αὐτοῦ (autou) in John 1:27: Genitive Singular Masculine
αὐτοῦ (autou) in John 1:27
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτοῦ in John 1:27 within the line about untying his sandal strap.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form sharpens the personal reference in the sentence, helping the reader hear John's humility toward the one he identifies.
How To Communicate It
For public reading or explanation, the form can be described as a referring pronoun that marks whose sandal strap is in view, without overloading it with technical force.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The masculine gender here is grammatical only and should not be turned into a theological gender claim.
- If syntax is uncertain from the immediate context, state the relation conservatively rather than overclaiming.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the form refers back to a previously named person and can identify or relate that person in context.
Genitive: the form usually marks a relationship such as possession, association, source, or close reference in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular here, so it points to one referent in the immediate setting.
Masculine: the form is masculine in grammar, which helps agreement but does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It is attached to the sandal-strap phrase and points to the one spoken of earlier in the verse, likely Jesus as the referent in context.
The genitive is governed by the noun it depends on and by the larger sense of relationship in the phrase, not by any special force of its own.
It functions as a genitive modifier that identifies whose strap or sandal strap is in view, keeping the reference tied to the earlier mention.
It does not by itself make the noun passive, change the subject, or introduce a new participant into the sentence.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive pronoun identifies whose sandal strap John says he is unworthy to untie, which supports John's witness humility.
Genitive pronoun modifying the sandal-strap noun. identifies the strap as belonging to or associated with that coming one. Attached to the sandal-strap phrase. Governed by John's statement about the one coming after him. The form supports personal reference and humble comparison; the context identifies the referent.
Whose sandal strap is in view? The pronoun points to the one John speaks about as coming after him.
Direct: The form directly supports his sandal strap or the strap of his sandal.
The genitive relation is possessive or associative in this phrase, but the verse context identifies the person. The pronoun should not be used apart from John's humble witness in the surrounding sentence.
Genitive pronoun adds a separate humility doctrine: The form identifies whose strap is meant; John's whole statement carries the humility contrast.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτοῦ in John 1:27 within the line about untying his sandal strap.
The lemma αὐτός regularly serves as a referential pronoun, and here the genitive singular masculine form fits a personal reference in context.
In this clause the genitive supports the sense of belonging or association, linking the strap to the one John is speaking about.
The verse presents John as unworthy even to perform the lowest service for that person, and this form helps specify whose strap is meant.
Across the passage, the form supports John the Baptist's humble witness by keeping attention on the one who comes after him and stands above him.
In translation or teaching, the form is best rendered with a clear possessive or relational expression such as 'his strap,' while preserving the context of deference.
Do not derive more from the genitive than the context supports, and do not make grammatical gender into a doctrinal statement.