ἀσπίδων (aspidon) in Romans 3:13: Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
ἀσπίδων (aspidon) in Romans 3:13
Textual Witness
The witness reads ἀσπίδων in Romans 3:13, within the phrase ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar sharpens the poison metaphor by tying the asp image to the noun ἰὸς, which reinforces the verse's picture of harmful speech.
How To Communicate It
This form can be rendered in English with a descriptive phrase such as of asps, preserving the image without forcing extra precision beyond the context.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case here suggests relationship, but the surrounding phrase controls the sense.
- Grammatical gender is a class marker and does not by itself create a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: the word names an animal image, and here it functions as a concrete noun within the phrase.
Genitive: the form normally marks relationship or association, and here it links the noun to the poison image around it.
Plural: the form is grammatically plural in this occurrence, indicating more than one in the phrase's wording.
Feminine: the noun belongs to the feminine grammatical class, which is a language feature and not a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἰὸς
The genitive form most naturally relates to the noun ἰὸς, describing the poison image as that of asps.
It contributes to the phrase by identifying the kind of poison or source image being evoked in the verse.
It does not by itself decide the subject, action, or moral force of the sentence, and it does not change the lemma into another word.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive sharpens Paul's poison image for destructive speech.
Genitive plural tied to the poison image. identifies the serpent image associated with the poison. Attached to the poison under their lips phrase. Governed by the noun for poison in the immediate clause. The genitive relation should be read as part of the metaphor rather than as a standalone lexical claim.
What does the genitive describe in the poison image? It describes the poison as the poison of asps, intensifying the picture of harmful speech.
Supporting: The genitive supports a phrase such as poison of asps.
The genitive relation is descriptive in this metaphor and should not be made more technical than the phrase requires. Feminine plural is grammatical agreement and not a theological gender claim. The image describes speech in Romans 3, not literal serpent handling.
Genitive case by itself proves the exact semantic relation: The poison metaphor and surrounding speech context control the relation.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads ἀσπίδων in Romans 3:13, within the phrase ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν.
The lemma ἀσπίς names an asp, a snake image used here as part of the verse's figurative wording.
Its genitive plural form most likely serves the noun ἰὸς, so the line speaks of poison associated with asps under their lips.
The verse uses a sharp image of destructive speech, specifying asp poison as the figure under the lips.
Within the wider scriptural pattern of speaking about deceitful and harmful speech, the image of asp poison intensifies the warning.
In teaching or translation, the form shows a vivid descriptive link, not a separate clause or new assertion.
Do not derive theology from grammatical gender, and do not overread the plural form beyond the phrase's figurative description.