Case genitive

Summary

In Koiné Greek, the genitive case ending serves a wide variety of functions. Most commonly, it expresses possession, meaning that the term containing the genitive case ending possesses (in some way) the word it describes. However, it can also express other meanings as well.

Article

In Koiné Greek, the genitive case ending has potential to express the widest range of meanings of all the various case endings. The genitive case ending can express possession, description, kinship, apposition, separation, the subject of a verbal idea, the object of a verbal idea, and others. Often, a specific word with a genitive case ending may seem to fit into more than one category. In these cases, the final determination of the meaning must be based upon context.

John 1:19

καὶ

αὕτη

ἐστὶν

ἡ

μαρτυρία

τοῦ

Ἰωάννου

kai

hautē

estin

hē

martyria

tou

Iōannou

and

this

it is

the

testimony

of the

John

This is the testimony of John; or This is John’s testimony

In this example, the relationship expressed is that of possession and/or source.

Form

The Genitive case is formed by adding the Genitive case ending to the stem of a word (often with a connecting vowel). Usually, the word in the Genitive case usually follows the word that it is modifying. When the word in the Genitive case occurs before the word it is modifying, the word in the Genitive case is being given more attention by the author.

Genitive Case Ending
First and Second Declension Third Declencion
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine/Feminine Neuter
Singular
Genitive υ ς υ ος ος
Plural
Genitive ων ων ων ων ων

See NounParadigm for a complete listing of the noun paradigms and AdjectiveParadigm for the adjective paradigms.

Possession

A word with a possession genitive case ending owns or possesses (in some way) the object that is being described. This kind of genitive is often translated into English using the word “of.”

need example here

However, the most common way a speaker/writer expresses possession is by using a personal pronoun in the genitive case. In these cases, the personal pronoun is translated into English using English possessive pronouns (“my,” “your,” “their,” etc.).

John 20:28

ἀπεκρίθη

Θωμᾶς

καὶ

εἶπεν

αὐτῷ

ὁ

Κύριός

μου

καὶ

ὁ

Θεός

μου!

apekrithē

Thōmas

kai

eipen

autō

ho

Kyrios

mou

kai

ho

Theos

mou!

he answered

Thomas

and

he said

to him

the

Lord

my

and

the

God

my

*Thomas answered and said to him

  • “My Lord and my God.”

Sometimes a possessive pronoun is used to express possession. Some common possessive pronouns in Koiné Greek include ἐμός (“my”), σός (“your”), ἡμέτερος (“our”), ὑμέτερος (“your”), or ἵδιος (“his”) are sometimes used In these cases, the possessive pronouns will look like any other adjective and will agree with the noun they are describing in case and gender.

Attributive

A word with an attributive genitive case ending functions very much like a typical adjective. The word with the genitive case ending expresses some general attribute (or description) of the word it is describing. This kind of genitive is often translated into English using the word “of.”

Mark 1:4

ἐγένετο

Ἰωάννης

…

κηρύσσων

βάπτισμα

μετανοίας

εἰς

ἄφεσιν

ἁμαρτιῶν

egeneto

Iōannēs

…

kēryssōn

baptisma

metanoias

eis

aphesin

hamartiōn

he came

John

preaching

a baptism

of repentance

into/for

forgiveness

of sin

*John came

… preaching a baptism* of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Material

A word with a material genitive case ending indicates either (1) the substance of which an object is made or (2) something which an object contains. In both cases, the “object” is the word being described by the term containing the genitive case ending. This kind of genitive is often translated into English using the words “of,” “with,” or “by.”

Acts 2:4

καὶ

ἐπλήσθησαν

πάντες

Πνεύματος

Ἁγίου

kai

eplēsthēsan

pantes

Pneumatos

Hagiou

and

they were filled

all

with Spirit

Holy

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit

Kinship

A word with a kinship genitive case ending describes some kind of kinship relationship. In most cases, this kind of genitive refers someone who is the physical descendent (son or daughter) of another person. However, it can refer to someone who is a descendant several generations later, or even someone who is a descendant in a relational sense and not a physical sense. For example, in Luke 13:16 the woman is called a “daughter of Abraham” even though many centuries had passed since Abraham died. The woman was still considered to be a daughter of Abraham. This kind of genitive is often translated into English using the word “of.”

