Καὶ ὅσοι τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ στοιχήσουσιν, εἰρήνη ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔλεος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ Θεοῦ. (Galatians 6:16)
And as many as will walk by this rule—peace be upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Grammatical Blessings and Theological Boundaries
In Paul’s concluding benediction, the grammar is more than formal—it defines the recipients of peace and mercy. The verse pivots on a dative rule, accusative targets of blessing, and genitive identity. By tracking the declensions, we discover how grammar reinforces Paul’s radical redefinition of who truly belongs to the people of God.
Declension and Structure Breakdown
Greek Word
Morphology
Case & Syntactic Role
Notes
ὅσοι
Relative pronoun, nominative masculine plural
Subject of στοιχήσουσιν
“As many as…” — introduces conditional class of blessed ones
τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ
Dative singular noun + demonstrative adjective
Dative of rule or standard
“By this rule” — the norm or measure of gospel-centered life
στοιχήσουσιν
Future active indicative, 3rd person plural from στοιχέω
Main verb of conditional clause
“Will walk” — metaphor for aligning one’s conduct
εἰρήνη
1st declension feminine nominative singular
Subject of understood verb (“be upon them”)
Abstract blessing—peace upon those who align with the rule
ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς
Preposition + accusative plural personal pronoun
Accusative of direction (motion “upon”)
Direct recipients of peace and mercy
ἔλεος
3rd declension neuter nominative/accusative singular
Subject or object in parallel to εἰρήνη
Mercy—paired with peace in the blessing
ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ Θεοῦ
Preposition + accusative noun + genitive of possession
Accusative of direction; genitive defines possession
“Upon the Israel of God” — phrase of deep theological debate and identity
Article-Noun Agreement and Semantic Precision
– τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ: Dative singular article + demonstrative adjective show definiteness—this is not just a rule, but this specific standard (the gospel of the new creation).… Learn Koine Greek
