Grammar Analysis: Revelation 13:3¶

Text¶

Greek (N1904 / Nestle 1904): καὶ μίαν ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον, καὶ ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη. καὶ ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου,

KJV: And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

Literal: "And one out of his heads as having-been-slain unto death, and the stroke of the death of it was healed. And the whole earth marvelled after the beast,"

Word-by-Word Parsing¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing	Gloss
1	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ	and
2	μίαν	εἷς	G1520	A-ASF	one
3	ἐκ	ἐκ	G1537	PREP (+ gen)	out of / from
4	τῶν	ὁ	G3588	T-GPF	of the
5	κεφαλῶν	κεφαλή	G2776	N-GPF	heads
6	αὐτοῦ	αὐτός	G846	P-GSN	of it (the beast)
7	ὡς	ὡς	G5613	ADV / comparative particle	as / as if
8	ἐσφαγμένην	σφάζω	G4969	V-RPP-ASF (Perf Pass Ptcp Acc Sg Fem)	having been slain
9	εἰς	εἰς	G1519	PREP (+ acc)	unto / into
10	θάνατον	θάνατος	G2288	N-ASM	death
11	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ	and
12	ἡ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSF	the
13	πληγὴ	πληγή	G4127	N-NSF	stroke / blow / wound
14	τοῦ	ὁ	G3588	T-GSM	of the
15	θανάτου	θάνατος	G2288	N-GSM	death
16	αὐτοῦ	αὐτός	G846	P-GSN	of it
17	ἐθεραπεύθη	θεραπεύω	G2323	V-API-3S (Aor Pass Ind 3s)	was healed
18	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ	and
19	ἐθαυμάσθη	θαυμάζω	G2296	V-API-3S (Aor Pass Ind 3s)	was marvelled / wondered
20	ὅλη	ὅλος	G3650	A-NSF	whole
21	ἡ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSF	the
22	γῆ	γῆ	G1093	N-NSF	earth
23	ὀπίσω	ὀπίσω	G3694	ADV / improper PREP (+ gen)	after / behind
24	τοῦ	ὁ	G3588	T-GSN	of the
25	θηρίου	θηρίον	G2342	N-GSN	beast

Clause Structure¶

#	Clause	Type	Function
1	καὶ μίαν ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον	Verbless / elliptical (continues "I saw" from v.2 / v.1)	Participial description — object of εἶδον
2	καὶ ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη	Indicative (aorist passive)	Main predication of healing
3	καὶ ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου	Indicative (aorist passive)	Narrative result / reaction

Clause 1 has no finite verb of its own; the accusative μίαν … ἐσφαγμένην hangs syntactically on the seeing-verb of the preceding vision (v.1 εἶδον … θηρίον). The participle ἐσφαγμένην is therefore predicative/appositional, describing the manner in which "one of its heads" is seen.

Key Grammatical Features¶

1. μίαν ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν — Partitive ἐκ¶

μίαν is accusative feminine singular of εἷς, governed by an implied εἶδον carried over from the vision-narrative (John "saw" this, not the beast itself being wounded as a whole).
ἐκ + genitive (τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ) is a partitive construction — "one OUT OF the heads of it." Classical Greek would more naturally say μίαν τῶν κεφαλῶν (simple partitive genitive). Koine (and especially Johannine) idiom regularly substitutes εἷς ἐκ + genitive (cf. Jn 1:40; 6:8; 6:70; 6:71; 12:4; 13:21; 13:23; 18:26; Rev 5:5; 7:13).
Force: the wound is localized to one of the seven heads, not to the beast-as-a-whole. The beast survives; one head is the casualty. This is grammatically distinct from saying "the beast was slain."

G5613. Here used adverbially with a participle to mark phenomenal appearance — "as if, as though, as it were." Not "because" or "when."
Apocalyptic idiom: John repeatedly uses ὡς to flag that what he reports is how the object appeared in the vision, not a metaphysical claim. See Rev 1:10 (ὡς φωνήν σάλπιγγος); 1:14 (ὡς χιών); 4:6 (ὡς θάλασσα ὑαλίνη); 5:6 (ὡς ἐσφαγμένον); 6:1; 8:8; etc.
Pairs naturally with a perfect participle to describe an observed state without committing the narrator to a theological identification.

