133c
3. Quite regularly abstract nouns are used along these lines (though Ancient Greek generally agrees with English here, English seems somewhat more restrictive), occasionally also some other nouns (apparently used with an abstract force), e. g.:
| ←188 | 189→_ ἀγάπη καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν | love covers a multitude of sins (1Pe 4:8) |
| … _ ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω … | … but I do not have love … (1Cor 13:1–3) |
But with anaphoric/anadeictic article (↑133a):
| Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ … | Love is patient … or (more accurately) The love just referred to is patient … (1Cor 13:4) |
| _ νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ _ νόμον ἱστάνομεν. | Do we then nullify the law through this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law. (Ro 3:31) |
A further use, perhaps best mentioned here, is that of book titles typically having no article, e. g.:
| _ Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου … | The beginning of the good news … (Mk 1:1) |
| _ Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ … | The revelation from Jesus Christ … (Re 1:1) |
133d
4. Sometimes this use is found in combinations of phrases reflecting a Hebrew construct chain (where the governing [“construct”] noun never has the article; ↑GKC §125a; Z §182; also ↑136e/136f):
NP1(in the “construct”: without article)+determined NP2(in the genitive), e. g.:
_δόξα κυρίου = 
kəḇôḏ Yhwh the glory of the Lord (Lk 2:9; ↑Eze 3:23)
Yhwh “Yahweh” is a Hebrew personal name; it is without the article because Hebrew personal names never have the article; based on this use, its LXX substitute κύριος has no article either.
133e
5. Such is regularly the case, also in the following type of phrase combination:
NP1(without article)+NP2(in the genitive; without article because NP1 has none), e. g.:
| λόγος _ θεοῦ | the word of God (1Th 2:13) |
| ↑But: ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (both have the article) | the word of the Lord (1Th 1:8) |
133f
II. In the NT the article with the nouns θεός god/God and κύριος lord/Lord (↑BDF §254) makes clear that the phrase is meant to refer to the one God/Lord, who revealed himself in Jesus Christ and previously to Israel. However, even with such a reference these nouns may be without the article in the following cases:
• frequently when embedded in a preposition phrase (↑133a), e.g.:
ἐν _ θεῷ / ἐκ _ θεοῦ / ὑπὸ _ θεοῦ / παρὰ _ θεοῦ etc.
• in the genitive, governed by a noun phrase without article (↑133e), e. g.:
| ῥῆμα _ θεοῦ | the word of God (Lk 3:2) |
| δικαιοσύνη _ θεοῦ | the righteousness of God (2Cor 5:21) |
Further noteworthy points:
(1) In the NT the combination κύριος ὁ θεός is mostly found in OT quotations, e.g. Mt 4:7.10.
(2) ὁ κύριος usually refers to Jesus as the exalted Lord. However, even with such a reference there may be no article when the noun is embedded in a preposition phrase, e. g. πρὸς _ κύριον to the Lord (2Cor 3:16).
(3) τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, τὸ ἅγιον τὸ πνεῦμα, and ἅγιον πνεῦμα in the NT are best translated as the Holy Spirit (no semantic differences seem discernible) ↑BDAG sub πνεῦμα 5cα/β; also BDF §257.2.
←189 | 190→Important points relevant to text interpretation (↑Z §176ff):
133g
1. It is not unusual for an abstract noun to have no article; however, when it does have one, this generally suggests that the article was used for a specific purpose and that the determination thus expressed is exegetically significant (↑133c), e.g. in Jn 14:6.
2. When concrete nouns are used without the article, this may be significant: indefiniteness is generally indicated (↑130a). However, in the following cases something definite may be referred to, even though the NP is without the article:
a) if the NP is used as a subject complement or an object complement (↑135a/135c; 258a/258b);
b) if it is a personal name (in the NT; ↑134b);
c) if it is embedded in a preposition phrase (↑133a);
d) if it is the first (the governing) NP within a phrase combination reflecting the Hebrew construct chain (in NT/LXX Greek; ↑133d);
e) if it is the second NP in the genitive after a NP that is without the article (↑133e).
