BBG Chapter 8 — Prepositions and εἰμί¶
Files¶
Exercises¶
| Exercise | Description |
|---|---|
| exercises/ch8-preposition-parsing/ | 20-item drill — identify preposition, case governed, and prepositional phrase translation |
Flashcards¶
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| ch8-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 20 vocabulary words |
| ch8-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import) |
| ch8-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file |
Notebooks¶
| Notebook | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Greek Prepositions | Frequency, case binding, NT vs LXX comparison for all major prepositions |
| Discourse Particles | γάρ, οὖν, ἀλλά distribution — contrasting with prepositions in sentence structure |
Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition
1. Greek Prepositions — Introduction¶
Greek prepositions govern a noun in a specific case and together form a prepositional phrase. The same preposition can take different cases and carry different meanings depending on the case used. This is one of the most important features of Greek prepositional usage.
Key principle: The preposition narrows and directs the meaning contributed by the case. The case provides the broad semantic category (relationship, location, etc.); the preposition specifies direction, source, accompaniment, and so on.
2. Major Prepositions — Full Table¶
| Preposition | Case(s) | Primary Meaning(s) | GNT Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἐν | Dat. | in, among, by means of | ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ — "in the world" |
| εἰς | Acc. | into, to, toward, for | εἰς τὸν κόσμον — "into the world" |
| ἐκ / ἐξ | Gen. | out of, from (within) | ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου — "out of the world" |
| ἀπό | Gen. | from, away from | ἀπὸ θεοῦ — "from God" |
| πρός | Acc. | to, toward, with | πρὸς τὸν θεόν — "with/toward God" |
| διά | Gen. / Acc. | Gen: through, by means of; Acc: because of | διὰ τοῦ νόμου / διὰ τοῦτο |
| κατά | Gen. / Acc. | Gen: against, down from; Acc: according to | κατὰ σάρκα — "according to the flesh" |
| μετά | Gen. / Acc. | Gen: with (accompaniment); Acc: after | μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν / μετὰ ταῦτα |
| ἐπί | Gen. / Dat. / Acc. | over, at, on, against | ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς — "on the earth" |
| παρά | Gen. / Dat. / Acc. | Gen: from (a person); Dat: beside, in presence of; Acc: alongside | παρὰ τοῦ πατρός |
| περί | Gen. / Acc. | Gen: concerning, about; Acc: around | περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας — "concerning sin" |
| ὑπό | Gen. / Acc. | Gen: by (agent of passive verb); Acc: under | ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ — "by God" |
| σύν | Dat. | with, together with | σὺν αὐτῷ — "with him" |
| ἀντί | Gen. | instead of, in place of, in exchange for | ἀντὶ πολλῶν — "for many" |
| ἀνά | Acc. | up, each, apiece | ἀνὰ δύο — "two by two" |
Note: ἐκ becomes ἐξ before a vowel. This is straightforward phonological assimilation — the same pattern as English "a/an."
3. Compound Verbs with Preposition Prefixes¶
Greek frequently forms compound verbs by prefixing a preposition to a verb root. The preposition modifies the verb's meaning.
| Compound | Preposition | Base Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| εἰσέρχομαι | εἰς (into) | ἔρχομαι (I go) | I enter, I go in |
| ἐξέρχομαι | ἐκ (out of) | ἔρχομαι (I go) | I go out, I depart |
| ἀπέρχομαι | ἀπό (away) | ἔρχομαι (I go) | I go away, I depart |
| προσέρχομαι | πρός (toward) | ἔρχομαι (I go) | I come to, I approach |
| προσφέρω | πρός (toward) | φέρω (I bring) | I offer, I bring to |
| ἀποστέλλω | ἀπό (away) | στέλλω (I send) | I send away, I commission |
| συνάγω | σύν (together) | ἄγω (I lead) | I gather, I assemble |
| παραλαμβάνω | παρά (alongside) | λαμβάνω (I take) | I receive, I take along |
| περιπατέω | περί (around) | πατέω (I walk) | I walk about, I conduct myself |
Note: When a preposition ending in a vowel is prefixed to a verb beginning with a vowel, the preposition's final vowel is often elided (dropped): ἀπό + ἔρχομαι → ἀπέρχομαι (ο dropped).
4. εἰμί — Present Indicative Paradigm¶
εἰμί is the Greek verb "to be." It is a linking verb (copula): it connects the subject to a description rather than expressing an action. It is one of the most common verbs in the GNT (~2,460 occurrences).
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | εἰμί — "I am" | ἐσμέν — "we are" |
| 2nd | εἶ — "you are" | ἐστέ — "you (pl.) are" |
| 3rd | ἐστίν — "he/she/it is" | εἰσίν — "they are" |
Note: εἰμί is enclitic in all forms except εἶ (2nd singular) and the accented ἐστίν (when it comes first in a clause or follows certain particles). In practice, the 3rd singular ἐστίν is the most common form in the GNT by far.
5. Uses of εἰμί¶
5.1 Predicate Nominative¶
When εἰμί links a subject to a noun that describes or identifies it, both the subject and the predicate noun appear in the nominative case. This is called the predicate nominative.
ὁ λόγος ἦν θεός — "the Word was God" (John 1:1) ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός — "I am the way" (John 14:6)
Note: The key distinction: with action verbs, a noun following the verb is in the accusative (direct object). With εἰμί, a noun following the verb is in the nominative (predicate nominative). The sentence has two nominatives when εἰμί is the verb.
5.2 Predicate Adjective¶
εἰμί can also link the subject to an adjective in the predicate position.
ὁ θεὸς πιστός ἐστιν — "God is faithful" (1 Cor 1:9)
5.3 Existential εἰμί¶
εἰμί can assert bare existence: "there is/are."
ἔστιν δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις … κολυμβήθρα — "Now there is in Jerusalem … a pool" (John 5:2)
6. Predicate Nominative vs. Direct Object — Comparison¶
| Feature | Predicate Nominative | Direct Object |
|---|---|---|
| Verb type | εἰμί (or other linking verb) | Action verb (λέγω, ἀκούω, etc.) |
| Case of following noun | Nominative | Accusative |
| Relationship | Subject = predicate noun (identity/description) | Subject acts on the object |
| Example | ὁ θεός ἐστι πνεῦμα — "God is spirit" | βλέπει τὸν θεόν — "he sees God" |
7. Identifying Preposition + Case Combinations in the GNT¶
A practical checklist for working through a prepositional phrase:
- Identify the preposition.
- Look at the definite article of the following noun (if present) — its form tells you the case.
- If there is no article, look at the noun ending.
- Match the preposition + case combination to its meaning from the table above.
- Ask: what role does this prepositional phrase play — location, means, agent, time, accompaniment?