Genitive Case

1. The Genitive of Description

   This function of the genitive is considered to be its basic usage; i.e., it describes or depicts a noun. For example, "the house of blue" describes the house as being a "blue house"; "the chair of reclining" describes a chair that is a "recliner."

   τοῦτο γινώσκοντες ὅτι ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη ἵνα καταργηθῇ τὸ σῶμα (τῆς ἁμαρτίας),

   (touto ginōskontes hoti ho palaios hēmōn anthrōpos sunestaurōthē hina katargēthē̜ to sōma [tēs hamartias])

   "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with…"(Romans 6:6a).

   The word "sin" describes what kind of "body" is being referred to; thus, it is the genitive of description.

2. The Genitive of Possession

   This use of the genitive expresses the idea of ownership. For instance, "The car of Bill" tells me that the car belongs to Bill, and Bill would be in the genitive case.

   καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν (Πέτρου)

   (kai elthōn ho Iēsous eis tēn oikian [Petrou]…)

   "And when Jesus had come to Peter's home,…" (Matthew 8:14a).

   In this Scripture passage, "Peter's home" is actually, "the home of Peter" in Greek, with "of Peter" being in the genitive case - τὴν οἰκίαν (Πέτρου) - tēn oikian [Petrou]… - "the house of Peter."

3. The Genitive of Relationship

   This use of the genitive is similar to the above with the difference being that the noun being modified by the genitive is omitted, being understood by the context. In addition, the context is that of a person being described in relation to a family member, and it is the noun describing that relationship that is omitted. For example, if I were to say, "Bill, the son of John," you would have no problem understanding what I was saying. The word, "son," is the word being modified by the genitive, which for us would be, "of John." However, what we have with the genitive of relationship is that the word "son" is omitted. Thus, you have, "Bill the of John," but in the Greek, you would know that this meant Bill was the "son of John."

   καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ

   (Kai probas ekeithen eiden allous duo adelphous, Iakōbon ton [tou Zebedaiou] kai Iōannēn ton adelphon autou,)

   "And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother," (Matthew 4:21a).

   The word "son" is not in the original text. Thus, it is italicized to indicate that it is understood by the context to be referring to "son" although it is not in the actual text.

4. The Adverbial Genitive

   This use of the genitive is one of its most distinctive in that it describes the kind of action being expressed in the noun with the genitive. For example, οἴκου (house) is in the genitive, and it is referring to the kind of action, house action, that is occurring; i.e., action that is occurring within the house.

   1. The Genitive of Time

      This use of the genitive emphasizes the kind of time rather than a point or duration of time:

      λαβόντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ (νυκτὸς) διὰ τοῦ τείχους καθῆκαν αὐτὸν χαλάσαντες ἐν σπυρίδι

      (labontes de hoi mathētai autou [nuktos] dia tou teichous kathēkan auton chalasantes en spuridi)

      "but His disciples took him by night, and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket" (Acts 9:25).

      In this instance, the phrase "by night" is a translation of νυκτὸς, which is in the genitive. Thus, that which is being described in this verse is "night time action"; i.e., action taking place under the cover of night.

   2. The Genitive of Place

      In this use the genitive is also bringing into focus some form of contact, while still emphasizing kind of action:

      καὶ θεωρεῖτε καὶ ἀκούετε ὅτι οὐ μόνον [Ἐφέσου] ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν πάσης τῆς Ἀσίας ὁ Παῦλος οὗτος πείσας μετέστησεν ἱκανὸν ὄχλον λέγων ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν θεοὶ οἱ διὰ χειρῶν γινόμενοι

      (kai theōreite kai akouete hoti ou monon [Ephesou] alla schedon pasēs tēs Asias ho Paulos houtos peisas metestēsen hikanon ochlon, legōn hoti ouk eisin theoi hoi dia cheirōn ginomenoi)

      "And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all" (Acts 19:26).

      The phrase, "in Ephesus," is Ἐφέσου, and it is stating that the kind of preaching and teaching of Paul that nullified the validity of idols was in particular that which affected Ephesus and its idol making business; thus, it is an Ephesian kind of problem occurring in Ephesus and affecting Ephesian merchants.

   3. The Genitive of Reference

      Here adjectives are used in the genitive in such a way so as to apply their meaning within the confines of certain limits.

      μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος λεγέτω ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ πειράζομαι ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἀπείραστός ἐστιν (κακῶν) πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς οὐδένα

      (mēdeis peiradzomenos legetō hoti apo theou peiradzomai; ho gar theos apeirastos estin [kakōn], peiradzei de autos oudena)

      "Let no one say when he is tempted, `I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt any one" (James 1:13).

      Here in this instance the word ἀπείραστός (apeirastos is an adjective in the nominative, and it means, "unable to be tempted." The phrase "by evil" is κακῶν (kakōn), and it is the adjective in the genitive. Thus, what is being said is that the kind of temptation God is unable to be tempted with is "from/by evils," which is what κακῶν (kakōn) is in its plural form, versus "from/by evil." Thus, based on the genitive's primary emphais of description and possession, this verse is saying that 'no specific evils describe nor possess God's intentions and nature so as to cause Him to commit, or be the source and agent of the evil men choose in this world'.

5. The Genitive with Nouns of Action

   This is a very typical use of the genitive in which the noun in the genitive reflects the action that is being expressed by the noun it is modifying either as the subject producing the action, or as the object of the action:

   1. The Subjective Genitive

      Here the noun in the genitive is viewed as producing the action expressed by the noun the genitive is modifying:

      ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη (τοῦ Χριστοῦ) συνέχει ἡμᾶς

      (hē gar agapē [tou Christou] sunechei hēmas…)

      "For the love of Christ controls us,…"(2 Corinthians 5:14).

