God's Name Found in the Greek Scriptures under θεόν (theon).

Can you give a modern day example of "feminine sense" being used as you mean? Because, as I am understanding the above you seem to be equating this "feminine sense" to when θεός is anarthrous only. So, are you meaning that any masculine noun sans article is somehow considered to be in this grammatical "feminine sense"?

In looking over some of your other comments that would seem to be heading in the right direction of your intended meaning.

Although, the last portion of your statement, "its natural state of being a nominative feminine noun", one would under normal conditions grammatically take that as referring to the noun's gender.

Having asked this prior, how do you define "natural state"? By the above statement it would seem as if you consider "natural state" as an anarthrous nominative noun; and, that lack of article changes an otherwise masculine noun into a feminine noun. Would that be correct?

If so, I have to ask if this same grammatical condition also then applies conversely to an anarthrous nominative feminine noun. Does this condition put that feminine noun into a natural state i.e. nominative masculine so that it will have a masculine sense?

There are three gender classifications for nouns in the Greek language, masculine, feminine, or neuter. These classifications are known as grammatical gender.

So, when you speak of masculine or feminine nouns that is in fact speaking of the grammatical gender for those nouns – not natural gender; though, there are instances where the grammatical and natural gender for a noun will happen to correspond. 

Gender information is included in a noun's morphology that you are no doubt very familiar with – noun masc. sing. nom. – noun fem. sing. gen. – and, noun neut. plur. nom. – etc.

I want to provide again this definition regarding gender in the Greek language before continuing.

• Gender is a grammatical category: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Words do not possess sex; they are characterized by gender. The genders are simply groups of words that use the same inflectional endings—linguistic classifications, not biological ones.
• The category of gender tells us which endings to use on nouns and how to spell other words (such as adjectives) that are related to them. (emphasis mine)

(Decker, Rodney J. Reading Koine Greek. Accordance electronic edition, version 2.0. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.)

I'm hopeful the above will clear up the apparent misconception you face on grammatical gender as was expressed in this statement, "Beginning is not a FEMALE".

And, the following from one of your previous postings in this thread.

And, including this as well.

It would seem that this familiar Concordance entry from biblehub.com is one basis for the contrived rule of your own making. A rule that conceives the anarthrous masculine θεός as being a feminine noun without having feminine gender, something you call "feminine sense". 

The second basis involved here seems to be that an anarthrous θεός is in your mind always to be taken in this "feminine sense" as "a god" according to this statement, "nominative Noun, Feminine; feminine sense" (a god) refers to deity, divinity, divine nature".

It is unfortunate that you have misunderstood and misapplied what "Part of Speech" in Strong's conveys. It conveys the information that θεός is a noun and can be either masculine or feminine in grammatical gender. The masculine θεός can refer to God or a god regardless of articular status (examples are several paragraphs below).

θεός is a second declension noun which means both masculine and feminine forms have the same case endings in the nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, and vocative.

Therefore, if I write θεός or ὁ θεός both are masculine singular nominative in grammatical gender. If I write ἡ θεός it is feminine singular nominative in grammatical gender; or, I could also write θήλεια θεός to identify θεός as being female (cf. Acts 19:37 τὴν θεὸν).

By the above you probably recognize that with θεός the grammatical and natural genders happen to correspond with one another; which, does seem to follow throughout use. 

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος.

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

Before moving forward, I want to re-emphasize that both "masculine" and "feminine" in the Strong's Concordance "Part of Speech" are referring to only word gender (see definition above) – a feminine noun is feminine grammatical gender. 

I have yet to come across anything that corroborates your theoretical idea of "a god" having "feminine sense". In fact, once again scripture itself is not your friend in this matter; which, is easily demonstrated in the following.

A quick confirmation of this using the LXX is found in Ge. 17:7 εἶναί σου θεὸς and Ge. 17:8 ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς θεός. In the same way the NT also provides examples; one such, being Lk. 20:38 θεὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν.

There are more examples but the above will suffice in showing that not all instances of θεός in the Greek text have the masculine singular nominative ὁ even when the text is speaking of Yahweh.

However, according to your stipulated view of noun and article relationship this "with-holding" of the article, as you state it, would have θεός in a "feminine sense" as some ordinary deity having a divine nature – a god. Yet, it is Yahweh, Himself, that is in view in those example texts.

Now, the reverse of those previous examples can also be found in the NT text as well. And that is where ὁ θεός is nothing more than a common deity – a god. Phil. 3:19 ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία, and 2Cor. 4:4 ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος.

I want to point out that in the above two NT examples θεός is masculine, not feminine, contra your claim regarding the gender used when speaking of a false god, "...it's natural state is a feminine noun, NOT necessarily a feminine gender unless it is being directed towards false gods.". Out of the more than 1300 instances of θεός in the NT only one is feminine.

It's worth asking at this time if there is a "feminine sense" counterpart rule in place that you observe which applies to when ὁ θεὸς is "a god"? 

