# BBG Chapter 12 — αὐτός

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch12-autos-parsing/ | 20-item drill — parse αὐτός forms and identify which of the three uses applies

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch12-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 15 vocabulary words
ch12-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch12-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
NT Syntactic Roles | What God and Jesus do as subjects/objects across the NT

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition

## 1. Introduction — Three Uses of αὐτός

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό is one of the most versatile and frequently occurring words in the GNT (~5,600 occurrences). It has three distinct uses, each determined by its position relative to the definite article and a noun:

Use | Position | Meaning | Example
--- | --- | --- | ---
Personal Pronoun | Oblique cases (Gen/Dat/Acc) only; no noun required | "him / her / it / them" | λέγει αὐτῷ — "he says to him"
Intensive Adjective | Predicate position (no article before αὐτός, but noun has article) | "himself / herself / themselves / the ___ himself" | αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεύς — "the king himself"
Identical Adjective | Attributive position (article directly before αὐτός) | "the same ___" | ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεύς — "the same king"

> Key diagnostic: Position determines use. The article is the key.

> - No noun needed, any case → personal pronoun (3rd person)
> - Predicate position → intensive ("himself/herself")
> - Attributive position → identical ("the same")

## 2. Full αὐτός Paradigm

### Singular

Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter
--- | --- | --- | ---
Nominative | αὐτός | αὐτή | αὐτό
Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῆς | αὐτοῦ
Dative | αὐτῷ | αὐτῇ | αὐτῷ
Accusative | αὐτόν | αὐτήν | αὐτό

### Plural

Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter
--- | --- | --- | ---
Nominative | αὐτοί | αὐταί | αὐτά
Genitive | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν
Dative | αὐτοῖς | αὐταῖς | αὐτοῖς
Accusative | αὐτούς | αὐτάς | αὐτά

> Note: αὐτός follows the standard 2-1-2 declension pattern (masculine and neuter 2nd declension, feminine 1st declension), exactly like the adjective ἀγαθός. The neuter nominative/accusative singular αὐτό lacks the final -ν (contrast αὐτόν masc.).

## 3. Use 1 — Personal Pronoun (3rd Person)

In its oblique cases (genitive, dative, accusative), αὐτός functions as the 3rd person personal pronoun: "him," "her," "it," "them." The nominative is not used as a simple personal pronoun; the nominative is reserved for intensive or identical use.

Form | Translation | GNT Example
--- | --- | ---
αὐτόν | "him" | βλέπω αὐτόν — "I see him"
αὐτήν | "her" | λέγει αὐτῇ — "he says to her"
αὐτοῦ | "his" / "of him" | ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ — "his word"
αὐτῶν | "their" / "of them" | ἡ βασιλεία αὐτῶν — "their kingdom"
αὐτοῖς | "to/for them" | εἶπεν αὐτοῖς — "he said to them"
αὐτούς | "them" | ἀπέστειλεν αὐτούς — "he sent them"

> Note: This is by far the most common use of αὐτός in the GNT. When you encounter αὐτόν, αὐτήν, αὐτῷ, αὐτοῖς, αὐτῶν, etc. — simply translate as the appropriate personal pronoun.

## 4. Use 2 — Intensive Adjective (Predicate Position)

When αὐτός appears in the predicate position — that is, without the article directly before it, but next to an article-noun phrase — it serves as an intensive adjective: "himself," "herself," "themselves," or "the ___ himself."

Intensive = predicate position (no article directly before αὐτός)

> αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεύς — "the king himself"
> ὁ βασιλεύς αὐτός — "the king himself" (same meaning; αὐτός after noun)
> αὐτὴ ἡ γυνή — "the woman herself"
> αὐτοὶ οἱ μαθηταί — "the disciples themselves"

GNT example:

> αὐτὸς γὰρ Δαυὶδ εἶπεν — "For David himself said…" (Mark 12:36)
> αὐτὸς Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἐβάπτιζεν — "Jesus himself was not baptizing" (John 4:2)

> Note: The intensive αὐτός in the nominative often adds emphasis to the subject: "he/she himself/herself." In English, this overlaps with the reflexive pronoun, but in Greek it is not reflexive (a reflexive pronoun would use ἑαυτόν).

## 5. Use 3 — Identical Adjective (Attributive Position)

When αὐτός appears in the attributive position — with the article directly before αὐτός — it serves as an identical adjective: "the same."

Identical = attributive position (article directly before αὐτός)

> ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεύς — "the same king"
> ἡ αὐτὴ ἡμέρα — "the same day"
> τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα — "the same spirit"

GNT example:

> ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καιρῷ — "at the same time"
> τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖτε — "think the same thing" (Phil 2:2; 4:2)

## 6. Distinguishing the Three Uses — Decision Tree

    Is αὐτός in an oblique case (Gen/Dat/Acc) with no article before it and no noun it modifies?
      → YES → Personal Pronoun: "him/her/it/them"

    Is αὐτός next to an article-noun phrase, but WITHOUT the article directly before αὐτός?
      → YES → Intensive Adjective: "himself/herself/themselves"

    Does αὐτός have the article DIRECTLY before it (article–αὐτός–noun or article–αὐτός alone)?
      → YES → Identical Adjective: "the same"

Phrase pattern | Use | Translation
--- | --- | ---
… αὐτόν / αὐτήν / αὐτῷ … (no modifying noun) | Personal Pronoun | "him / her / to him"
αὐτὸς ὁ [noun] or ὁ [noun] αὐτός | Intensive | "the [noun] himself"
ὁ αὐτὸς [noun] | Identical | "the same [noun]"

## 7. GNT Examples of All Three Uses

### Use 1 — Personal Pronoun

John 1:12 — ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν
"He gave them authority…"
→ αὐτοῖς = Dative Plural; oblique case; no modifying noun → personal pronoun "them."

John 3:16 — δέδωκεν τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν
"…that everyone who believes in him…"
→ αὐτόν = Accusative Singular Masculine; personal pronoun "him."

### Use 2 — Intensive Adjective

Mark 12:36 — αὐτὸς Δαυὶδ εἶπεν
"David himself said…"
→ αὐτός in predicate position (no article before αὐτός, David is the noun) → intensive.

John 4:2 — αὐτὸς Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἐβάπτιζεν
"Jesus himself was not baptizing…"
→ αὐτός in predicate position, clarifies/emphasizes the subject → intensive.

### Use 3 — Identical Adjective

Phil 2:2 — τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε
"Think the same thing."
→ Article directly before αὐτό (τὸ αὐτό) → identical adjective "the same."

Phil 4:2 — τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν ἐν κυρίῳ
"To think the same thing in the Lord."
→ Same construction; identical adjective.