3588

3588 is the Strong's Concordance number assigned to the definite article in Koine Greek, the language of much of the Greek New Testament and the Septuagint. The entry covers the three gender forms—masculine, feminine, and neuter—and the four grammatical cases used in Greek: nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. The definite article is used to indicate that a noun refers to a specific, known entity rather than any member of a class.

The common forms of the definite article are as follows:

- Masculine: nominative ho, genitive tou, dative tô, accusative ton

- Feminine: nominative hē, genitive tēs, dative tē, accusative tēn

- Neuter: nominative to, genitive tou, dative tô, accusative to

These forms align with the noun’s gender, number (singular or plural), and case, changing in agreement with the noun they accompany.

Usage and function: the definite article marks definiteness, signaling that the speaker and listener both identify the referenced noun. It is not equivalent to the English indefinite article “a” or “an.” In translation, it often affects how translators render nouns and adjectives that accompany the noun, and it can interact with other parts of speech, such as adjectives and participles, to convey precise meaning.

Significance: as one of the most frequent and foundational words in the Greek New Testament lexicon, the definite article is essential for parsing, textual criticism, and accurate translation. The Strong's number 3588 thus serves as a key reference point for scholars and readers using Strong’s resources or concordance-based study tools.

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