Greek Form Guide

αὐτοῦ (autou) in Revelation 22:12: Genitive Singular Masculine

αὐτοῦ (autou) in Revelation 22:12

Textual Witness

αὐτοῦ autou Genitive Singular Masculine

The witness reads αὐτοῦ in Revelation 22:12 within the phrase ὡς τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ ἔσται.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The pronoun narrows the clause to personal accountability, making the reward correspond to the work that belongs to each person.

How To Communicate It

In communication, the form helps readers hear the verse as individualized and relational, not as a general statement about work in the abstract.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Genitive form here signals relationship, but context decides the referent and force.
  • Grammatical gender should not be turned into a theological gender claim.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Pronoun: the word refers back to a person or thing already in view, here by pointing to the worker whose deed is being measured.

Case

Genitive: the form usually marks relationship or possession, and here it links the deed to the person who did it.

Number

Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so it refers to one individual in the distributive sense of the verse.

Gender

Masculine: the form belongs to the masculine grammatical class, but that grammatical feature by itself does not make a theological claim about gender.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

τὸ ἔργον

Governed By

It is related to the noun phrase τὸ ἔργον and belongs to the comparison phrase that explains measure or correspondence in the clause.

Role In The Phrase

It identifies the work as belonging to the person being judged, so the verse reads as each one's work rather than work in the abstract.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not introduce a new subject, and it does not by itself specify the kind, quality, or moral value of the work.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The genitive pronoun personalizes the reward according to each person's work.

Syntax Profile

Genitive singular masculine pronoun. marks the work as belonging to the person being recompensed. Attached to the work phrase in Revelation 22:12. Governed by the reward-correspondence clause. The pronoun supports personal accountability; the clause supplies the reward logic.

Reader Question

Whose work is considered? Each person's own work is in view.

Translation Effect

Direct: The pronoun directly supports his work or each one's work in context.

Where Caution Is Needed

The referent is supplied by the each-one language in the verse. Genitive relation should not be detached from the reward clause. Masculine agreement should not be read as excluding women.

Fallacies To Avoid

Genitive alone defines final judgment: The genitive marks relation to the work; the full verse states the reward principle. masculine form limits accountability to men: The grammar follows the form of the referent and does not restrict the warning by sex.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The witness reads αὐτοῦ in Revelation 22:12 within the phrase ὡς τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ ἔσται.

Lexical Identity

The lemma αὐτός regularly functions as a referential pronoun, and here it points back to the individual already named by ἑκάστῳ.

Grammar In Context

The genitive singular forms a simple relationship of belonging or reference, so the phrase links each work to its owner or doer without adding extra meaning.

Passage Meaning

The verse says the coming one will repay each person according to that person's own work.

Canonical Fit

This fits the verse's broader emphasis on recompense and accountability, while staying within the immediate wording of reward according to works.

Communication Use

For translation and teaching, the form supports rendering that makes ownership explicit, such as each one's work or his work, depending on context.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a separate doctrine from the masculine gender, and do not treat the pronoun as if it changes the subject or the meaning of work itself.