Matthew 4:21

Ἰάκωβον

τὸν

τοῦ

Ζεβεδαίου

Iakōbon

ton

tou

Zebedaiou

James

the

(son)

of

Zebedee

James the son of Zebedee

Luke 24:10

καὶ

Μαρία

ἡ

Ἰακώβου

kai

Maria

hē

Iakōbou

and

Mary

the

(mother of)

James

and Mary the mother of James

Apposition

A word with an apposition genitive case ending describes in some way the preceding word (which also has a genitive case ending). It functions very much like an adjective, except it is usually not an adjective, but a noun instead. Apposition is the term used when a noun describes (or gives more information about) another noun. This kind of genitive can be translated into English a variety of different ways, depending on the specific context. Some common ways of translation an apposition genitive into English include “who is,” “which is,” “namely,” a simple comma, or sometimes not translated at all. In the example below, the noun “mother” is in genitive case and is in apposition to the noun “Mary.” The apposition genitive indicates that Mary is the mother of the child specified in the sentence.

Matthew 2:11

εἶδον

τὸ

παιδίον

μετὰ

Μαρίας

τῆς

μητρὸς

αὐτοῦ

eidon

to

paidion

meta

Marias

tēs

mētros

autou

they saw

the

child

with

Mary

the

mother

of him.

They saw the young child with Mary his mother.

Separation/Source (or Ablative)

A word with a separation/source genitive case ending indicates some kind of separation from, movement away from, or the source of some object. Some grammars call this specific kind of genitive case ending the “ablative” case ending. However, there is no difference in form between the “genitive” case ending and the “ablative” case ending. They appear exactly the same. As might be expected, the prepositions έκ (“out of”) and ἀπό (“from”) require their object to have the genitive case ending. This kind of genitive can also be used to express a comparison between two objects (as a function of a “separation” of the two objects in view).

2 Corinthians 3:3

ὅτι

ἐστὲ

ἐπιστολὴ

Χριστοῦ

hoti

este

epistolē

Christou

because

you are

a letter

from Christ

that you are a letter from Christ

Matthew 2:1

μάγοι

ἀπὸ

ἀνατολῶν

παρεγένοντο

εἰς

Ἱεροσόλυμα

magoi

apo

anatolōn

paregenonto

eis

Hierosolyma

Magi

from

(the) east

they came

into

Jerusalem

learned men from the east arrived in Jerusalem

Luke 19:8

τὰ

ἡμίσιά

μου

τῶν

ὑπαρχόντων

Κύριε

τοῖς

πτωχοῖς

δίδωμι

ta

hēmisia

mou

tōn

hyparchontōn

Kyrie

tois

ptōchois

didōmi

the

half

of my

of

possessions/goods

Lord

to the

poor

I give

*Lord

the half of my* goods I give to the poor

Note: In this example “of goods” is a Genitive of Source. “My” is a Genitive of possession.

John 13:16

οὐκ

ἔστιν

δοῦλος

μείζων

τοῦ

κυρίου

αὐτοῦ

ouk

estin

doulos

meizōn

tou

kyriou

autou

not

he is

a slave

greater

than

lord

his

a servant is not greater than his master

Note: In this example we see the comparative function for the Genitive of Separation.

Subject/Object

A word with a subject/object genitive case ending indicates either the subject or object of a verbal idea. In the example below, the word παρουσία (“coming”) refers to a verbal idea. The subject of this verbal idea is τοῦ Υἱοῦ (“the Son”). The genitive case ending for the term τοῦ Υἱοῦ indicates that “the Son” is the one who is “coming.”

Matthew 24:27

οὕτως

ἔσται

ἡ

παρουσία

τοῦ

Υἱοῦ

τοῦ

Ἀνθρώπου

houtōs

estai

hē

parousia

tou

Huiou

tou

Anthrōpou

thus

it will be

the

coming

of the

Son

of

Man

so will be the coming of the Son of Man

In the example below, the term τὸ μαρτύριον refers to the verbal idea of “testifying.” The object of this verbal idea is τοῦ Χριστοῦ (“the Christ”). The genitive case ending for the term indicates the “the Christ” is the one about whom someone is “testifying.”

1 Corinthians 1:6

καθὼς

τὸ

μαρτύριον

τοῦ

Χριστοῦ

ἐβεβαιώθη

ἐν

ὑμῖν

kathōs

to

martyrion

tou

Christou

ebebaiōthē

en

hymin

just as

the

testimony

of

Christ

has been confirmed

in

you

just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed [as true] among you

The Genitive case is primarily the case of description.

  1. The Genitive case may be used to attribute

  2. The Genitive case may also express a relationship to the subject noun (or substantive-a substantive is a noun or any word or group of words functioning like a noun)

  3. A word in the genitive case may also serve as the subject or object of the head noun. [see Genitive_Subject/Object]