αὐτῷ (auto) in John 1:42: Dative Singular Masculine
αὐτῷ (auto) in John 1:42
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτῷ in John 1:42, within the TR/Scrivener text, and the local context names Jesus and Simon.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form strengthens the sense that Jesus' gaze and words are directed to Simon himself, not to an abstract idea.
How To Communicate It
It signals a concrete interpersonal moment in the story, helping listeners track who is being addressed.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The pronoun identifies the participant in the scene, but the surrounding clause determines the specific role.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological or social claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word refers back to a known person rather than naming him directly, so context supplies the reference.
Dative: the form usually marks an indirect object, recipient, or other context-shaped relation rather than the main subject.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it points to one referent in the scene.
Masculine: the form is masculine in grammar, but that feature only tracks agreement and does not by itself make a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It is closely connected with ἐμβλέψας and ὁ Ἰησοῦς in the clause.
The dative form is governed by the verbal and discourse setting, where Jesus looks at him and then speaks to him.
It likely functions as the one addressed or viewed, identifying Simon as the person in Jesus' direct interaction.
It is not the clause subject, and the form alone does not require a more specific syntactic label than the context supports.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The dative pronoun marks Simon as the person Jesus looks at and addresses before renaming him.
Dative pronoun marking the person directly engaged. identifies Simon as the one receiving Jesus' gaze and speech. Attached to the looked at him and spoke to him scene. Governed by Jesus' direct interaction with Simon. The dative supports the interpersonal focus; the renaming statement supplies the larger significance.
Who is Jesus directly engaging? Jesus is directly engaging Simon.
Direct: The form directly supports him or to him, depending on how the clause is rendered.
The exact syntactic label depends on the speaking and seeing construction, but the participant is clear. The pronoun identifies Simon; it does not by itself explain the significance of the new name.
Dative form explains the whole renaming event: The form identifies the person engaged; Jesus' words provide the meaning of the naming moment.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτῷ in John 1:42, within the TR/Scrivener text, and the local context names Jesus and Simon.
The lemma αὐτός commonly refers back to an already identified person, and here it points to the male figure in view.
The dative singular fits the relationship created by seeing and speaking, so the pronoun marks the one Jesus addresses rather than introducing a new actor.
The verse presents Jesus looking at Simon and speaking directly to him, so the pronoun supports a personal, immediate encounter.
In John's Gospel, such pronoun use regularly serves to keep attention on the person already present in the narrative flow.
For readers and speakers, the form helps the sentence feel direct and relational, since Jesus' words are aimed at a known person.
Do not derive a hidden theological meaning from the dative ending, and do not treat grammatical gender as a claim about sex, status, or doctrine.