89. Prominence of Prepositions. The prominence of prepositions in the LXX is partly a characteristic of later Greek generally and partly due to the careful following of the Hebrew. But while prepositions are employed to express relations for which in classical Greek cases would have been thought sufficient, there is at the same time a tendency to blur some of the nice distinctions between the uses of the same preposition with different cases. 90. eis. a. eis in classical Greek denotes motion or direction: in Biblical Greek it denotes equally rest or position, and may be translated by at' or in' as wel as by to,' e.g. - Gen.37:17 poreuthomen eis Dothaeim . . . kai heuren autous eis Dothaeim. Josh.7:22 edramon eis ten skenen . . . kai tauta en enkekrummena eis ten skenen. Jdg.14:1 kai katebe Sampson eis Thamnatha, kai eiden gunaika eis Thamnatha. For examples of the former meaning only we may take - Gen.42:32 ho de mikroteros . . . eis gen Chanaan. Nb.25:33 ten gen eis he humeis katoikeite. Judith 16:23 apethanen eis baituloua. b. In the N.T. eis denoting rest or position is very common. Mk.2:1 eis oikon = at home. Cp. Lk.9:61: Mk.10:10. Mk.13:3 kathemenou autou eis to oros ton elaion. Jn.1:18 o on eis ton kolpon tou patros. Acts 21:13 apothanein eis Hierousalem. Cp. also Eph.3:16: 1 Pet.3:20, 5:12: Mk.1:9, 39; 13:9: Lk.4:23, 11:7: Jn.9:7, 20:7: Acts 7:4, 8:40, 25:4. The obliteration of the distinction between rest and motion is one of the marks of declining Greek. In the modern language eis has usurped the functions both of en and pros. c. The use of eis with the accusative after einai and genesthai as practically equivalent to the nominative may safely be regarded as a Hebraism. d.1 Chr.11:21 en autois eis archonta, 17:7 einai eis hegoumenon. 3 K. [2 Kings} 20:2 estai moi eis kepon lachanon. Cp. Gen.48:19: 1 Chr.11:6. 1 K. [1 Sam.] 17:9 esometha humin eis doulous. Jer.38:33 esomai autois eis Theon, kai autoi esontai moi eis laon. Cp. Jer.38:1: Gen.48:19: 2 K. [2 Sam.] 7:14. Gen.2:7 egeneto ho anthropos eis psuchen zosan. Ex.2:10 egenethe aute eis huion. 1 K. [1 Sam.] 4:9 genesthe eis andras. pros in one passage takes the place of eis. Sir.46:4 mia hemera egenethe pros duo. e. In the New Testament this idiom occurs both in quotations from the Old and otherwise. 1 Jn.5:8 kai hoi treis eis to hen eisin. Lk.3:5 estai ta skolia eis eutheias (Is.40:4). 2 Cor.6:18 esesthe moi eis huious kai thugateras (2 K. [2 Sam.] 7:8: Is.43:6). Mt.19:5 esontai hoi duo eis sarka mian (Gen.2:24). Mt.21:42 egenethe eis kephalen gonias (Ps.117:22). Lk.13:19 egeneto eis dendron. Cp. Rev.8:11. Jn.16:20 he lupe humon eis charan genesetai. The same usage is to be found also in the Apostolic Fathers - Herm. Past. Sim.9.13.5 esontai eis he pneuma, eis hen soma. 1 Clem.11:2 eis krima kai eis semeiosin . . . ginontai. Ign. Eph.11:1 hina me hemin eis krima genetai. f. The employment of eis to express the object or destination of a thing might easily be paralleled from classical Greek, but its frequent use in the LXX is due to its convenience as a translation of the corresponding Hebrew. Gen.34:12 kai dosete moi ten paida tauten eis gunaika. Ps.104:17 eis doulon eprathe Ioseph. 