      In this verse, the noun "Christ" is in the genitive, and He, i.e., "Christ," is producing the "love" that is controlling believers, "us."

   2. The Objective Genitive

      In this use, the noun in the genitive stands as the object of the action indicated by the noun it is modifying:

      καθὼς τὸ μαρτύριον (τοῦ Χριστοῦ) ἐβεβαιώθη ἐν ὑμῖν

      (kathōs to marturion [tou Christou] ebebaiōthē en humin)

      "even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you" (1 Corinthians 1:6).

      The phrase, "concerning Christ," is actually in the genitive, τοῦ Χριστοῦ, and this is the object of the noun, "testimony," μαρτύριον. Thus, "testimony" is the noun of action, and "Christ" is the object of that "testimony."

6. The Genitive of Apposition

   The term apposition refers to a word of a larger group being renamed by a word of the same class, but more specific in nature. In the Greek, the genitive of apposition refers to that word that is more specific in nature, and that word would in turn be in the genitive. For example, in the statement, "the state of Colorado is one of the fifty states of the United States," the phrase, "the state of Colorado," emphasizes the fact that Colorado is one state among the overall larger group of states. The word "state," therefore, represents the larger group, and "Colorado" is a word of that same class (i.e., state), but it is referring to that which is specific.

   καὶ σημεῖον ἔλαβεν (περιτομῆς)

   (kai sēmeion elaben [peritomēs]…)

   "and he received the sign of circumcision…" (Romans 4:11).

   In this phrase, "sign" is the larger whole, and "circumcision," which is in the genitive, is that which is the more specific of the larger whole. Thus, "circumcision" is the genitive of apposition.

7. The Partitive Genitive

   This use of the genitive is the reversal of the above. The word in the genitive in this case is the whole and the noun it is modifying is a part of the whole. For example, in the statement, "George Washington was one of the Presidents," the phrase, "of the Presidents," would be in the partitive, representing the whole (i.e., "Presidents"), whereas "George Washington" is a part of the whole and a part of the word in the genitive, "Presidents."

   καὶ τὸ τρίτον (τῆς γῆς) κατεκάη

   (kai to triton [tēs gēs] katekaē…)

   "and a third of the earth was burnt up,…" (Revelation 8:7).

   In this passage, "earth" is the genitive and the whole, and "a third" is obviously a part of the whole "earth." Furthermore, "a third" finds its clarification in "of the earth," which is the whole. Otherwise, it would be an indefinite reference with no specific clarification.

8. The Genitive Absolute

   This use of the genitive corresponds to the parenthetical clauses we have in English. For instance, if I were to say, "Bill, a man who exercises, is an insurance salesman," the phrase, "a man who exercises" is a parenthetical statement that is not grammatically essential to the sentence for it to be a complete sentence. In the same way, the genitive absolute in Greek is the use of a noun and a participle in the genitive that have no essential grammatical connection to the sentence as a whole; they are, if you will, a Greek, parenthetical expression.

   καὶ (εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς οἶκον) οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ κατ᾽ ἰδίαν ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν ὅτι ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν ἐκβαλεῖν αὐτό

   (kai [eiselthontos autou eis oikon] hoi mathētai autou kat idian epērōtōn auton, Hoti hēmeis ouk ēdunēthēmen ekbalein auto?)

   "And when he had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, `Why is it that we could not cast it out'" (Mark 9:28)?

   In this sentence, the phrase, "when he had come into the house" is the genitive absolute; i.e., it has no essential grammatical connection with the sentence as a whole. The sentence could have easily begun with, "And His disciples began questioning Him privately, 'Why is it that we could not cast it out?'" This is a complete sentence in and of itself, and the phrase, "when he had come into the house" is not essential to the sentence in that the sentence is already complete.

Further Genitive Examples

The word in the parentheses in the Greek and transliteration and underlined in the English is the word in the genitive that will be identified. The genitive will be described in the same way that will be found described in an analytical lexicon which may be used later (e.g., gen. sg. masc. = genitive case, singular noun, masculine gender).

1. νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν ἐν τῷ σώματι (τῆς σαρκὸς) αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου

   (nuni de apokatēllaxen en tǭ sōmati [tēs sarkos] autou dia tou thanatou)

   "But now He has reconciled in his body of flesh through death . . ." (Colossians 1:22).

   of flesh" is a Genitive of Description.

2. ἔλεγεν δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν (Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου)·

   (elegen de ton Ioudan [Simōnos Iskariōtou])

   "Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot" (John 6:71).

   "of Simon Iscariot" is a Genitive of Relationship.

3. ὁ δὲ θεὸς οὐ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ τῶν βοώντων αὐτῷ (ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός)

   (ho de theos ou mē poiēsē̜ tēn ekdikēsin tōn eklektōn autou tōn boōntōn autǭ [hēmeras kai nuktos],…)

   "but will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night," (Luke 18:7).

   "day and night" is an Adverbial Genitive of time.

4. τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης (τοῦ Χριστοῦ)

   (tis hēmas chōrisei apo tēs agapēs [tou Christou])

   "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35)

   "of Christ" is a Subjective genitive.

5. οἴδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ ἐπίγειος ἡμῶν οἰκία (τοῦ σκήνους) καταλυθῇ

   (oidamen gar hoti ean hē epigeios hēmōn oikia [tou skēnous] kataluthē̜…)

   "For we know that if our earthly house of the tent (i.e., our body) should be destroyed," (2 Corinthians 5:1).

   "Of the tent" is a Genitive of apposition.