In my opinion your contrived rule has struck out.

And, as far as those asserted claims of yours having any applicable merit for θεός being "a god" in Jn. 1:1, is non-existent.

For one, all of the discussion above has shown your premise of "feminine sense" in all its aspects to be in error.

For another, the issue of consistency in application plagues your position. Within the first eighteen verses of John there are six anarthrous uses of θεός (Jn. 1:1, 6, 12-13, 18). Now, two (1:1 and 1:18) of those six instances you apply your rule; yet, the other four you do not do so. 

There are additionally several hundred instances of the anarthrous masculine singular θεός in the NT; and, according to your universal rule, all anarthrous θεός occurrences should then be considered in a "feminine sense" as a god, or a divine divinity – something less than Yahweh.

The previous LXX and NT examples I provided clearly show beyond a doubt that your overall rule governing the anarthrous θεός is in error – certainly when Yahweh is in the context. 

This statement makes absolutely no sense at all; and, upon what it is based, is anyone's guess.

But certainly a disconnect is occurring with the understanding of noun declension, i.e. inflections – θεός, θεοῦ, θεόν, θεῷ, θεέ – and why in the Greek language that is a necessary component of grammar to make sense out of what is being communicated.

It would be good if you kept in mind what the inflected noun cases actually accomplish in Greek.

• Cases (nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, and dative) identify how the noun or adjective functions grammatically within a sentence. (emphasis mine)

(Schwandt, J. D. p.30)

• These changes in forms do not impact the actual meaning of the noun itself, only how it is being used in a particular sentence. (emphasis mine)

(White, James R.). 

Just a quick mention regarding declension and conjugation.

• Declension is the inflection of substantives, adjectives (including participles), and pronouns; conjugation is the inflection of verbs. (emphasis mine)

(Smyth, H. W. (1920). A Greek Grammar for Colleges (p. 44). American Book Company.)

Well, obviously I have to ask, who, specifically, has argued that the accusative form of θεός is written in the third clause of Jn. 1:1? 

θεός is grammatically functioning as a predicate nominative in the clause. If it were functioning as an object then θεός would be written as θεόν – as it is in the second clause.

Interesting side-trip. But, it is time to get back to our main area of discussion. 

And that is: 

1). In scripture θεόν most usually finds its referent in Yahweh. 

2). 146, not 148, NT occurrences of θεόν find Yahweh as the referent. 

3). Within scripture θεόν does not find Jesus as its referent.

4). θεόν does find Jesus as a referent in early writings outside scripture.

I am assuming by the change in focus over the last couple of posts that you have conceded to the four points above and can consider that exchange as completed.

We are speaking actually of grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) as it applies to nouns in the Greek language; not gender as in the possession of sex differentiation (masculine, feminine).

For grammatical gender not being "part of the discussion" you certainly place a great amount of emphasis on it with the many references to "feminine nouns" and the "feminine sense" throughout your posts in this forum.

1st declension nouns are primarily feminine in grammatical gender while 2nd declension nouns are primarily masculine grammatical gender. The case-endings for the latter are the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. 

A Greek noun's gender is known as grammatical gender; which, may, or may not, correspond with natural gender. In the particular case we are engaged on however the natural and the grammatical gender of θεός does coincide in use.

θεός is a 2nd declension noun; so, if I write θεός it will be taken as masculine. Were I to want it to reflect a female god, or goddess, I will use the feminine article that agrees with the noun – ἡ θεός, or τὴν θεὸν (Acts 19:37). Or, another approach is to use a term modifying θεός, such as θήλεια, distinguishing θεός as female.

There is no "feminine sense" involved here. Either θεός is used as a masculine noun; or, it is used as a feminine noun determined by an article or some modifier (θήλεια). It is not by the lack of an article that θεός becomes a feminine noun as you believe and assert.

Let me refresh your memory for a moment and ask, what do you not comprehend in the following citations regarding Greek noun gender?

• 1. Gender is a grammatical category: masculine, feminine, or neuter.
• 2. Words do not possess sex; they are characterized by gender.
• 3. The genders are simply groups of words that use the same inflectional endings—linguistic classifications, not biological ones.

(Decker, Rodney J. Reading Koine Greek. Accordance electronic edition, version 2.0. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.)

• grammatical gender. n. The designation of the gender of words—whether masculine, feminine or neuter—not based on whether the objects in question are truly male or female (called natural gender) but solely based on grammatical usage.

(DeMoss, M. S. (2001). Pocket dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek (p. 64). InterVarsity Press.)

• The gender of Greek words is usually indicated by means of the article: ὁ for masculine, ἡ for feminine, τό for neuter.

(Smyth, H. W. (1920). A Greek Grammar for Colleges (p. 45). American Book Company.)

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος.

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

• Common Gender.—Many nouns denoting persons are either masculine or feminine. Thus, ὁ παῖς boy, ἡ παῖς girl, ὁ θεός god, ἡ θεός (ἡ θεᾱ́ poet.) goddess. So with names of animals; ὁ βοῦς ox, ἡ βοῦς cow, ὁ ἵππος horse, ἡ ἵππος mare.