3 K. [2 Kings} 19:15 chriseis tonAzael eis basilea. Gen.12:2 poieso se eis ethnos mega. When the verb is active and transitive, as in all but the second of the above instances, eis might be dispensed with as far as Greek is concerned. When a verb of being is employed, this use runs into the preceding - Gen.1:29 humin estai eis brosin, 1:14 estosan eis semeia. g. The use of eis with the accusative, where classical Greek would simply have employed a dative, is shown by the Papyri to have been a feature of the vernacular Greek of Alexandria. Ex.9:21 ho de me proseschen te dianoia eis to rhema kuriou ktl. So in N.T. -- 1 Cor.16:1 tes logias tes eis tous hagious (the collection for the saints). 91. en. a. Although en was destined ultimately to disappear before eis, yet in Biblical Greek we find it in the plenitude of its power, as expressing innumerable relations, some of which seem to the classical student to be quite beyond its proper sphere. One principal use may be summed up under the title of "The en of Accompanying Circumstances." This includes the instrumental use, but goes far beyond it. Under this aspect en invades the domain of meta and sun. In most cases it may be rendered by the English with.' Hos.1:7 soso autous en kurio Theo auton, kai ou soso autous en toxo oude en rhomphaia oude en polemo oude en hippois oude en hippeusin. Cp.1 K. [1 Sam.] 17:45, 47: 1 Mac.3:12. Ex.6:1 en gar cheiri krataia ktl. (But in Ex.3:19 we have ean me meta cheiros krataias.) Cp. Ex.3:20: Jdg.15:15, 16. Jdg.14:18 ei me erotriasate en te damalei mou. Cp.3 K. [2 Kings} 19:19. 4 K. [2 Kings] 18:17 en dunamei bareia. In the parallel passage Is.36:2 meta dunameos polles. 1 Mac.4:6 ophthe Ioudas . . . en trischiliois andrasin. So in N.T. -- 1 Cor.4:21 en rhabdo eltho pros humas; Cp.1 K. [1 Sam.] 17:43: Ps.2:9. Eph.6:2 entole prote en epangelia. 2 Pet.3:16 en anthropou phone. Mt.9:34 en to archonti ton daimonion ekballei ta daimonia. Cp. Mt.12:24, 25:16. Mt.26:52 en machaira apolountai. b. The en of accompanying circumstances is not wholly foreign to classical Greek, though the extended use made of it in Biblical diction is. Eur. Tro.817 o chruseais en oinochoais habra bainon. c. In another of its Biblical uses en becomes indistinguishable from eis, as in - Ex.4:21 panta ta terata ha edoka en tais chersin sou. Jdg.13:1 paredoken autous Kurios en cheiri Phulistieim. Cp. Jdg.15:12, 13; 16:23, 24. Is.37:10 ou me paradothe Hierousalem en cheiri basileos, while the parallel passage in 4 K. [2 Kings] 19:10 has eis cheiras basileos. Tob.5:5 poreuthenai en Rhagois. Cp. Tob.6:6, 9:2. So in N.T. -- 2 Cor.8:16 charis de to Theo to didonti ten auten spouden huper humon en te kardia Titou. Mt.14:3 etheto en phulake. Jn.3:35 panta dedoken en te cheiri autou. Rev.11:11 pneuma zoes ek tou Theou eiselthen en autois. 92. apo. a. apo in the LXX is often little more than a sign of the genitive, like our English of,' provided that the genitive be partitive. Ex.12:46 kai ostoun ou suntripsete ap' autou. Josh.9:8 ouk en rhema apo panton hon eneteilato Mouses to Iesoi ho ouk anegno Iesous. 