σὰρξ (sarx) in John 1:14: Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σὰρξ (sarx) in John 1:14
Textual Witness
The witness reads σὰρξ in John 1:14 within the TR/Scrivener text, in the line καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the reading that John is making a direct incarnation claim: the Word became flesh and lived among us.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to explain that the verse speaks plainly about real human embodiment, while letting the wider context define the theological weight.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Feminine gender is grammatical only and must not be turned into a theological gender claim.
- The nominative form supports the clause, but context decides how the statement is understood.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a reality or condition, here the term for flesh, body, or embodied humanity.
Nominative: the form normally marks a subject or predicate role, and here it fits the clause as the stated identity of the subject.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it presents flesh as one collective reality in view.
Feminine: the noun is in the feminine grammatical class, which is a language feature and does not by itself make a gendered theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It stands with ὁ λόγος and before ἐγένετο in the clause.
The nominative form works with the verb ἐγένετο to express what the Word became, rather than to mark a direct object.
It functions as the predicate idea in the clause, stating the condition into which the Word entered in the incarnation.
It is not the object of ἐγένετο, and the form alone does not require a metaphorical reading that would weaken the plain statement.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The nominative noun states what the Word became in John's incarnation claim.
Predicate nominative with became. states the condition or reality into which the Word entered. Attached to σὰρξ. Governed by ἐγένετο. The form supports the clause's predicate relation; the verse and prologue govern the doctrine of the incarnation.
What does John say the Word became? The noun states that the Word became flesh.
Direct: The predicate role directly supports rendering the Word became flesh.
The noun is not a direct object of became, and the form should not weaken the plain incarnation claim into a mere metaphor.
Predicate noun reduces incarnation to imagery: The grammar states what the Word became; the prologue supplies the doctrinal weight of that statement.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads σὰρξ in John 1:14 within the TR/Scrivener text, in the line καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο.
The lemma σάρξ commonly means flesh or body, and in this context it points to real embodied humanity.
Because the noun is nominative and sits with a becoming verb, it marks the resulting state or identity named for the subject.
The verse says the Word truly entered human life in flesh and then dwelt among us, supporting the incarnation theme of the passage.
This fits John 1's larger witness to the Son's divine identity, real presence, and visible glory, without reducing either divine or human reality.
In teaching and translation, the form supports a clear statement about incarnation and embodied presence, not an abstract or merely symbolic idea.
Do not derive that grammatical feminine gender means a female person, a special spiritual class, or a change of lemma meaning.