(Smyth, H. W. (1920). A Greek Grammar for Colleges (p. 46). American Book Company.)

All the above is quite contrary to your expressed view where you speculate that the "with-holding" of an article for the masculine θεός will "invoke" the "feminine noun" θεός giving a "feminine sense" to it; which, is to be translated "a god".

That position of yours was easily demonstrated to be false with just a small sampling of texts where the anarthrous θεός was Yahweh Himself; while, other texts used ὁ θεὸς which referred to a common deity, "a god". 

Not only do you not have the support of scripture for this position you hold; but, you do not have support from grammars of the Greek language. And no, Strong's Concordance, which you misinterpret, is not a Greek grammar.

On the contrary, and not at all. When you state in your writing "feminine noun" that is a linguistic category of word gender.  

Where exactly did I write that Jesus is a goddess? Where is the quote to support "Jesus is some sort of pagan goddess"?

I recommend re-reading my previous post.

In my last post I asked you where it was that I wrote what you asserted. You have asserted that I claimed, in your words, "Jesus is some sort of pagan goddess". 

I am again asking you to provide the quotation having those words. I did not ask you for what you inferred from what I wrote; but, the actual words stating "Jesus is some sort of pagan goddess".

Instead, you answered with the following:

• On the contrary, and not at all. When you state in your writing "feminine noun" that is a linguistic category of word gender. (my words you quoted)

Where in that sentence is it stated that I consider Jesus as a goddess; or, more directly, and in your words, "Jesus is some sort of pagan goddess"? Where are those words? 

In that statement I simply said that when you write "feminine noun" that phrase is denoting word (grammatical) gender – feminine modifies noun as to the grammatical gender the noun is – which may, or may not, coincide with natural gender.

Provide citations from Greek grammars where this "qualitive [sic] sense in the manner of being begotten as birth labor pains" is discussed for feminine nouns. As a note, Strong's is not a Greek grammar. You do know the difference between a Concordance and a grammar don't you?

By "qualitive [sic]" I believe you meant to write "qualitative" because to my knowledge your "qualitive [sic]" is not a dictionary word.

It was not until this very last post of yours that "qualitive [sic]" or "qualitative" entered into our discussion in this thread. In light of that, how do you write as if you have mentioned "qualitative sense" in our exchange on this particular thread?

Having used the forum search function for qualitive [sic] or qualitative it confirms the first and only mention of this term in this thread was indeed in your very last posting. 

On what basis does this moving to a heavenly scene referencing natural gender have to do with the grammatical gender category of nouns in Greek grammar?

@Brother Rando

Since you cannot provide a quote in which I explicitly stated Jesus is a goddess; or, as you put it, "some sort of pagan goddess", there is no justification for your assertion that I did so.

There is no explicit mention of Jesus being a goddess, let alone, any mention of his person in my statement found below. 

• When you state in your writing "feminine noun" that is a linguistic category of word gender.

That the conclusion you arrived at from the above statement was "Jesus is some sort of pagan goddess" demonstrates two things.

One, that you do understand natural gender as witnessed also by these statements below.

Two, you do recognize Greek grammatical gender with the use of your "feminine noun" and what seems to equate with it "feminine sense" – the terminology you employ to describe "feminine noun".

However, from your "Gender is a person" remark alone I would say that you are importing an English grammar mindset (natural gender) onto the Greek; while, attempting to mix in grammatical gender of the language.

• grammatical gender. n. The designation of the gender of words—whether masculine, feminine or neuter—not based on whether the objects in question are truly male or female (called natural gender) but solely based on grammatical usage.

(DeMoss, M. S. (2001). Pocket dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek (p. 64). InterVarsity Press.)

Within the Greek language a noun will have gender (grammatical) which may, or may not, correspond to natural gender for that particular noun. 

As it can be understood, your particular position of "feminine noun" "feminine sense" system of grammar in relation to θεός is one that simply does not work as you have devised it.

What you seem to want is for the masculine (grammatical and natural gender) θεός to be masculine natural gender taking the feminine grammatical gender ("feminine noun" having "feminine sense"). 

A couple of obstacles for the position you are grammatically wanting for θεός are found in the following.

• Common Gender.—Many nouns denoting persons are either masculine or feminine. Thus, ὁ παῖς boy, ἡ παῖς girl, ὁ θεός god, ἡ θεός (ἡ θεᾱ́ poet.) goddess. So with names of animals; ὁ βοῦς ox, ἡ βοῦς cow, ὁ ἵππος horse, ἡ ἵππος mare.

(Smyth, H. W. (1920). A Greek Grammar for Colleges (p. 46). American Book Company.)

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος.

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

θεός, a common noun, takes masculine or feminine grammatical gender. But θεός is also a 2nd declension noun meaning in part that the declined forms (nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, vocative) are identical in case endings for both masculine and feminine.