The article and proper names (↑BR §148.1; BDF §260–262; 254)
I. Names of persons (↑132a on the individualizing article):
134a
1. In Ancient Greek the following general rule applies:
The article is used with names of persons that the speaker/writer intends to mark as known, either because of an earlier mention in the text or as generally known (an appositional noun phrase following the name has the article; ↑260h), otherwise the article is not used. E. g.:
| μετά … ῥήτορος _ Τερτύλλου τινός | with … a lawyer, a certain Tertullus (Ac 24:1) | |
Tertullus is mentioned for the first time here: there is no article.
| ἤρξατο κατηγορεῖν ὁ Τέρτυλλος | Tertullus began to accuse him (Ac 24:2) |
The name has the article, because Tertullus was mentioned earlier in the text: ὁ Τέρτυλλος “the aforementioned Tertullus” or the Tertullus just mentioned.
| ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ … | Michael and his angels … (Re 12:7) | |
The Michael is referred to, the one assumed as generally known (↑presupposed world knowledge).
134b
2. In the NT the article is not used in any consistent way with names of persons (in CG the “rule” was not strictly followed either). Frequently there is no article where the above rule would make us expect one. No doubt this tendency can be explained by the Semitic background influencing NT usage, either directly or (via LXX) indirectly: personal names never had the article in Ancient Hebrew nor the determination ending in Ancient Aramaic (↑GKC §125c; Segert: 334).
In the Synoptic gospels the name “Jesus” nearly always has the article: ὁ Ἰησοῦς, whereas in John it is frequently without. “Paul” is mostly written as ὁ Παῦλος; “Peter”, however, as ὁ Πέτρος or Πέτρος (about half the instances each).
Uninflected names, notably Semitic ones (↑17), which are normally without the article, sometimes take one making clear in what case it is intended to be, e.g.:
| ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ | to raise up children for Abraham (Mt 3:9) |
134c
II. Geographical and ethnographic names:
1. The names of geographical regions and countries (↑23a) typically have the article, as they go back to adjectives modifying the nouns χώρα land/country or γῆ earth/land (ellipsis; ↑260c; 293c; 361f), e.g.:
| ἡ Ἰουδαία | Judea (↑Mt 2:22) |
| ἡ Γαλιλαία | Galilee (↑Mt 2:22) |
| ἡ Ἀσία | Asia (the Roman province; ↑Ac 16:6) |
2. The names of rivers (↑23a) have the article, e.g.:
| ὁ Ἰορδάνης | the Jordan (↑Lk 4:1) |
| ὁ Εὐφράτης | the Euphrates (↑Jr 28:63 LXX; Re 16:12) |
3. Names of ethnic or cultural groups occur with and without the article, e.g.:
| (οἱ) Ἰουδαῖοι | the Jews |
(in the Gospels and Acts [especially Jn] with the article, in Paul usually without)
| (οἱ) Ἕλληνες | the Greeks (in the NT rarely with article) |
4. Place names (↑23a) in the majority of instances are without the article, e.g.:
| (τὰ) Ἱεροσόλυμα, (ἡ) Ἰερουσαλήμ | Jerusalem |
| (ἡ) Καφαρναούμ | Capernaum (hardly ever with the article) |
Article use with complements and adverbials (↑BR §149.1; BDF §273; Z §172–175)
135a
I. Subject and object complements that have an identifying role (SCid/OCid) with either the subject/object entity being equated (more or less extensively) with another entity or being classified (↑258a/256c/256d):
1. Generally speaking, such a complement is without the article, regardless of whether it is intended to classify or to equate (↑132b; which of these is intended, can be inferred from the linguistic and non-linguistic context; ↑308ff), e.g.:
| οὐκοῦν βασιλεὺς (SCid) εἶ σύ; | So, you are a king? (Jn 18:37) |
The question is about classifying the subject entity.
| εἰ ὁ θεὸς πατὴρ ὑμῶν (SCid) ἦν … | If God were your father … (Jn 8:42) |
This clause is about equating the subject entity with another entity.
↑also Jn 9:5; 10:36.
| εἰ οὖν με ἔχεις κοινωνόν (OCid) … | So, if you consider me your partner … (Phm 17) |
This clause is about classifying the object entity.
| … σὺ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν (OCid). | … you, only a human being, are making yourself God. (Jn 10:33) |
This statement is about equating the object entity with another entity.
2. Sometimes, however, the complement does have the article, in which case there is typically an emphasis on the equivalence of the two entities involved (↑the individualizing article; ↑132a), i.e.
←191 | 192→a) when the speaker/writer presupposes that the complement entity is generally known (↑348a), e.g.:
| ὁ προφήτης (SCid) εἶ σύ; | Are you the Prophet? (Jn 1:21) |
The question is about the prophet generally known and expected on the basis of Dt 18:15.
