αὐτῶν. (auton) in Revelation 22:4: Genitive Plural Masculine
αὐτῶν. (auton) in Revelation 22:4
Textual Witness
The witness reads αὐτῶν in Revelation 22:4 within the phrase ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The pronoun helps the reader hear the phrase as relational and corporate, identifying the foreheads as belonging to the group already in view.
How To Communicate It
Use the form to clarify referent and possession-like relation, not to build doctrine beyond the verse's immediate sense.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The masculine label is grammatical only and does not create a theological gender claim.
- If syntax is uncertain, state the most conservative referential sense the verse context supports.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points back to a previously understood referent rather than naming one directly.
Genitive: the form usually marks a relationship, possession, or reference depending on the clause context.
Plural: the form refers to more than one person or group in this occurrence.
Masculine: the form is grammatically masculine here, but that grammatical class does not by itself make a theological or biological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων.
The pronoun stands with the prepositional phrase and most naturally refers to the group just mentioned in the verse context.
It functions as a genitive reference meaning their foreheads, identifying whose foreheads bear the name.
It does not introduce a new subject, and it does not change the noun it modifies into another word or idea.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The genitive plural pronoun identifies the foreheads that bear the name, so it supports the scene of visible belonging.
Genitive plural pronoun modifying foreheads. identifies the group whose foreheads bear the name. Attached to the on their foreheads phrase. Governed by the prepositional phrase about the name on foreheads. The form marks possession-like relation; the verse supplies the imagery of seeing God and bearing his name.
Whose foreheads bear the name? The pronoun points to the servants or people already in view in the scene.
Direct: The form directly supports their foreheads.
The plural pronoun follows the group in view and should not be detached from the vision sequence. The grammar marks relation, while the name-on-forehead imagery carries the interpretive significance.
Genitive plural makes a separate identity claim: The form identifies whose foreheads are named; the verse context explains the identity and belonging imagery.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads αὐτῶν in Revelation 22:4 within the phrase ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.
The lemma αὐτός is a flexible pronoun that can refer back to a known person or group, and here the context favors a plural reference.
The genitive plural works naturally with the preceding noun phrase to show relationship, so the meaning is their foreheads rather than a separate new participant.
The verse pictures the divine name as placed on the foreheads of those who see God's face, showing belonging and direct access in the scene.
This fits the wider biblical pattern of marked belonging and divine ownership, while the local context supplies the specific force here.
In translation or teaching, render the sense plainly as their foreheads and preserve the referential link to the people in view.
Do not infer more than the context supports from the genitive form alone, and do not turn grammatical gender into a gendered theological claim.