3 K. [2 Kings} 18:13 ekrupsa apo ton propheton Kuriou hekaton andras. Joel 2:28 ekcheo apo tou pneumatos mou. 2 Esd. [Ezra] 11:2 heis apo adelphon mou. So in N.T. -- Lk.6:13 eklexamenos ap' auton dodeka. Jn.21:10 enenkate apo ton opsarion o -- n epiasate nun. b. apo = by reason of' is another unclassical use which occurs in the LXX. Gen.41:31 kai ouk epignosthesetai he euthenia epi tes ges apo tou limou. Ex.2:23 kai katestenaxan hoi huioi Israel apo ton ergon, 3:7 kai tes krauges auton akekoa apo ton ergodiokton. Ps.11:6 apo tes talaipoorias ton ptochon . . . anastesomai. Sir.20:6 estin misetos apo polles lalias. Nahum 1:6 hai petrai diethrubesan ap' autou. In this way apo becomes = hupo, as in Dan. O' 1:18. So in N.T. -- Hb.5:7 eisakoustheis apo tes eulabeias. Lk.19:3 ouk edunato apo tou ochlou, 24:41 apistounton auton apo tes charas. Cp. Acts 12:14, 22:11. Jn.21:6 ouketi auto helkusai ischuon apo tou plethous ton ichthuon. Of apo = hupo see instances in Lk.9:22, 17:25: Acts 20:9. c. The combination apo . . . heos is a Hebraism. It may be rendered "from . . . unto," as in - Dt.8:35 apo ichnous ton podon sou heos tes koruphes sou, or "both . . . and," as in - Ex.9:25 apo anthropou . . . heos ktenous. Sometimes kai precedes the heos - Jdg.15:5 apo . . . kai heos . . . kai heos both . . . and . . . and. Cp. Sir.40:3: Jer.27:3. 93. meta. meta with genitive = in dealing with' is a Hebraism. Jdg.15:3 hoti poio ego met' auton ponerian. So in N.T. -- Lk.10:37 ho poiesas to eleos met' autou: Acts 14:27. Cp. Herm. Past. Sim.5.1.1: 1 Clem.61:3. 94. huper. a. The frequent use of huper in the LXX to express comparison is due to the fact that the Hebrew language has no special form for the comparative degree. We therefore sometimes find the LXX representing the original by the positive with huper. Ruth 4:15 he estin agathe soi huper hepta huious. Cp.1 K. [1 Sam.] 1:8, 15:28: 3 K. [2 Kings} 20:2: 2 Chr.21:14. 1 K. [1 Sam.] 9:2 hupselos huper pasan ten gen. 1 Chr.4:9 endoxos huper tous adelphous autou. Sir.24:20 huper meli gluku. Ezk.5:1 rhomphaian oxeian huper xuron koureos. b. More often however the comparative is used, but the construction with huper still retained. Jdg.15:2 agathotera huper auten. Cp. Jdg.11:25. Jdg.18:26 dunatoteroi eisin huper auton. Ruth 3:12 engion huper eme. 3 K. [2 Kings} 19:4 kreisson . . . huper tous pateras. Cp. Sir.30:17. Hbk.1:8 oxuteroi huper lukous. Dan. O' 1:20 sophoterous dekaplasios huper tous sophistas. c. huper is employed in the same way after verbs - Ex.1:9 iEschuei huper hemas. 1 K. [1 Sam.] 1:5 ten Annan egapa Elkana huper tauten. Ps.39:13 eplethunthesan huper tas trichas tes kephales mou. 1 Chr.19:12 ean kratese huper eme Suros. Jer.5:3 estereosan . . . huper petran, 16:12 humeis eponereusasthe huper tous pateras humon. Cp.17:23. Jer.26:23 plethunei huper akrida. Dan. O' 3:22 he kaminos exekauthe huper to proteron heptaplasios. d. So in N.T. -- after a comparative - Hb.4:12 tomoteros huper pasan machairan. after a verb - Gal.1:14 proekopton . . . huper pollous. Mt.10:37 ho philon patera e metera huper eme. Cp. Herm. Past. Mdt.5.1.6 he makrothumia glukutate estin huper to meli. Mart. Polyc.18 dokimotera huper chrusion osta autou. 