↑also Mk 6:3.
b) when the complement is meant to refer to a unique entity, e.g.:
| σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (SCid). | You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God! (Mt 16:16) |
For this very reason the subject complement has the article in almost all the self-testimonies of Jesus in the Gospel of John, e.g.:
| ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς (SCid). | I am the bread of life. (Jn 6:35) |
| ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου (SCid). | I am the light of the world. (Jn 8:12) |
c) in definitions where the subject and its complement are expressly said to have the same reference, e.g.:
| ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία (SCid). | Sin is lawlessness. (1Jn 3:4) |
3. Word-order appears to be a relevant factor, too (↑BDF §273):
a) If the complement phrase with virtually equating function comes after the subject phrase (which is the standard word-order), it has the article in the great majority of NT instances:
S+(P)+art.+SCid/NP (↑128b), e.g.:
| ἐγώ (S) εἰμι (P) τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου (SCid). | I am the light of the world. (Jn 8:12) |
b) However, if it precedes the subject phrase (which is the less frequent word-order), it typically does not have the article:
(no art.)+SCid/NP+(P)+S, e.g.:
| … _ φῶς (SCid) εἰμι (P/S) τοῦ κόσμου | … I am the light of the world. (Jn 9:5) |
| (attributive modifier of SCid). |
Note that when this latter pattern is used, it does not necessarily follow that the two entities are meant to be equated; often only classification is involved (the linguistic and non-linguistic context shows what is actually intended; ↑135a[1]).
135b
II. Adjective and participle phrases used as adverbials (↑259c) never have the article:
1. adjective phrases used as adverbials (↑137e), e.g.:
| ὁ ἄλλος μαθητής … ἦλθεν _ πρῶτος εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον. | The other disciple … came to the tomb first. (Jn 20:4) |
2. participle phrases used as adverbials (or as predicative elements; ↑229b), e.g.: _ ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεύς … And when the king heard … (Mt 2:3)
135c
Important points relevant to text interpretation:
1. Sometimes it is hard to tell which of two noun phrases in the nominative is the subject and which should be considered its complement (SCid). In such a case the following points may be helpful:
←192 | 193→a) Typically, subject phrases are (notionally) definite, complements (SCid) are not or less “strongly” so. A variety of different types of expressions may be regarded as definite (i.e. the person who uses such expressions presupposes that by them it becomes sufficiently clear what is being referred to). The “strength” of their definiteness may, however, vary. Bearing this in mind, four types of expressions may be distinguished (in decreasing order of “strength”; 1–3 are as it were inherently definite). Note that when assigning the subject role to a noun phrase, the “stronger” types have priority over the “weaker” ones (e.g. [1] over [2] in 1Cor 6:11, [2] over [3] in Mt 14:2 and [3] over [4] in 1Jn 5:5):
(1) Personal pronouns (S) or personal endings of the finite verb (P/S), e.g.:
| ὑμεῖς (S) δὲ γένος ἐκλεκτόν (SCid). | But you are a/the chosen race. (1Pe 2:9) |
| θεοῦ οἰκοδομή (SCid) ἐστε (P/S). | You are God's building. (1Cor 3:9) |
(2) Demonstrative pronouns (sometimes also relative pronouns) as noun substitutes, e. g.:
| Οὗτός (S) ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ … (SCid) | This is the disciple who … (Jn 21:24) |
| … ἅ (S) ἐστιν σκιά (SCid) … | … these are a shadow … (Col 2:17) |
| ταῦτα (SCid) … ἦτε (P/S[1]). | … you used to be that. (1Cor 6:11) |
(3) Proper names (with or without the article), e. g.:
| ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν (SCid) Ἀβραάμ (S) ἐστιν. | Abraham is our father. (Jn 8:39) |
| σὺ (S[1]) εἶ Πέτρος (SCid). | You are Peter. (Mt 16:18) |
| οὗτός (S[2]) ἐστιν Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστής (SCid). | This is John the Baptist. (Mt 14:2) |
(4) Common nouns (↑22a) explicitly made definite (by means of the article; also ↑133b; 134b), e. g.:
| ῥίζα (SCid)… ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία (S). | The love of money is a/the root … (1Tm 6:10) |
| ὁ ἔχων τὴν νύμφην (S) νυμφίος (SCid) ἐστίν. | He who has the bride is the bridegroom. (Jn 3:29) |
| ὑμεῖς (S[1]) γάρ ἐστε ἡ δόξα ἡμῶν (SCid). | For you are our glory. (1Th 2:20) |
| Οὗτός (S[2]) ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ … (SCid). | This is the disciple who … (Jn 21:24) |
| Ἰησοῦς (S[3]) ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (SCid). | Jesus is the Son of God. (1Jn 5:5) |
b) If both noun phrases have the same “strength” of definiteness (similarly if both are indefinite), the first is typically the subject and the second the subject complement (SCid).