This means for the nominative singular masculine θεός to take feminine grammatical gender, "feminine noun" having "feminine sense", and understood as such, will necessitate the use of a nominative singular feminine article ἡ – ἡ θεός. 

In other words, grammatical gender (masc. or fem.) will follow natural gender (masc. or fem.) for the word θεός as it does in Acts. 19:37 (τὴν θεὸν).   

As stated above, the feminine article is necessary to distinguish θεός as having taken feminine grammatical gender; or, as previously stated a modifying term could be used instead, i.e., θήλεια θεός.

The LXX and NT combined have more than 5000 occurrences of θεός (articular or anarthrous), and all are masculine but for the one feminine instance in Acts 19:37.

Hopefully, you will not turn back to this unsupported claim again as it was shown to be completely in error by several examples where the anarthrous θεός is Yahweh (Ge. 17:7-8 LXX; and Lk. 20:38). And, also in the reverse examples where ὁ θεὸς is not Yahweh (Phil. 3:19; 2Cor. 4:4). 

• 1. θεός and κύριος
• Since these words come near to being proper nouns in NT, it is not surprising that the art. is so often omitted.

(Moulton, J. H., & Turner, N. (1963–). A grammar of New Testament Greek: Syntax. (Vol. 3, p. 174). T. & T. Clark.)

• The word θεός, like a proper name, is freely used with and without the article.

(Robertson, A. T. (2006). A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (p. 795). Logos Bible Software.)

Moreover, there is to my knowledge no discussion within a grammar stating that a masculine noun becomes feminine (grammatical) due to being anarthrous. 

So, it should be clear by now that the word θεός takes feminine grammatical gender, your "feminine noun" having "feminine sense", when θεός has the agreeing feminine article. 

I believe you will need to reconsider your position in full.

By using feminine noun you are explicitly expressing a grammatical word gender in the language we are discussing.

You have just given examples of feminine grammatical gender in the Greek language.

• The noun in Greek has gender, number, and case.
• There are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.

(Machen, J. G. (1924). New Testament Greek for Beginners (p. 23). The Macmillan Company.)

There is no change in meaning for a noun due to its inflection. 

What the declined case-ending will identify for us is the grammatical function a noun is performing within a given discourse – is it performing as a subject, or an object, or an indirect object, etc., and whether it is singular or plural – that all becomes known by the form of the noun used.

And, if you're wondering what those endings for θεός are:

Singular – ος (nominative), ου (genitive), ῳ (dative), ον (accusative).

Plural – οι (nominative), ων (genitive), οις (dative), ους (accusative).

See response above.

You say, "it [sic] that was true, no need in using different Greek cases as In the introduction of John.", which underscores the lack of comprehension for how the language functions. And from that follows the unfortunate misguided effort to represent the language as saying something it is not in any given passage.

In direct response to your above reference to the prologue of John's gospel:

θεόν in clause two of Jn. 1:1 is the object of the preposition πρὸς so the accusative form is used. Also Jn. 1:2.  

θεὸς in clause three of Jn. 1:1 on the other hand is a predicate nominative so it must be in the nominative form.

This was addressed in a previous post where you stated the following, "Since the feminine noun of theos was invoked by with-holding the definite article (ho) by the Apostle John". 

Your "invoked by with-holding the definite article", was demonstrated to be a false narrative as there are numerous instances of the anarthrous θεός in the LXX where Yahweh is in view (Ge. 17:7-8, 21:33; Ex. 6:7, etc.). This holds true in the NT as well (Mk. 12:27; Lk. 2:14, 12:21, 20:38; Jn. 3:21, etc.).

Unless, of course, you wish to affirm all those anarthrous instances in scripture pertaining to Yahweh should be taken in a "feminine sense" regulating Him to "a god" – as per your stated position applied to Jn. 1:1 third clause.

As far as θεὸς being a "feminine nominative noun" in that third clause I disagree quite strenuously as θεός is masculine grammatical gender. If you really, really, want a "feminine nominative noun" in the third clause, then insert a feminine nominative ἡ in your text.

From Accordance:

From Logos:

The list you provided from Strong's Concordance of feminine nouns, ἀρχή, κτίσις, ῥίζα, βασιλεία, are indeed feminine grammatical gender but have absolutely no bearing upon the word θεὸς; contrary to your own private interpretation of how these feminine nouns relate to the third clause.

Provide for me a detailed discussion found within an academic source where this concept of yours, "θεὸς in clause three is a feminine nominative noun which invokes a feminine sense of divine qualitative of Being FIRSTBORN.", exists.

We disagree on Jesus "referring to himself in the feminine sense" here. To those he is addressing he uses a figure of speech that pictures his overall concern and care for the people of Israel. He is not referring to himself as a hen; nor, is it the point of his discourse to have the people look to him in some sort of "feminine sense".

