φωνὴ (phone) in John 1:23: Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
φωνὴ (phone) in John 1:23
Textual Witness
The witness reads φωνὴ in John 1:23 within the textus-receptus form of the verse.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar lets the phrase function as a vivid self-description, so the verse communicates a herald's role rather than a technical grammatical puzzle.
How To Communicate It
In preaching or reading, this form can be rendered simply as 'I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness,' preserving the quoted identity and its urgency.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
- If syntax is limited by the available context, state the role conservatively rather than overexplaining.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names a thing or reality here, specifically a voice or sound identified in speech.
Nominative: the form normally marks a subject or predicate role, and here it fits a quoted self-description.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence and presents one voice or one identifying claim.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a grammar feature and not a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Ἐγὼ
The noun stands in apposition to the pronoun and helps explain what the speaker says about himself in the quotation.
It functions as a descriptive identity term inside the quote, naming the speaker as a voice crying in the wilderness.
It does not by itself make the noun the subject of the whole verse or turn the phrase into a new sentence structure.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The nominative noun names John's self-description as a voice in the wilderness.
Predicate self-description in a quotation. identifies the speaker as the voice described in the quotation. Attached to Ἐγὼ φωνὴ. Governed by the quoted self-identification. The noun supplies the quoted identity; the Scripture citation supplies the role's significance.
How does John identify himself in the quotation? The noun identifies him as a voice crying in the wilderness.
Direct: The predicate self-description directly supports rendering I am a voice.
The feminine grammatical form belongs to the noun voice and is not a claim about the speaker's gender.
Feminine noun gender describes the speaker's gender: The grammatical gender belongs to φωνή; the quotation identifies John's role as a voice.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads φωνὴ in John 1:23 within the textus-receptus form of the verse.
The lemma φωνή means voice, sound, or noise, and the verse uses it in the familiar prophetic saying.
Here the nominative singular works with the quoted pronoun to present a concise identity claim: the speaker is a voice crying in the wilderness.
The grammar reinforces a brief, public, announcement-like self-description that points attention beyond the speaker to the message he delivers.
The wording fits the larger scriptural pattern of a herald or messenger speaking from the wilderness and preparing the way for the Lord.
For readers, the form helps the quote sound direct and declarative, making the proclamation memorable and forceful.
Do not infer from nominative, singular, or feminine form alone that the word means more than voice, or that it changes the speaker's identity beyond the context.