95. epi. a. epi with the accusative is used of rest as well as of motion. Gen.41:17 hestanai epi to cheilos tou potamou. Ex.10:14 kai anegagen auten (ten akrida) epi pasan gen Aiguptou, kai katepausen epi panta ta horia Aiguptou polle sphodra. Jdg.16:27 epi to doma = upon the roof. b. epi is sometimes used to reinforce an accusative of duration of time. Jdg.14:17 kai eklausen pros auton epi tas hepta hemeras has en autois ho potos. c. In Josh.25:10 we find megan epi tou idein where in classical Greek we should have only megan idein. d. In the N.T. also epi with the accusative is used of rest or position - 2 Cor.3:15 kalumma epi ten kardian auton keitai. Mk.2:14 kathemenon epi to telonion. Cp. Lk.5:27. Mk.4:38 epi to proskephalaion katheudon. Mt.14:28 peripaton epi ten thalassan (in Jn.6:19 peripatounta epi tes thalasses). Lk.2:25 pneuma hagion en ep' auton. Cp. Lk.2:40. Jn.1:32 emeinen ep' auton. 96. para. a. para naturally lends itself to the expression of comparison, and is so used occasionally in the best Greek, e.g. Thuc.1.23.4: Xen. Mem.1.4.14: Hdt.7.103. It is therefore not surprising that it should have been employed by the translators in the same way as huper. Ex.18:11 megas Kurios para pantas tous theous. Cp. Ps.134:5: Dan. O' 11:12. Nb.12:3 kai ho anthropos Mouses praus sphodra para pantas tous anthropous. Dan. O' 1:10 asthene para tous suntrephomenous humin (Th has skuthropa para ta paidaria ta sunelika humon). Cp. O' 1:13. Dan. Th 7:7 diaphoron perissos para panta ta theria. 1 Esd.4:35 ischurotera para panta. Dan. O' 11:13 meizona para ten proten (Th has polun huper ton proteron). Dt.7:7 humeis gar este oligostoi para panta ta ethne. Gen.43:34 emegalunthe de he meris Beniamein para tas meridas panton. Ps.8:6 elattosas auton brachu ti par' angelous. b. In the N.T. para after a comparative is abundant in Hebrews - 1:4, 3:3, 9:23, 11:4, 12:24. We find it after a positive and after a comparative in Luke - Lk.13:2 hamartoloi para pantas tous Galilaious, 3:13 meden pleon para to diatetagmenon humin prassete, and after verbs in - Rom.14:5 ho men krinei hemeran par' hemeran. Hb.1:9 echrise se ho Theos . . . para tous metochous sou. c. In the Apostolic Father cp. - Herm. Past. Vis.3.12.1 hilaroteran para to proteron, Sim.9.18.2 pleiona . . . para. Barn. Ep.4:5 (in a quotation from Daniel which is neither O' nor Th) chalepoteron para panta ta theria. 97. New Forms of Prepostion. a. Besides the more liberal use made of the prepositions already current in classical Greek, we meet also in the LXX with new forms of preposition. b. apanothen occurs in Swete's text in Jdg.16:20: 2 K. [2 Sam.] 11:20, 24; 20:21: 3 K. [2 Kings} 1:53: 4 K. [2 Kings] 2:3. It not unnaturally gets confused in some places with the classical epanothen, which is very common in the LXX, having been found a convenient rendering of certain compound prepositions in the Hebrew. c. hupokatothen, which is only used as an adverb in classical Greek, assumes in the LXX the function of a preposition, e.g. - Dt.9:14 exaleipso to onoma auton hupokatothen tou ouranou. The corresponding form huperanothen occurs in the LXX only twice, once as an adverb in Ps.77:23 and once as a preposition in - Ezk.1:25 huperanothen tou stereomatos. d. enanti in many passages of the LXX has been replaced in Swete's text by enantion, but there are still numerous instances of it left, e.g. Ex.28:12, 