3. ἐσφαγμένην — Perfect Passive Participle, Accusative Feminine Singular (V-RPP-ASF)¶

Lemma: σφάζω (G4969) — "slaughter, slay, butcher" (sacrificial overtones; the verb used of slaying a sacrificial animal).
Tense: Perfect — denotes a past action with continuing result-state. Not "being slain" (present) nor "slain once in the past" (aorist) but "having-been-slain-and-now-in-that-state." The wound-state is current to the vision.
Voice: Passive — something/someone did the slaying; the head is patient.
Case/Gender/Number: Accusative feminine singular, agreeing with μίαν (and the implicit κεφαλήν that μίαν supplies).
Mirror to Rev 5:6. The Lamb is seen ἀρνίον … ὡς ἐσφαγμένον — perfect passive participle, but accusative neuter singular (V-RPP-ASN), agreeing with ἀρνίον. The two visions use the identical formula ὡς ἐσφαγμέν- + case-agreement. The Lamb stands as-slain-and-alive; the beast's head appears as-slain-and-healed. The grammatical echo is deliberate and structural — the beast mimics the Lamb's paradox.

Feature	Rev 5:6 (Lamb)	Rev 13:3 (Beast-head)
Lemma	σφάζω	σφάζω
Tense/Voice	Perfect Passive Participle	Perfect Passive Participle
Case/Gender/Number	ASN	ASF
Agrees with	ἀρνίον (neuter)	μίαν/κεφαλήν (feminine)
Particle	ὡς	ὡς
Current state	Slain-yet-standing	Slain-yet-healed

4. εἰς θάνατον — Result / Extent / Severity¶

εἰς + accusative. Here not locative ("into") but result/extent — "unto death," i.e., to the degree of death, fatally.
Common idiom: πληγή … εἰς θάνατον is a stock phrase for "a mortal/fatal blow" (cf. the Septuagintal πατάξαι εἰς θάνατον, "to smite unto death," and πληγή θανάτου in Sir 28:21).
Semantically it intensifies ἐσφαγμένην: not merely wounded, but slain-to-the-point-of-death. Grammatically εἰς θάνατον modifies the participle, specifying the severity of the slaying.

5. καὶ ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη — Aorist Passive¶

πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου — literally "the stroke of the death," a genitive of quality/description (Hebraic-style): "the death-stroke," equivalent to "the fatal wound." Modern English idiom collapses this to "the deadly wound" (KJV) or "the mortal wound" (NA equivalents).
αὐτοῦ — genitive singular neuter, antecedent τοῦ θηρίου; it attaches to the whole noun-phrase: "its death-stroke." Note the pronoun is neuter (matching θηρίον), even though it refers by association to the feminine head — the stroke is predicated of the beast, not just of the head.
ἐθεραπεύθη — aorist passive indicative 3s of θεραπεύω. Aorist = perfective aspect; presents the healing as a single whole event. Passive = unspecified agent; the text does not say who healed the wound. This grammatical silence is significant: the healing is simply narrated as having happened, with no human or divine actor named.

6. καὶ ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου — Aorist Passive, Middle-Sense¶

ἐθαυμάσθη — aorist passive indicative 3s of θαυμάζω. Morphologically passive but functionally middle/deponent in sense ("marvelled, was amazed"). This is a well-attested Koine pattern: passive forms of θαυμάζω with active/middle meaning (cf. 2 Thess 1:10 ἐνδοξασθῆναι / θαυμασθῆναι).
ὅλη ἡ γῆ — nominative subject, "the whole earth." Personification/synecdoche for its inhabitants (cf. 13:8 πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς).
ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου — ὀπίσω (G3694) is an improper preposition taking the genitive; literal sense "behind," but the idiom ὀπίσω τινός with verbs of motion/allegiance means "after / in-the-train-of" someone. A standard Septuagintalism rendering Hebrew אַחֲרֵי (cf. Deut 4:3 πορευθῆναι ὀπίσω Βεελφεγὼρ; 1 Ki 18:21; Mt 4:19 δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου). Here it marks discipleship/following, not mere spatial position — the earth falls in line behind the beast as its devotees.
The ἐθαυμάσθη + ὀπίσω combination fuses wonder with allegiance: the amazement produces the following.