Speaking of grammatical gender again you are partially correct in your statement that θεὸν or θεὸν with a masculine singular accusative article τὸν will be masculine (τὸν θεὸν). However, if using a feminine article that is in agreement with θεὸν, in this case τὴν; then, θεὸν becomes a feminine noun as per Acts 19:37 (τὴν θεὸν).

You may have forgotten θεός is a 2nd declension noun and takes masculine and feminine grammatical gender; which, in the case of θεός will correspond also in natural gender – god, goddess.

So you agree that θεὸν (masculine grammatical gender) is identified as feminine grammatical gender by the use of the feminine singular accusative article τὴν which reads goddess (τὴν θεὸν – Acts 19:37). 

From your statement it appears you must then be in agreement also with whichever grammatical gender θεός takes, be it masculine or feminine, it will follow natural gender – as stated below.

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος.

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

Can you explain why you equate grammatical gender of this language to paganism? You wrote this in a previous post "No... only pagans do that!" responding to my mention of grammatical gender.

Regarding the two comments mentioned above I'm curious if you then consider the Hebrew language in the same light due to it having grammatical gender also?

In light of that statement you may want to consider broadening the scope of linguistic resources available for study and research.

Strong's Concordance was simply not intended, nor designed, to be an in-depth lexical resource for this language. Though, I must say, it ought to have been clearly self-evident that feminine noun would be referring to a female θεός – god, goddess. 

Certainly you could have confirmed that was the case had you utilized other lexical resources beyond Strong's Concordance. The following is a brief sample taken from other available sources.

• θεός, οῦ, ὁ (ἡ)  theos  God, god (goddess)

(Balz, H. R., & Schneider, G. (1990–). In Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 140). Eerdmans.)

• θεός, οῦ (Hom.+; Herm. Wr.; ins, pap, LXX, pseudepigr., Philo, Joseph.) ὁ and ἡ,
•  —ἡ θεός the (female) god, goddess (Att., later more rarely; Peripl. Eryth. c. 58; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 17, 2; SIG 695, 28; ins, one of which refers to Artemis, in Hauser p. 81f; Jos., Ant. 9, 19; Ar. 11, 2 [Artemis]; Ath. 29, 2 [Ino]) Ac 19:37.—Pl. Ac 7:40 (Ex 32:1).

(Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). In A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 450). University of Chicago Press.)

• θεός, ου, ὁ/ἡ

(Danker, F. W., & Krug, K. (2009). θεός. In The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (p. 168). The University of Chicago Press.)

• θεός (a) a god or goddess, John 10:34, 35, Ac. 7:40, 14:11, 19:26, 37, 1 Cor. 8:5, Gal. 4:8; (b) the god.

(Souter, A. (1917). In A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (p. 110). Clarendon Press.)

• θεός -οῦ, ὁ, ἡ ⓐ god, goddess, divinity IL. 1.8, al. etc.; θήλεια θεός …

(Montanari, F. (2015). In M. Goh & C. Schroeder (Eds.), The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek. Brill.)

• II. θεός as fem. for θεά, θέαινα, a goddess, Hom.; θήλεια θεός Il.; ἡ νερτέρα θ. Proserpine, Soph.

(Liddell, H. G. (1996). In A lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English lexicon (p. 362). Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

• θεός, -οῦ, ὁ and ἡ

(Thayer, J. H. (1889). In A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: being Grimm’s Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti (p. 287). Harper & Brothers.)

• Inscriptions give a parallel for ἡ θεός and ἡ θεά Ac 19:27. Also papyri: θεοὶ … πᾶσαι P. Eleph. 2313 (223 B.C.). SB 3444 (iii/B.C.). Or. gr. 13212 (130 B.C.). θεὰς πάσας P. Grad.=SB 5680 (229 B.C.). Attic θεός was common gender, but later -α indicated a fem, deity.

(Moulton, J. H., & Turner, N. (1963–). A grammar of New Testament Greek: Syntax. (Vol. 3, p. 22). T. & T. Clark.)

Neither Wisdom nor Kingdom have any specific bearing on the noun θεός in its use as god or goddess. Additionally, as stated multiple times now in this thread, a feminine noun is feminine grammatical gender within this language.

• grammatical gender. n. The designation of the gender of words—whether masculine, feminine or neuter—not based on whether the objects in question are truly male or female (called natural gender) but solely based on grammatical usage.

(DeMoss, M. S. (2001). Pocket dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek (p. 64). InterVarsity Press.)

Words do not possess sex. Noun gender is a classification of grammatical category (masculine, feminine, neuter) in this language. 

So, if the intent of your statement above is that a "feminine noun" is grammatical gender, and "feminine gender" is possessing sex (natural gender); then, that is correct for the feminine nouns, σοφία and βασιλεία.

However, as should be quite apparent to you by now, the noun θεός takes masculine or feminine grammatical gender. And for θεός the grammatical gender used will coincide with natural gender (male, female) – θεός, ὁ θεός, god; ἡ θεός, goddess. (see Porter citation at the top of post)

Gender, as in grammatical, or natural?