If the two phrases differ with regard to the grammatical person, the following criterion is to be taken into account (already done so in the above examples): The phrase that agrees with the finite verb form, is to be regarded as the subject, e.g.:
| ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἡμῶν (SCid) ὑμεῖς (S) ἐστε. | You yourselves are our letter. (2Cor 3:2) |
| οὐ τὸ ἔργον μου (SCid) ὑμεῖς (S) ἐστε ἐν κυρίῳ; | Are you not my work in the Lord? (1Cor 9:1) |
| σὺ (S) εἶ ὁ χριστός (SCid). | You are the Messiah. (Mk 8:29) |
| ὑμεῖς (S) ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς (SCid). | You are the salt of the earth. (Mt 5:13) |
| σὺ (S) εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος (SCid); | Are you the one who is to come? (Mt 11:3) |
| οὗ πάντες ἡμεῖς (S) ἐσμεν μάρτυρες (SCid). | Of that we are all witnesses. (Ac 2:32) |
| ἡμεῖς (S) γάρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή (SCid). | For we are the [true] circumcision. (Php 3:3) |
When the grammatical person is the same, a sentence may be syntactically ambiguous, e. g.:
| ὁ δὲ κύριος τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν. | Now the Lord is the Spirit. (2Cor 3:17) |
When faced with this type of ambiguity, in fact when dealing with text interpretation in general, we often need to go beyond a purely grammatical level and look at things from a more semantic-communicative perspective. In this particular case taking into account the theme–rheme distinction (on this ↑301c) has proved helpful: Basically a sentence is made up of two information units, (1) the “theme”, i.e. the part of information that is thought to be known, (2) the “rheme”, i.e. the part of information that is new. Generally speaking, the theme is communicated by the grammatical subject and the rheme by the grammatical predicate (↑127b). Quite often, however, it is the other way round.
←193 | 194→Among the above examples this is true inter alia of 1Cor 6:11, Jn 8:39, 2Cor 3:2, and Mt 11:3, where (as indicated by the context) the subject complement (SCid) corresponds to the theme and the subject to the rheme. Locating the theme (known information) and the rheme (new information) of a sentence is usually more helpful in interpreting texts than a purely grammatical analysis of sentence constituents. In the following sentence, for instance, the grammatical analysis of the sentence constituents is indisputable; only a careful analysis of the linguistic and non-linguistic contexts, however, will show which part of the sentence is to be regarded as the theme or the rheme respectively:
| … ὅτι Ἰησοῦς (S) ἐστιν ὁ χριστός (SCid) … | … that Jesus is the Messiah … (Jn 20:31) |
2. Adjective or participle phrases without the article rarely serve as attributive modifiers of noun phrases (↑136). They may, however, do so, when the head of the noun phrase is indefinite. In such a case the context normally indicates the intended syntactic role (adverbial or attributive; ↑229b). When adjective or participle phrases have the article they are always used as attributive modifiers or else (with the head being nominalized, noun substitutes) as noun phrases (↑132d; 136a; 229b).
For a thorough and exegetically helpful treatment of the above subject–complement problem (including “Colwell’s Rule” connected with it) ↑Wallace 1996: 256–270.
On questions of concord ↑263 and 265.
Article use and the attributive and predicative positions (↑BR §150–153; BDF §269–272; Z §186–192.)
136a
1. An attributive modifier (variously expressed; ↑260c–260m) that modifies a definite head noun regularly appears as it were “bracketed”, either
a) between the article and the head noun, e.g.:
| τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα | the “impure”/evil spirit (Mt 12:43) |
| ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις | the/your faith in Christ (↑Col 2:5) |
or
b) after the head noun with the article being repeated, e.g.:
| τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον | the “impure”/evil spirit (Mk 1:26) |
| ἡ πίστις … ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν | the/your faith in God (1Th 1:8) |
This “bracket” position (↑a/b above) is called attributive position (also ↑136c/136d).