Chronological vs. Visionary-State Reading of the Participle + Aorist Sequence¶

The core interpretive question raised by the grammar is how to relate: - ἐσφαγμένην (perfect passive participle — state) - ἐθεραπεύθη (aorist passive indicative — event)

against the wider context in which v.5 introduces a 42-month prophetic phase.

View A — Chronological Sequence¶

Claim: The verse narrates three successive events: (1) the head is struck fatally; (2) the wound is healed; (3) the earth marvels.

Grammatical support: - The three καί clauses form a standard Greek narrative chain. - Aorist ἐθεραπεύθη is the unmarked narrative tense; normal reading is sequential ("and then it was healed"). - ἐθαυμάσθη (also aorist) naturally follows as reaction to the healing. - On this reading, v.5 (42-month authority) would describe a still-later phase: post-healing power projection.

Weaknesses: - A perfect participle does not itself advance narrative time; it describes the state of the head as John first sees it. The seeing and the state are simultaneous; the slaying is already past at the moment of vision. - The ὡς particle further distances the report from strict event-narration: John sees the head "as-if-slain," which is phenomenological, not chronological.

View B — Visionary-State Reading¶

Claim: v.3a is not a separate event in the sequence but a description of the beast as John first beholds it. The head is seen already-slain-and-already-healed; that compound state is the beast's defining visionary appearance. v.5 then rewinds to narrate the earlier 42-month phase whose end produced the head-wound, or belongs to a parallel panel.

Grammatical support: - Perfect participle ἐσφαγμένην with ὡς is exactly the construction used in Rev 5:6 for the Lamb. There too the Lamb is not first alive, then slain, then standing — it is seen in the standing-as-slain state. The state is the vision's presenting feature, not an event-sequence within the vision. The parallel is hard to accept in one place (the Lamb) while denying in the other (the beast) given the identical syntax. - The participle clause has no finite verb of its own; it hangs on εἶδον from v.1. Syntactically it is an object-complement of seeing, not a narrative clause. That makes it part of the initial description of the beast, alongside "ten horns, seven heads, ten diadems, blasphemous names." - The two finite aorists (ἐθεραπεύθη, ἐθαυμάσθη) then narrate what is presently-true-in-the-vision at the moment of John's observation: the stroke has been healed, the earth has fallen in line. These are aorist because Greek narrative uses the aorist for framework events, including states-that-obtain-as-of-the-vision-point. - Apocalyptic composition routinely employs recapitulation: successive sections rewind to re-narrate the same period from a different angle. If v.5's 42 months belongs to the same span whose terminus is the head-wound, the order head-wound → healing → 42 months of v.5 would be chronologically impossible; but on the visionary-state reading, v.5 is a rewind, not a continuation.

Weaknesses: - Breaks the surface καί … καί … καί chain's most natural reading. - Requires the interpreter to supply "I saw" from the preceding vision as the syntactic head of clause 1.

Grammatical Evidence Summary¶

The grammar is compatible with both readings, but it tilts toward View B (visionary-state) on four counts:

Clause 1 has no finite verb. It is a participial description, not an event-report. Perfect participles with ὡς in Johannine apocalyptic convention describe the state at the moment of seeing (Rev 5:6; 1:14; 4:6).
The perfect tense itself encodes past-event-plus-resulting-state. The slaying is already completed and its effect already present when John first views the beast. The participle does not mark a moment inside the vision-narrative when the head was struck.
The Rev 5:6 parallel uses the identical construction for the Lamb, where a chronological reading ("the Lamb was alive, then slain, then stood again") is impossible within the vision itself (the historical event of the cross is obviously in the past). By parity, Rev 13:3's ἐσφαγμένην likewise points to an event completed before the vision, whose resulting state (slain-and-healed) is what John beholds.
The two aorists (ἐθεραπεύθη, ἐθαυμάσθη) mark the already-obtaining background against which the subsequent vision unfolds. In Koine narrative the aorist is the default tense for stating what has happened without commitment to its place on a micro-timeline internal to the discourse.