And, are you referencing the LXX or MT? I would hope the LXX since our discussion in this thread is based upon the Greek language. So, are you referring to ἁρμόζουσα the present active participle (nominative singular feminine) used in the LXX (Prov. 8:30)?

Just a follow-up on my previous post as I'm still interested in your providing a detailed discussion that is found within an academic source where this concept of yours, "θεὸς in clause three is a feminine nominative noun", exists.

Even though your response starts off with "No" it is in agreement with what has been stated previously in our exchange. 

θεός is considered masculine with or without the masculine article; which, corresponds to your use of "masculine sense" otherwise known as grammatical gender. 

Just in case there is some misunderstanding the article τὴν is always feminine in grammatical gender.

What identifies the otherwise masculine θεὸν as being feminine is the feminine article τὴν. Since the natural gender of Artemis is female the grammatical gender of θεός will then be feminine; hence, τὴν θεὸν – goddess, female god.

Yet Artemis and others do; and, interestingly, for the NT 148 instances where θεὸν is found, you confidently stated in your very first post the following, "Inserting God's Name doesn't flow smoothly in all 148 Greek occurrences.", which will include both Artemis and Paul with Yahweh.

Without even going to the LXX the NT had already produced evidence that your position regarding θεὸν was made in error.

There seems to be a real lack of awareness on your part as to what has been previously discussed in this thread. 

As stated at a much earlier point in this thread: the form a noun takes does not change that noun's dictionary meaning; therefore, if the accusative θεός is to be considered as, in your words, a "superlative title"; then, so too the nominative θεός is also a "superlative title".  

And certainly you agree that Jesus is the referent of θεός within scripture.

True, but irrelevant as it seems no one in this thread has ever posted the assertion that Jesus is "a goddess".

From this it seems you concede that the word θεός will take masculine or feminine grammatical gender which will also agree with the natural gender (male, female).

However, it is quite certain Paul did not, as you state, "insert" the feminine article τὴν to "force" anything in Acts 19:37. Since what is recorded for us in Acts 19:35-41 is the speech made by the town clerk of Ephesus to the gathered crowd. 

What Paul was, or was not, doing in his missionary travels is not at all germane to our current exchange on gender as it applies to the noun θεός.

As pointed out above, you seem to be the only person to broach the idea that someone, who – not certain, asserts that Jesus is, or was, a female god or goddess. 

From the above, as you've used them, "feminine sense" and "feminine noun" are one and the same – feminine grammatical gender. Your "feminine gender" is natural gender (sex).

So, for example, examine your position regarding Jn. 1:1 where the masculine θεός is to be taken as a "feminine noun" equating to feminine grammatical gender.

However, for the masculine noun θεός to be identified as feminine grammatical gender the feminine article ἡ will be necessary to make that distinction. Which then becomes a real mess since that will have the Word as masculine, and yet a female god.

Of course, that is not the desired outcome you want for your position; but, in terms of grammar that is in the end exactly where your position leads. Fortunately, for everyone concerned, your position as you've stated it is not possible.

The noun θεός simply does not function as you have envisioned regarding gender; so, I will provide once again the following citation.

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος.

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

And what claim is that? Can you provide a quotation where I say the above?

I'm assuming the above is relating to your still mistaken idea that the accusative θεός carries a different dictionary meaning from the nominative θεός? Because certainly no one that I'm aware of entertains the idea that θεός is anything but nominative in that clause.

Therefore, whatever point you may be wishing to express in that statement seems wholly irrelevant to the issue of gender being discussed regarding the noun θεός.

Briefly, to your previous response of the following:

• Just a follow-up on my previous post as I'm still interested in your providing a detailed discussion that is found within an academic source where this concept of yours, "θεὸς in clause three is a feminine nominative noun", exists.

Contrary to your posted response to the above it ought to have been crystal clear that I did not ask for your own personal commentary again on the subject; nor, was a list requested of feminine nouns that are non-relevant to θεός taking masculine or feminine gender.

What I instead specifically asked for was a detailed discussion from an academic source be provided where the discussion centers on "θεὸς in clause three is a feminine nominative noun".  Simply provide a quote or link to such a discussion.

Frankly, I don't believe there is any such discussion existing within credible sources that will support the assertion you make in the statement, "θεὸς in clause three is a feminine nominative noun", when it is without any doubt masculine. 

Moreover, I will go so far as to say not even will the Watch Tower support that particular statement, and with good reason.      

In my opinion, this statement demonstrates once more the lack of understanding of the grammar pertaining to this language.

Most nouns in this language take only one category of grammatical gender, i.e., masc., fem., neut., which may or may not correspond to that noun's natural gender.

The important point you have failed to comprehend and accept all along is that in this same language the noun θεός may take masculine or feminine gender corresponding to the natural gender of the referent. (see Porter citation given above)

A pertinent example of this in action is the previously mentioned and discussed τὴν θεὸν in Acts 19:37. Where you have female natural gender (Artemis) who is the referent of the feminine grammatical gender τὴν θεὸν – female god, or goddess.

