# BBG Chapter 7 — Genitive and Dative

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch7-gen-dat-parsing/ | 20-item parsing drill — case, number, gender, and lexical form for 2nd-declension forms

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch7-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 15 vocabulary words
ch7-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch7-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
GNT Noun Morphology | Case/gender distribution — genitive and dative cases in context

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition

## 1. The Greek Case System — Overview

Greek nouns are inflected for case, which indicates the noun's grammatical function in the sentence. Chapter 7 introduces the genitive and dative, completing the 2nd-declension paradigm.

Case | Primary function | English analogy
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | Subject; predicate nominative | "he/she/it"
Genitive | Possession; relationship; separation | "of ___"; "'s"
Dative | Indirect object; instrument; sphere | "to/for/with ___"
Accusative | Direct object; extent | "him/her/it"
Vocative | Direct address | "O ___!"

> Note: Greek uses five cases to do work that English handles with prepositions and word order. Learning the case functions is more important than memorizing a single "meaning" for each ending.

## 2. The Genitive Case

The genitive expresses the relationship between two nouns, most commonly possession. The English equivalent is usually "of" placed before the word or "'s" placed after it.

### 2.1 Genitive of Possession

The most common genitive use. The genitive noun specifies the owner.

> ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ — "the word of God" (God's word)

### 2.2 Genitive of Relationship

The genitive identifies a family relationship without an explicit word for "son," "daughter," etc.

> Ἰησοῦς Μαρίας — "Jesus, [son] of Mary"

### 2.3 Genitive of Separation (Ablative Function)

Expresses separation, source, or departure. Common with verbs of separating, freeing, or departing.

> ἐλεύθεροι ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας — "free from sin"

### 2.4 Partitive Genitive

The genitive denotes the whole of which something is a part.

> εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν — "one of you"

### 2.5 Genitive with Prepositions

Several prepositions regularly take the genitive object:

Preposition | With Genitive | Example
--- | --- | ---
ἀπό | from, away from | ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου — "from the house"
ἐκ / ἐξ | out of, from (within) | ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου — "out of the world"
διά | through, because of | διὰ τοῦ νόμου — "through the law"
κατά | against, down from | κατὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου — "against the man"
μετά | with (accompaniment) | μετὰ τοῦ κυρίου — "with the Lord"
περί | concerning, about | περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ — "concerning the Son"
ὑπό | by (agent of passive) | ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ — "by God"
ἀντί | instead of, in place of | ἀντὶ τοῦ νόμου — "instead of the law"

## 3. The Dative Case

The dative expresses the person or thing involved in an action, but not as the direct object. It covers a range of functions often expressed in English with "to," "for," "with," or "in/by/at."

### 3.1 Dative of Indirect Object

The most common dative use. The dative noun identifies to whom or for whom the action is done.

> λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ — "he says to the man"

### 3.2 Dative of Instrument (Means)

The dative expresses the means by which an action is accomplished. No preposition in Greek; English adds "with" or "by."

> ἀπέθανεν ἁμαρτίᾳ — "he died by sin" / "with sin [as the means]"

### 3.3 Dative of Manner

The dative describes how an action is performed.

> χαρᾷ ἐδέξαντο — "they received [it] with joy"

### 3.4 Dative of Sphere / Reference

Indicates the sphere within which something is true, or the perspective from which.

> καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ — "pure in heart" (sphere = the heart)

### 3.5 Dative of Time (When)

A noun in the dative can specify the time at which something occurs.

> τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ — "on the third day"

### 3.6 Dative with Prepositions

Preposition | With Dative | Example
--- | --- | ---
ἐν | in, among, by means of | ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ — "in the world"
σύν | with (accompaniment) | σὺν τῷ κυρίῳ — "with the Lord"

> Note: ἐν + dative is one of the most common constructions in the GNT. It can express location ("in"), instrument ("by"), or sphere ("in the realm of"). Context determines the precise nuance.

## 4. Full 2nd-Declension Paradigm

The 2nd declension covers most masculine nouns (ending -ος in nominative singular) and neuter nouns (ending -ον). Below is the complete five-case paradigm.

### 4.1 Masculine 2nd Declension — λόγος (word)

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | λόγος | λόγοι
Genitive | λόγου | λόγων
Dative | λόγῳ | λόγοις
Accusative | λόγον | λόγους
Vocative | λόγε | λόγοι

### 4.2 Neuter 2nd Declension — ἔργον (work)

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | ἔργον | ἔργα
Genitive | ἔργου | ἔργων
Dative | ἔργῳ | ἔργοις
Accusative | ἔργον | ἔργα
Vocative | ἔργον | ἔργα

> Note: The neuter nominative, accusative, and vocative are always identical within number. This is the neuter rule: neuter nom. = neuter acc. = neuter voc.

> Note: The dative singular ending -ῳ (omega with iota subscript) is a reliable diagnostic for the dative singular in 2nd declension. The iota subscript is silent in pronunciation but must be written.

## 5. The Definite Article with 2nd Declension

Greek's definite article agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case. There is no indefinite article; the absence of the article can imply indefiniteness but is not required to.

Case | Masc. Sg. | Masc. Pl. | Neut. Sg. | Neut. Pl.
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Nominative | ὁ | οἱ | τό | τά
Genitive | τοῦ | τῶν | τοῦ | τῶν
Dative | τῷ | τοῖς | τῷ | τοῖς
Accusative | τόν | τούς | τό | τά

> Note: The masculine and neuter genitive and dative forms are identical (τοῦ, τῷ, τῶν, τοῖς). The noun's ending distinguishes the gender, not the article alone.

## 6. Prepositions with Genitive vs. Dative — Summary

Some prepositions take only one case; others take different cases with different meanings. The most important prepositions and their case governance:

Preposition | Genitive meaning | Dative meaning | Accusative meaning
--- | --- | --- | ---
ἐν | — | in, among, by | —
εἰς | — | — | into, toward, for
ἐκ / ἐξ | out of, from | — | —
ἀπό | from, away from | — | —
πρός | — | — | to, toward, with
διά | through, because of | — | because of, for the sake of
κατά | against, down from | — | according to
μετά | with (accompaniment) | — | after
ἐπί | over, at | on, at, near | on, against
παρά | from (a person) | beside, with | alongside
περί | concerning, about | — | around
ὑπό | by (agent) | — | under
σύν | — | with, together with | —
ἀντί | instead of, in exchange | — | —
ἀνά | — | — | up, each

> Note: When ἐκ precedes a word beginning with a vowel, it becomes ἐξ (e.g., ἐξ ἀρχῆς — "from the beginning").

## 7. Identifying Genitive vs. Dative — Quick Reference

Both cases share the -ων genitive plural ending. The definite article is the clearest guide:

Feature | Genitive | Dative
--- | --- | ---
Sg. article (m/n) | τοῦ | τῷ
Pl. article (m/n) | τῶν | τοῖς
Sg. noun ending (m) | -ου | -ῳ
Pl. noun ending (m) | -ων | -οις
Key question | "of whom/what?" | "to/for/with/in whom/what?"