υἱὸν (uion) in John 3:17: Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
υἱὸν (uion) in John 3:17
Textual Witness
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:17 reads υἱὸν with the morphology label Noun Accusative Singular Masculine.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps readers follow the sentence: God is the sender, the Son is the one sent, and the saving purpose is stated in the following clause.
How To Communicate It
When teaching John 3:17, use the accusative form to show that the Son is the one sent by God, then let the purpose clause explain the mission.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not isolate the noun from God's sending action.
- Do not make the case ending do the work of the full purpose clause.
- Do not detach John 3:17 from the surrounding judgment and salvation context.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a person, reality, or concept. The sentence determines how that noun functions here.
Accusative: the form marks its relationship in the phrase, and here the surrounding words determine the exact force.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and should be tied to its sentence role.
Masculine: the noun belongs to this grammatical class, which should not by itself be turned into a theological gender claim.
Not applicable: this nominal form does not use verbal tense or aspect.
Not applicable: this nominal form does not use verbal voice.
Not applicable: this nominal form does not use verbal mood.
Not applicable: this nominal form does not use grammatical person.
What The Form Does In This Verse
??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????
The verb ?????????? in John 3:17
υἱὸν is an accusative noun in the phrase "ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κόσμον". It identifies the Son as the direct object of God's sending.
The case ending does not by itself explain the whole mission of the Son; the verse states the purpose and scope of the sending.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The accusative noun identifies the Son as the one God sent into the world.
Noun Accusative Singular Masculine. identifies the one whom God sent. Attached to the sending statement in John 3:17. Governed by the verb ??????????. The syntax should be explained from the clause, not isolated from the passage.
Whom did God send into the world? The accusative noun identifies the Son as the one God sent, with ????? marking Him as God's Son.
Direct: The accusative form directly supports the object of the sending statement: the Son.
The pronoun ????? belongs with the Son and should not be detached from the phrase. Case identifies sentence role; the purpose of the sending comes from the full verse.
Case ending carries full theology: The accusative identifies the direct object, while John 3:17 supplies the mission statement. Son is read without the sending verb: The noun must stay attached to God's sending action in the clause.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The Textus Receptus witness for John 3:17 reads υἱὸν with the morphology label Noun Accusative Singular Masculine.
The lemma is υἱός. The gloss "a son, descendent" orients this occurrence without replacing the sentence context.
υἱὸν is an accusative noun in the phrase "ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κόσμον". It identifies the Son as the direct object of God's sending.
John 3:17 says God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.
The form belongs to John's mission language for the Son, but the interpretation must stay with the full statement about sending, judgment, and salvation.
When teaching John 3:17, use the accusative form to show that the Son is the one sent by God, then let the purpose clause explain the mission.
Do not make accusative case carry the full doctrine of mission or salvation; it identifies the object of the sending verb.