From the way you've stated the above it is apparent you are very confused on the function of gender and case for this language; and certainly, as it is applied to θεός.

If θεός has a female referent then the appropriate feminine article will be used. ἡ for the nominative case, τῆς for the genitive case, τὴν for the accusative case, and τῇ for the dative. You don't agree?

Regarding the article τὴν in your statement – if it is used; then, the article τὴν will identify θεὸν as feminine – the feminine τὴν will not be used when Yahweh (masculine) is the referent of θεὸν. 

A restating of the following will be appropriate: the word θεός will take masculine or feminine gender based on the referent's natural gender; and, an exemplary of the feminine θεός in scripture is the Acts 19:37 text.

It is worth mentioning again that words simply do not possess sex. This language operates in grammatical gender, in which grammatical gender may, or may not, correspond to natural gender. Your writing shows you are completely confused by this.

Your use of "feminine noun" coincides with the grammatical gender of a word, whether or not grammatical gender and natural gender happen to be the same.

Your position has failed to differentiate how the majority of nouns in this language will take only one category of grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter); and, that the particular grammatical gender of a noun may, or may not, be the same as that noun's natural gender.

Along with the failure to recognize that the noun θεός operates differently in this language as this particular noun will take masculine or feminine grammatical gender corresponding to the natural gender of the referent (male, female).

So, the assertions you make above are incorrect.

Which "feminine nouns" are you speaking of here? In this statement, "Son of Man", "Word of God", and "Son of God", are all masculine; so, your following assertion of "all such feminine nouns are genitive cases because Jesus was begotten." is rather absurd. 

While the phrases referenced above are genitive (of Man, of God), they are not feminine; and certainly do not exist as genitive "because Jesus was begotten." as you assert – they are genitive due to the structure of this language's grammar.

If, you are trying to link the words, kingdom, wisdom, grace, beginning, and creation; then, are you wanting a genitive phrase, (Son) of kingdom, (Son) of wisdom, (Son) of grace, (Son) of beginning, or (Son) of creation? 

If, in your personal interpretive grid, you see those feminine nouns as pointing toward Jesus – fine, but that is in the theological realm, not the grammatical. You and I, are engaged in a grammatical discussion relating precisely to θεός, its inflected forms, dictionary meaning, and gender – but, are not doing so for any noun whatsoever.   

Your favorite Strong's Concordance resource in its "Part of Speech" category has "feminine noun" which is in linguistics the category of feminine grammatical gender for that particular word in this particular language. It also has "masculine noun" confirming that θεός will take either masculine or feminine gender as has been stated over and over.

Do you agree with the following citation? If not, please explain.

• feminine. adj. Designating one of three genders in Greek (the others being masculine and neuter).—n. A feminine word. Since Greek for the most part follows grammatical gender rather than natural gender, there is rarely any discernible explanation for why a word is a particular gender.

(DeMoss, M. S. (2001). Pocket dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek (p. 55). InterVarsity Press.)

Do you agree with the following citation? If not, please explain.

• grammatical gender. n. The designation of the gender of words—whether masculine, feminine or neuter—not based on whether the objects in question are truly male or female (called natural gender) but solely based on grammatical usage.

(DeMoss, M. S. (2001). Pocket dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek (p. 64). InterVarsity Press.)

Do you agree with the following citation? If not, please explain.

• There are a number of Greek nouns which may take masculine or feminine gender, depending upon whether the item referred to is male or female: θεός, παῖς, ὄνος, ἄρκτος. (emphasis mine)

(Porter, S. E. (1999). Idioms of the Greek New Testament (p. 101). JSOT.)

Let me ask you, how can a feminine, or masculine, noun be "co-equal to Jehovah"? Can you actually explain what you mean by that?

It is my observation that you are very prone to interject many assertions that have little to no relevance for this discussion. And, it seems, with each assertion your error is compounded making more problems for your position while highlighting the lack of competence for the basics of this language.

??????

You really are misrepresenting what has been stated throughout this conversation regarding the inflected forms for θεός.

The cases you reference (nominative, genitive, accusative, dative) do have difference in grammatical function within a sentence – subject, object, indirect object, and whether it is singular or plural. But, that is done without impacting the actual dictionary meaning of the noun.

In other words, θεός, θεοῦ, θεὸν, θεῷ, all carry the same dictionary meaning – god – though each inflected form indicates that a different grammatical function is being performed by this noun within the sentence. (grammatical function, see above)

Contrary to the assertion above θεός cannot be "a feminine nominative genitive noun" in any state; θεός is a masculine nominative noun. Nominative and genitive are declined differently – θεός, nominative; θεοῦ, genitive. 

For θεός to be feminine a female referent is necessary and ἡ θεός (nominative) or τῆς θεοῦ (genitive) will be written.

A single instance of θεός, or any noun, to my knowledge, will not grammatically function simultaneously as both a nominative and genitive – it will be either / or. 