What the Grammar Does NOT Decide¶

The grammar alone cannot settle: - Whether the slaying-and-healing is a single compound event (one wound, one healing) or a symbolic description of a long historical process that presents as a single state in vision. - Whether v.5's 42-month authorization precedes the head-wound, follows it, or is a recapitulatory re-narration of an already-mentioned period. - The identification of the heads, the beast, or the wound.

Those questions belong to context and to the wider prophetic framework. The grammar establishes only that (a) the head is seen in the slain-and-healed state, and (b) that state is already obtaining at the opening of the vision.

Textual Variants¶

From greek_text_compare.py --verse "REV 13:3":

Feature	N1904	TR (Stephanus 1550 / Scrivener)
Partitive marker	ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν	τῶν κεφαλῶν (no ἐκ)
Comparative particle	ὡς	ὡσεί
Verb "was healed"	ἐθεραπεύθη	(stem ἐθεραπεύθη; TR retains with verb)
Verb "marvelled"	ἐθαυμάσθη (aorist passive, middle-sense)	ἐθαύμασεν (aorist active)
"Whole earth" subject	ὅλη ἡ γῆ	ὅλη ἡ γῆ (with minor variation in some TR prints: ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ γῇ reported in some witnesses, rejected by both critical and Stephanus)

Strong's-set comparison of the comparison script: - Present in N1904 only: G1537 (ἐκ), G2296 (θαυμάζω — differently inflected), G2323 (θεραπεύω — differently inflected), G4969 (σφάζω — differently inflected), G5613 (ὡς) - Present in TR only: Strong's morphology codes 5656 (Aor Act Ind), 5627 (2Aor Act Ind), 5772 (Perf Pass Ptcp), 5681 (Aor Pass Ind)

Variants that Affect Grammar¶

ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν (N1904) vs. τῶν κεφαλῶν (TR). Both are partitive ("one of the heads"). N1904's ἐκ + genitive is the Koine/Johannine idiom; TR's bare genitive is the older Classical partitive. Exegetical force is identical.
ὡς (N1904) vs. ὡσεί (TR). ὡσεί (G5616) is ὡς intensified by an enclitic εἰ-element; both translate "as, as if." ὡσεί often carries a slightly softer/more hypothetical flavor ("as it were"); ὡς is the blunter comparative. In NT usage the two are near-synonyms and frequently interchangeable. No material difference in meaning for this clause.
ἐθαυμάσθη (N1904, aorist passive, middle-sense) vs. ἐθαύμασεν (TR, aorist active). Morphologically different but semantically equivalent: θαυμάζω in both active and passive-with-middle-sense renders "marvelled, was amazed." This is a scribal preference issue, not a meaning issue. The N1904 passive is the harder reading and better-attested in the earlier uncials (𝔓47, א, A, C, P); the TR active reflects later Byzantine smoothing to the more regular active form.

Variants NOT Affecting the Grammar of Interest¶

The core analytical claims of this study — partitive ἐκ (or bare genitive), phenomenal ὡς(εί), perfect passive ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον, aorist passive ἐθεραπεύθη, and ὀπίσω + genitive — hold in both text-families. No textual decision between N1904 and TR alters the grammatical argument above.

Cross-References¶

Greek concept library (grammar-reference/greek/): no existing entry for perfect passive participle with ὡς; candidate for a new concept entry (participle-hos-perfect-passive.md).
Parallel passage (not yet a grammar entry): Rev 5:6 ὡς ἐσφαγμένον — identical construction, neuter.
Related constructions to document:
ὀπίσω + genitive as idiom of allegiance (LXX-style)
εἰς + accusative for result/extent ("unto death")
Perfect participle as state-description in Johannine vision-reporting

Generated from: greek_parser.py (--verse "REV 13:3"), greek_text_compare.py (--verse "REV 13:3"), N1904 text Last updated: 2026-04-17