The repeated article (↑b above) may be absent, when there is more than one attributive modifier, especially when its head is a verbal noun (i.e. one referring to an activity or relation; ↑BDF §269.1), e. g.:
| τὴν ἐμὴν ἀναστροφήν _ ποτε ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ | my former way of life in Judaism (Ga 1:13) |
| τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην _ ἐν πνεύματι | your love [given] by the Spirit. (Col 1:8) |
When there is already an adjective or participle phrase between the article and the head, a further attributive modifier placed after the head need not have the article repeated (↑BDF §269.5), e. g.:
| ἐκ τῆς ματαίας ὑμῶν ἀναστροφῆς _ πατροπαραδότου | from your futile way of life handed down from your ancestors (1Pe 1:18) |
In such cases the repeated article may still be used, particularly when there is a special emphasis on the attributive modifier placed after its head noun (BDF §269.2), e. g.:
| ὁ πιστὸς οἰκονόμος ὁ φρόνιμος | the faithful [and] prudent manager (Lk 12:42) |
On the use of the article with the attributive modifier in the genitive ↑136e.
←194 | 195→The attributive modifier of an indefinite head noun in most cases has no article. At times, however, the attributive modifier placed after its head does have one (especially in KG, it seems; ↑BDF §270 Note 3); in such a case the attributive function of the phrase is made explicit; e.g.:
| καλὸν ἔργον | a good deed (Mk 14:6) |
| χαρὰν μεγάλην | great joy (Lk 2:10) |
| _ στολὴν τὴν πρώτην | a first-class robe (Lk 15:22) |
136b
2. Adjective (↑137) and participle phrases (↑229ff; 259o) that are used neither as attributive modifiers nor as noun phrases are without the article (they are outside the “bracket” position; ↑136a), i.e. either
a) before the article of a noun phrase, e.g.:
| μακάριοι (SC) οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι. | Blessed are the poor in spirit. (Mt 5:3) |
or
b) after the noun phrase, e.g.:
| ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή (SC). | The commandment is holy, righteous and good. (Ro 7:12) |
An example containing an object complement (S+P+Od+OC; ↑258a/258b; 259n):
| ὁ … τὸ αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης κοινὸν (OC) ἡγησάμενος | the one who … has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant (He 10:29) |
Adjective and participle phrases used in this way mostly have the role of a complement. As complements are also called “predicative” elements, this position is known traditionally as predicative position (↑136a/136c; 259o; on term ↑254c3).
136c
3. In a number of cases attributive modifiers appear in the same position as the uses of 136b. Traditionally the term “predicative” position is used here as well, clearly a misnomer: the form is the same, but its syntactic function is quite different. This use is (grammatically) obligatory with the following types of attributive modifiers:
a) the possessive genitives of non-reflexive personal pronouns (in most cases placed after the head noun; ↑57; 140b10), e.g.:
| τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ | his name (Mt 1:21) |
Note that the possessive genitives of reflexive personal pronouns may be in this “predicative” position, but more frequently (CG regularly) they are placed between the article and the head noun, e. g.:
| τὰ πρωτοτόκια ἑαυτοῦ | his (own) birthright (He 12:16) |
| τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα (more frequent position) | his own body (Ro 4:19) |
↑also Jd 16.18.
