The Accusative Relative That Confronts: Syntax of Divine Identity in Acts 9:5

Εἶπε δέ· τίς εἶ, κύριε; ὁ δέ κύριος εἶπεν· ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις· (Acts 9:5)

Grammar That Shatters Certainty

On the road to Damascus, Saul is stopped — not just in motion but in presumption. His question is simple: τίς εἶ, κύριε; (“Who are you, Lord?”). But the answer is anything but expected. The response comes with solemn force: ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις — “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

This verse hinges not only on theology but on grammar. The presence of the accusative relative pronoun ὃν (whom) introduces a powerful syntactic structure: a relative clause of identification, embedded in a divine self-revelation. This construction binds the speaker (Jesus), the listener (Saul), and the action (persecution) in a compressed moment of confrontation.

Accusative Relative Clause of Identification

The phrase ὃν σὺ διώκεις is a relative clause modifying Ἰησοῦς.

Syntactic Components:

• ὃν — accusative masculine singular relative pronoun; refers to Ἰησοῦς
• σὺ — subject of the subordinate clause
• διώκεις — verb in the indicative, expressing Saul’s ongoing action

Together, the clause literally reads: “Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

What makes this structure compelling is its accusative case. In Greek, the case of the relative pronoun must match its function in the subordinate clause — here, the direct object of διώκεις. This reveals that the object of Saul’s persecution is not merely the church, but Jesus Himself — grammatically and theologically indistinguishable.

Morphology of Key Words

1. τίς
   • Root: τίς (interrogative pronoun)
   • Form: Nominative Masculine/Feminine Singular
   • Lexical Meaning: “who?”
   • Contextual Notes: Used here in direct address within a question, highlighting Saul’s uncertainty
2. εἰμι
   • Root: εἰμί
   • Form: Present Active Indicative, 1st Person Singular
   • Lexical Meaning: “I am”
   • Contextual Notes: Forms the backbone of many self-declarations by Jesus in John; here it bears weight as a divine self-revelation
3. ὃν
   • Root: ὅς (relative pronoun)
   • Form: Accusative Masculine Singular
   • Lexical Meaning: “whom”
   • Contextual Notes: Introduces a relative clause; agrees with Ἰησοῦς in gender and number, but takes its case from its function as object in the subordinate clause
4. διώκεις
   • Root: διώκω
   • Form: Present Active Indicative, 2nd Person Singular
   • Lexical Meaning: “you are persecuting,” “you are pursuing”
   • Contextual Notes: Present tense emphasizes ongoing, habitual action — the persecution is not theoretical; it’s personal and happening now

Relative Clause Function: Identification and Confrontation

This is no ordinary relative clause. Grammatically, it functions to identify and define — Jesus is not offering additional information; He is correcting Saul’s assumption.

The syntax functions theologically:

• ὃν anchors the identity of Jesus to the recipient of Saul’s violence
• The relative clause is restrictive — it doesn’t add detail but essentially defines which Jesus is speaking
• The accusative case embeds the reality that persecution against the Church = persecution against Jesus

Table: Syntax of the Revelation

The Relative Pronoun That Stopped a Man

The drama of Acts 9:5 is not just in the light from heaven or the voice that speaks — it is in the relative pronoun that names Saul’s violence. The grammar holds up a mirror. What Saul thought was righteous pursuit is now revealed, grammatically and theologically, as persecution of the very one enthroned in glory.

With a single ὃν, Jesus reframes Saul’s mission, redirects his passion, and reveals the unity between Himself and His body. This is grammar as confrontation — a clause that becomes a crisis. The divine name is followed not by praise, but by accusation.

And in that moment, Saul is undone — not only by what he hears, but by the way Greek grammar unveils truth.

The Clause That Changed a Life

In Acts 9:5, a simple relative clause — ὃν σὺ διώκεις — becomes the fulcrum on which a man’s entire identity is overturned. Saul had thought he was defending God. Instead, the syntax indicts him as opposing the very One he thought he served. And how? Not through thunder or fire, but through grammar.

This is the quiet power of Greek. A relative pronoun in the accusative reveals who is truly acting and upon whom. A present-tense verb unmasks the persistence of that violence. The personal pronoun σὺ (“you”) isolates the sinner. And the divine “I am” unites speaker and sufferer in one: Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις.

From this one clause, Saul will never recover — and that is grace. The persecutor becomes apostle, the enemy becomes envoy. And it all begins with a question: τίς εἶ, κύριε;

The answer was grammar. The result was transformation.