Greek Form Guide

πυρί. (puri) in Matthew 3:11: Noun Dative Singular Neuter

πυρί. (puri) in Matthew 3:11

Textual Witness

πυρί. puri Noun Dative Singular Neuter

The witness reads πυρί. in Matthew 3:11.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The noun adds fire to the promised baptism phrase and raises the seriousness of the Coming One's work.

How To Communicate It

Use this form to show that John's promise carries both Spirit language and fire language.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not detach fire from John's wider judgment imagery in the paragraph.
  • Do not build a full doctrine from this form alone.
  • Do not use morphology to detach the word from Matthew's immediate argument.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Noun: the form names a person, place, thing, quality, or concept in the clause.

Case

Dative: Dative marks how the form functions in this occurrence.

Number

Singular: the number should be read from this occurrence, not generalized beyond the clause.

Gender

Neuter: grammatical gender marks form agreement and does not by itself make a theological claim.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

In

Governed By

The prepositional phrase after the promised baptism verb

Role In The Phrase

It names fire as part of the phrase describing the Coming One's baptism.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not by itself decide whether fire should be read only as judgment, purification, or both.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The noun is central to the Spirit-and-fire phrase.

Syntax Profile

Dative object coordinated in the baptism phrase. names fire as part of the promised baptism language. Attached to in. Governed by the prepositional phrase after the promised baptism verb. The noun should be read with Holy Spirit and the following judgment imagery.

Reader Question

What is named along with Holy Spirit? Fire is named along with Holy Spirit.

Translation Effect

Direct: The form directly supports the rendering fire.

Where Caution Is Needed

The noun is clear, but the theological force of fire should be read with the wider paragraph.

Fallacies To Avoid

Fire noun alone resolves every interpretation: The occurrence names fire; interpretation must include John's surrounding imagery.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads πυρί. in Matthew 3:11.

Lexical Identity

The lemma pur means fire, and here it stands beside Holy Spirit in John's promise.

Grammar In Context

The dative noun is coordinated with the Spirit phrase after en.

Passage Meaning

John says the Coming One will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.

Canonical Fit

The form fits John's surrounding imagery of judgment and decisive divine action.

Communication Use

In teaching, hold fire together with the nearby winnowing and chaff imagery rather than isolating the noun.

Do Not Derive

Do not use the noun alone to settle every interpretive option about fire.