At times the same applies to demonstrative pronouns in the possessive genitive, e. g.:
| τὸ ἐκείνου θέλημα | his (the former one’s) will. (2Tm 2:26) |
| τὸ τέλος ἐκείνων | their end/the end of those things (Ro 6:21) |
b) the demonstrative pronouns (↑58; 141), e.g.:
| οὗτος ὁ τελώνης | this tax collector (Lk 18:11) |
| ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος | this man/person (Lk 23:47) |
Note that demonstratives like τοσοῦτος so much etc. (↑58f) are used like ordinary adjectives, e.g.:
| ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος (“bracket” position; ↑136a) | this great wealth (Re 18:17) |
c) partitive genitives (↑166; also ↑136f), e.g.:
| τοὺς πλείονας τῶν ἀδελφῶν | the majority of the brothers (Php 1:14) |
d) typically the (rarely occurring) dual pronoun ἀμφότεροι both (↑61c; 63a; regularly so CG ἄμφω both, ἑκάτερος each of two/either, and frequently ἕκαστος every/each [one]), e.g.:
| ἀμφότερα τὰ πλοῖα | both boats (Lk 5:7) |
136d
4. There are some words that may appear either in the “attributive” or “predicative” position, which, however, affects their meaning or function:
a) πᾶς (or “intensified” ἅπας, CG also σύμπας) and ὅλος, in the sg. (the) whole, in the pl. all (↑BDF §275; Z §188–191; for details ↑BDAG s.v.):
• “predicative” position (predominant; standard/unmarked NT/LXX position), e. g.:
| πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις | the whole creation (Ro 8:22) |
| πάντα τὰ ἔθνη | all (the) nations (Mt 28:19) |
• “attributive” position (less frequent; unusual/marked NT/LXX position); said to emphasize completeness as a unity (BR §153: “Vollständigkeit als einer Einheit”), e.g.:
| ὁ πᾶς νόμος | the whole/entire law (Ga 5:14) |
| οἱ πάντες ἄνδρες | the total number of men (Ac 19:7) |
In the sg. without the article it corresponds to every, especially with uncountable head nouns also to every/any kind of or all, in the pl. to all/any, e.g.:
| πᾶν πνεῦμα | every spirit (1Jn 4:2) |
| πᾶσα πικρία | every kind of/all bitterness (Eph 4:31) |
| πάντες ἄνθρωποι | all human beings/everybody (↑Php 4:5) |
In post-CG, however, especially (based on Hebrew usage) with LXX/NT names (↑134c), the sg. without the article occasionally corresponds to the whole/all (↑BDF §275 Note 4), e.g.:
| πᾶς Ἰσραήλ | all Israel (Ro 11:26) |
| πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (Var. πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή) | the whole building (Eph 2:21) |
In a nominalized sg. participle phrase (↑237) it corresponds to every(one) (not to the whole), e.g.:
| πᾶς ὁ ἀκούων | everyone who hears (Mt 7:26) | |
b) αὐτός (↑54c; 139d):
• “predicative” position, e.g.:
| αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος | the Lord himself (1Th 4:16) | ||
• “attributive” position, e.g.:
| τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα | the same Spirit 1Cor 12:11) |
c) In CG also a number of adjectives with a locative meaning (↑BR §152):
• “predicative” position (the adjective denotes one part of the entity referred to by the noun), e. g.:
| ἡ πόλις μέση / μέση ἡ πόλις | the middle of the city (↑similarly Eze 9:4 LXX) |
• “attributive” position, e. g.:
| ἡ μέση πόλις | the middle town (↑2Kgs 20:4 LXX) |
136e
5. For genitive noun phrases functioning as attributive modifiers (↑158b) there are four possible positions in NT Greek (a and b agree with CG usage as does 136f[1]); the phrase may be placed
a) between the article and the head noun (↑136a), e.g.:
| τὸ τῆς μεγάλης θεᾶς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερόν | the temple of the great goddess Artemis (Ac 19:27) |
b) after the head noun with the article repeated (↑136a), e. g.:
| τὴν διδασκαλίαν τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ | the teaching of God, our Saviour (Tt 2:10) |
c) after the head noun without any repeated article that would mark it as an attributive modifier:
• the head noun has the article, the attributive modifier in the genitive does not (KG usage), e.g.:
| ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶς. | For the love of Christ controls us. (2Cor 5:14) |
Phrases of the following type occur very frequently in the NT:
| ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | the kingdom of God (Mk 1:15 et pass.) |
| ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν | the kingdom of Heaven (Mt 3:2 et pass.) |
| τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ | the curtain of the temple (Mk 15:38) etc. |
• the head noun is without the article (as the genitive noun phrase functioning as its attributive modifier is without it; ↑133e), e. g.:
| _ δικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται. | For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (Ro 1:17) |
Frequently we also encounter phrases of the following kind:
| _ φίλος θεοῦ | God’s friend (Jas 2:23) |
| _ πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν | a multitude of sins (1Pe 4:8) |
136f
Further noteworthy points:
(1) Partitive genitives (↑166) are never in the “attributive” position (but in an attributive role!), e. g.:
| οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων | the other human beings/other people (Lk 18:11) |
(2) A genitive attributive modifier without repeated article may itself be modified by a preposition phrase, which in such a case need not have the article repeated either (↑BDF/BDR §269.1), e. g.:
| ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν _ μου _ κατὰ σάρκα | for my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Ro 9:3) |
↑also Php 1:5; Col 1:4; 2Th 3:14.