23, 34; 29:10, 23, 24, 25, 26, 42. In N.T. is occurs in Lk.1:8, Acts.8:21. apenanti is also common, e.g. Gen.3:24, 21:26, 23:19, 25:9, 49:30. In the N.T. it occurs in the sense of contrary to' in Acts.17:7. kateenanti is specially frequent in the book of Sirach. e. enopion is another preposition unknown to classical authors, but extremely common in Biblical Greek, as being an apt equivalent for certain Hebrew forms of expression. Deissmann gives instances of its adverbial use in the Papyri, so that we need not suppose it to have been invented by the translators of the O.T. In the N.T. it occurs frequently in Luke-Acts, Paul, and Revelation, but is not used in Matthew or Mark. katenopion occurs in the LXX in Lvt.4:17: Josh.1:5, 3:7, 21:44, 23:9: Esther 5:1: Dan. Th 5:22. In N.T. in Eph.1:4: Col.1:22: Jude 24. f. opiso as a preposition is unclassical, but extremely common in the LXX. In the N.T. it occurs in 1 Tim.5:15: Acts 5:37, 20:30: Mt.4:19, 10:38, 16:24: Lk.14:27: Jn.12:19: Rev.13:3. g. katopisthe(n) is construed with a genitive in Hom. Od.12.148, but its classical use is almost wholly adverbial, whereas in the LXX, in which it occurs twenty-four times in all, it is mainly prepositional. In 2 Chr.34:38 we have apo opisthen Kuriou. Cp. Eccl.1:10 apo emprosthen hemon. h. kuklothen occurs in the LXX as a preposition in 3 K. [2 Kings} 18:32: Sir.50:12 A: Jer.17:26, 31:17: 1 Mac.14:17. In N.T. only in Rev.4:3, 5:11 kuklothen tou thronou. kuklo is sometimes used in the same way, as in 3 K. [2 Kings} 18:35: Sir.23:18: Is.6:2: Jer.39:44. Cp. Strabo 17.6, p.792 ta de kuklo tes komes. i. Other prepositions that may be briefly noticed are echomena petras Ps.140:6, esoteron tes kolumbethras Is.22:11. In Sir.29:25 we have the combination kai pros epi toutois. 98. Prepositions after Verbs. The great use made of prepositions after verbs is one of the main characteristics of Biblical Greek. It is partly a feature of later Greek generally, but to a still greater extent it is due to the influence of the Hebrew. In the following list of instances perhaps the last only is irreproachable as Greek: - adunatein apo Dt.17:8. athetein en 4 K. [2 Kings] 1:1; 3:5, 7; 18:7; 24:1, 20: 2 Chr.10:19. hairetizein en 1 Chr.29:1: 2 Chr.29:11. bdelussesthai apo Ex.1:12. boan en 3 K. [2 Kings} 18:24. ekdikein ek Dt.18:19. eklegein en 1 Chr.28:5. elpizein epi with accusative Ps.4:6, 5:12, 9:11, 40:10. elpizein epi with dative Ps.7:1. enedreuein epi Jdg.16:2. entrepesthai apo 2 Chr.36:12: 1 Esd.1:45. epikaleisthai en 3 K. [2 Kings} 18:25, 26. esthiein apo Lvt.22:6: Jdg.13:16. eudokein en Ps.146:10. thelein en 1 K. [1 Sam.] 18:22: 1 Chr.28:4: Ps.146:10. theorein en Jdg.16:27. kataphronein epi Tobit 4:18. logizesthai eis 1 K. [1 Sam.] 1:13. mukterizein en 1 Esd.1:51. patassein en 2 Chr.28:5, 17. poiein eleos en Josh.2:12. poiein eleos meta Jdg.8:35. polemein en 1 K. [1 Sam.] 28:15. prosechein eis Ex.9:21. prosochthizein apo Nb.22:3. sunienai eis Ps.27:5. huperephaneuesthai apo Tobit 4:14. pheidesthai epi Dt.7:16. phobeisthai apo Dt.1:29, 7:29: Josh.11:6: 4 K. [2 Kings] 1:15: Ps.3:7. phulassesthai apo Jdg.13:14. Cp. Xen. Cyrop.2.3.9, Hell.7.2.10. |
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