αὐτὸν (auton) in John 1:42: Accusative Singular Masculine
αὐτὸν (auton) in John 1:42
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτὸν in John 1:42, within the clause καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The pronoun narrows the clause to a single identified person and makes the movement to Jesus plain, while leaving the broader significance to the surrounding narrative.
How To Communicate It
In clear English rendering, the form supports a simple object pronoun such as "him," preserving the verse's direct and personal movement.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Accusative singular masculine identifies function and reference, but it does not by itself determine the full sense of the scene.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological gender claim or read more into the form than the verse context supports.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word refers back to a person or thing already in view, rather than naming that person directly.
Accusative: the form usually marks a direct object or another complement shaped by the verb or preposition in the clause.
Singular: the form points to one referent in this occurrence, not a group.
Masculine: the form is grammatically masculine here, which reflects agreement with the referent and does not by itself make a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἤγαγεν
The pronoun is the object of the verb "led" and identifies the person being brought to Jesus.
It functions as the direct object in the movement scene, naming the one who is accompanied to Jesus.
It is not the subject of the action, and its form does not by itself add emphasis beyond identifying the person referred to.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The pronoun marks the person Andrew brings to Jesus and supports the scene's personal movement.
Accusative direct object pronoun. identifies the person being brought. Attached to the verb saying he brought him to Jesus. Governed by the movement verb. The pronoun tracks a known person; the narrative context supplies the full identity.
Whom did Andrew bring to Jesus? He brought him, the singular person already identified in the narrative.
Direct: The object relation directly supports a simple rendering with 'him.'
The pronoun's antecedent should be carried from the prior clause and family reference.
Pronoun reference adds emphasis by itself: The pronoun identifies the object; any emphasis must come from the context.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτὸν in John 1:42, within the clause καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
The lemma αὐτός is a flexible pronoun that can refer to the same person already in context, here in an oblique object form.
Its accusative form fits the verb of leading and shows that the action is directed toward one identified person, not toward Jesus.
The verse reports that someone brought him to Jesus, and the pronoun helps keep Simon in focus as the one being led into the encounter.
In the surrounding Gospel scene, the grammar supports a straightforward narrative movement from witness to encounter without adding extra meaning beyond reference.
For readers and translators, the form confirms who is being acted upon and prevents confusion about the direction of the action in the sentence.
Do not derive a special doctrine, hidden symbolism, or extra emphasis from the case alone, and do not treat masculine gender as a theological statement.