By the way, which Greek grammar did you find the "θεός in its natural state is "a feminine nominative genitive noun"" information in?

While the above may be your personal viewpoint and expository for that clause; it is not until Jn. 1:49 that Jesus is said to be the Son of God. That, however, does not change what was written in ink in that third clause – καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. No prepositional phrase exists in the third clause to be read. 

Then you are quite mistaken. As the sole disagreement is that "the Word was the Son of God" is nowhere in the text of the third clause. See preceding response.

 "τὴν would not be added to Jehovah" for this reason "because he is the only true God", is in error.

How many times now has it been stated either from a grammar, or myself, that θεός takes masculine or feminine gender according to the natural gender of its referent (male, female). θεός operates differently than most nouns in this respect.

If a female is the referent of the accusative then the feminine singular accusative article τὴν will be used to identify the accusative noun as feminine gender; both in grammatical and natural gender – Acts 19:37.

So, you won't find τὴν used with Yahweh (masculine gender) since Yahweh is not female in natural gender.

The reason is therefore based in this language's grammar – not theological ideology. 

Going on the assumption that "pagan gods" refers to male gods (plural). If so, then in that case the feminine article τὴν will not be used for a male referent, singular or plural. 

As stated in an earlier post, the article will agree with the noun. Above, you've used the feminine singular accusative article τὴν in your assertion which will not be used with a masculine referent. 

For the singular masculine accusative noun the appropriate τὸν will be used. And, if plural, as in gods (male), the plural masculine accusative τούς would be used.

In the simplest terms, τὴν θεόν is feminine gender in Acts 19:37 because Artemis is female. What governs gender for the noun θεός is the natural gender of the actual referent. Yahweh, masculine; Artemis, female. 

This has all been stated numerous times in many posts throughout this thread.

Quite frankly, at the present time we seem to be at an impasse for our exchange. I am at a loss for what more could be said that hasn't already been stated. Simply for the reason that your theories of grammar for this language are not under the governance of any Greek grammar providing guidelines and correction.

The compounding of error upon error builds in almost every statement due to the lack of submitting those theories of yours to the rules by which this language functions. 

There are no checks and balances for them; instead, you ultimately have become the sole arbitrator of your truth as you understand it regardless of whether it aligns with any reality to the rules governing this language.

One possible cause for this is that you personally have no access to a grammar for this language with which you can consult. I say that due to the apparent lack of any citation in this thread, and perhaps other threads, from any Greek grammar to support any of your asserted claims that pertain to grammar. 

Currently, though near the end, Logos is having a sale; and, a number of grammars are available with decent savings. 

Also, a great resource is archive.org which has a number of older grammars available to borrow for two hours at a time. It operates on people's donations for the service.

Maybe according to your version of grammar for the language; and, how convenient for you. But really, from which grammar is the above stated in; and, does so "without saying so"?

Also, if a grammar doesn't say this, how do you know this? How does anyone then, including native Greek speakers, know this if there is no documentation existing for it?

θεός is a word, and words do not possess sex (male, female). Therefore, the noun θεός, itself, does not become male or female – it is always god – a class, or category of Being. 

However, this noun does recognize and follow the natural gender of its referent – if the referent is male, then θεός or ὁ θεός; if the referent is female, then ἡ θεός (cf. Acts 19:37).

How soon you forget, this was discussed in the previous post – a noun cannot simultaneously be both nominative and genitive in case. 

To the above, if feminine genitive is wanted, then τῆς θεοῦ is used; if feminine nominative is wanted, then ἡ θεός is used.  

If you continue to disagree on this, then please provide a citation from a grammar recognizing, and stating, that a noun can be at the same time both nominative and genitive in one particular instance of use.

Further, there is no sign whatsoever of the genitive θεοῦ in καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος; and, θεός is a masculine noun that will take masculine or feminine gender.

Excuse me, have you forgotten all the instances of where Yahweh is the referent of the anarthrous θεός in the LXX and NT? (Ge. 17:7-8, 21:33; Ex. 3:6, 15-16, 4:5, 6:7, 15:2, 20:5; Lev. 11:45, etc., etc; and, Mk. 12:26-27, 20:38; Jn. 8:54; Ro. 8:33; 1Cor. 8:4, 6, etc., etc) 

I have to question how it is that you fail to remember what has transpired in our exchanges in this thread; along with your statements that have previously been shown to be in error.

So, with regard to the above assertion you've made, and the one immediately previous to it, does the anarthrous θεός when used of Yahweh make Him to be a god who has qualities of His creator as you theologically find for the Word (Jn. 1:1)? It is based upon the use of the anarthrous θεός isn't it? Consistency is important.

Truly, the remainder of your post is lacking relevance to anything meaningful as I have not argued that the nominative and accusative cases are one and the same in grammatical function within a sentence. 

You are welcome to have your opinions on grammar and state them; but, truly, you ought to subject them to the governing rules for this language should you wish those opinions to be taken seriously.