grammatical class, which is a grammatical feature and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
τοῖς πυλῶσιν
The dative plural is coordinated with the entry idea in the clause, and it is best read as part of the phrase that belongs with "enter" rather than as a standalone assertion.
It functions within the access image of the verse, indicating the gate or gates connected with entering the city.
It does not by itself state the subject of the sentence, and it does not require a special theological meaning beyond the scene of entrance.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The dative plural contributes to the access image of entering the city through the gates.
Dative plural linked to city-entry language. marks the gates as the access point or entry relation in the scene. Attached to the entering into the city phrase. Governed by the entrance clause. The form helps express access, while the verse and Revelation's city imagery carry the theological force.
How is entrance into the city pictured? The dative phrase points to entry through or by the gates.
Direct: The form directly supports by the gates, through the gates, or a close equivalent.
The dative relation should be explained from the entrance clause, not assumed mechanically. Masculine plural grammar is noun agreement and not a theological claim.
Dative case becomes a hidden access system: The form supports the access image; the verse and book govern the meaning of city entrance.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads πυλῶσιν in Revelation 22:14, and the surrounding text speaks of blessed ones, the tree of life, and entrance into the city.
The lemma πυλών refers to a gate or gateway, so the form contributes the city-access image already present in the lexicon note.
The dative plural fits the entrance context as a relational form linked to the verbal idea of entering, so it highlights the gates as the place or means of access.
The verse presents a blessed end-state in which the faithful have access to the city, and this form helps express that access through the gates.
The wording fits the broader biblical image of holy-city entry and ordered access, without needing to expand beyond the immediate verse.
For readers, the form supports a concise translation sense such as "through the gates" or "at the gates" depending on the larger syntax decision.
Do not derive a hidden doctrinal system from the case ending, and do not treat grammatical gender as a statement about persons or God.