Case vocative¶

Glossary¶

Vocative is the case used when addressing (speaking directly to) someone.

Example: MAT 8:2¶
Κύριε	ἐὰν	θέλῃς	δύνασαί	με	καθαρίσαι
Kyrie	ean	thelēs	dynasai	me	katharisai
Lord	if	willing	you are able	me	to make clean

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean

Article¶

The vocative case is the case of direct address.

However, a noun in the vocative case preceded by the particle ὦ is used to add emphasis or to express emotion.
Caution: Do not confuse ὦ (the particle) with ᾧ -the dative case relative pronoun, or with ὦ - the first person singular subjunctive form of εἰμί (which is identical to the particle ὦ in form).

Only 2.1% of the 28,599 nouns in the New Testament are in the vocative case.

Form¶

Often it is easy to identify nouns in the vocative case by the context.

The vocative case is identical to the nominative case in the plural.

The vocative case is identical to the nominative case in the first declension (singular and plural).

The vocative case of the singular second declension usually ends in an epsilon.

The vocative case of the singular third declension is usually the bare stem of the word. However, the stem vowel may shorten, lengthen, or drop out entirely. This is known as ablaut.

Vocative – Direct Address¶

The vocative of direct address is the most frequent use of the vocative case.

Matthew 7:21

οὐ

πᾶς

ὁ

λέγων

μοι

Κύριε

εἰσελεύσεται

εἰς

τὴν

Βασιλείαν

τῶν

Οὐρανῶν

ou

pas

ho

legōn

moi

Kyrie

eiseleusetai

eis

tēn

Basileian

tōn

Ouranōn

not

everyone

who

says

to me

Lord

he will enter

into

the

kingdom

of

heaven

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter into the kingdom of heaven

Matthew 8:2
Κύριε	ἐὰν	θέλῃς	δύνασαί	με	καθαρίσαι.
Kyrie	ean	thelēs	dynasai	me	katharisai.
Lord	if	you are willing	you are able	me	to (make) clean

“Lord”, if you are willing, you can make me clean.

Vocative – Emphasis/Emotion¶

The vocative case can also be used to express emotion or emphasis. The particle ὦ is used when the vocative case is used to add additional emphasis or emotion to the basic function of direct address. ὦ followed by a word in the vocative case only occurs 14 times in the New Testament.

Example of ὦ + vocative to add an emotional emphasis.

Mark 9:19
αὐτοῖς	λέγει	ὦ	γενεὰ	ἄπιστος!	ἕως	πότε	πρὸς	ὑμᾶς	ἔσομαι?
autois	legei	ō	genea	apistos!	heōs	pote	pros	hymas	esomai?
to them	he says	Oh	generation	unbelieving	until	when	with	you	will I be?

and he said to them, “You unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you?”

Note: The emotional emphasis can be difficult to reflect in a translation. The exclaimation mark is used in this example to reflect the emotion.

Example of ὦ + vocative to add emphasis.

I Timothy 6:11
σὺ	δέ	ὦ	ἄνθρωπε	Θεοῦ	ταῦτα	φεῦγε	δίωκε	δὲ	δικαιοσύνην…
sy	de	ō	anthrōpe	Theou	tauta	pheuge	diōke	de	dikaiosynēn…
you	but	o	man	of God	these things	you flee	you pursue	but (instead)	righteousness

But you, man of God, flee from these things. Instead, pursue righteousness…

Note: The emphasis is lost in the English text.