On questions of concord ↑263 and 265.
3.2.1.2 Syntax of the adjective (↑22b on word-class, ↑44–49 on forms, ↑147ff on cases)
Adjective phrases and their use (↑BR §150–153; 260f; BDF §241–243; 263f; 270; Z §140–142)
137a
I. Adjectives serve as the head of adjective phrases. Frequently the head stands alone. In many cases, however, it is expanded, if so: (a) mostly by the article; (b) but also by certain types of attributive modifiers; (c) more rarely by a complement (a “second degree object”; ↑254c) due to the valency of the adjective involved, e.g.:
| καινὴ (AdjP: adj. alone) κτίσις | a new creation (Ga 6:15) |
| ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος (AdjP with art.) | the new wine (Lk 5:37) |
| ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν (AdjP with Attr) | a very high mountain (Mt 4:8) |
| ←197 | 198→πάσης ἀποδοχῆς ἄξιος (AdjP with Og/2nd) | worthy of full acceptance (1Tm 4:9) |
II. Adjective phrases may have the following syntactic roles:
137b
1. as an attributive modifier of the head of a noun phrase, occurring in four possible types of word-order (↑260; 136a/136d):
a) between the article and the head noun, e.g.:
| ὁ δίκαιος κριτής | the righteous judge (2Tm 4:8) |
| ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη | the new covenant (Lk 22:20) |
b) after the head noun with the article (the one of the head noun being repeated), e. g.:
| ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός | the good shepherd (Jn 10:11) |
| τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν | the true light (Jn 1:9) |
c) after the head noun without the article (like the head noun; occurs frequently; but ↑136a), e.g.:
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος | eternal life (Ro 6:23) |
| ἔργον … καλόν | a good deed (Mt 26:10) |
d) before the head noun without the article (occurs somewhat less frequently), e. g.:
| καλὸς στρατιώτης | a good soldier (2Tm 2:3) |
| μικρὸν μέλος | a small member (Jas 3:5) |
137c
2. as a predicative element (↑258b; 136b; predicative position):
a) as an object complement (OC, S+P+Od+OC; ↑258b, 259p), e.g.:
| ἐγὼ δὲ ἔχω τὴν μαρτυρίαν μείζω (= μείζονα, OCprop) = ἡ μαρτυρία ἣν ἐγὼ ἔχω μείζων ἐστίν / ἐγὼ ἔχω μαρτυρίαν ἣ μείζων ἐστίν. | “I have the testimony as a greater one” = The testimony that I have is greater ≈ I have a greater testimony. (Jn 5:36; BDF §270.1; Z §186) |
↑also Mt 12:10 (Var.); He 7:24; similarly also 1Cor 11:5.
Analogously also the participle perfect passive in its adjective use:
| πεπωρωμένην (OCprop) ἔχετε τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν; (↑233d) | “Do you have your heart as a hardened one?” ≈ Do you have a hardened heart? ≈ Is your heart hardened? ↑Fr. (TOB:) Avez-vous le cœur endurci? (Mk 8:17) |
↑also Mk 3:1; Eph 1:17f.
b) as a subject complement (SC, S+[P]+SC; ↑258a) with or without copula verb εἰμί to be or γίνομαι to become (↑256c/256d; also ↑231k), e. g.:
| ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή (SC). | The commandment is holy, righteous, and good. (Ro 7:12) |
| γίνου πιστὸς (SC) ἄχρι θανάτου. | Be faithful until death! (Re 2:10) |
137d
3. It may also be nominalized:
←198 | 199→a) With or without the article (in the latter case frequently with an adjectival noun concomitant; also ↑132d, especially with regard to the meaning of the neuter), e.g.:
| τοῖς ἁγίοις | to the saints (Eph 1:1) |
| κλητοῖς ἁγίοις | to “called saints” = to persons called to be saints (Ro 1:7; 1Cor 1:2) |
| τὸ κακόν | (the) wrong = what is wrong (Ro 13:4) |
| κακόν | a wrong = anything wrong (Ro 13:10) |
| τὰ κακά | (the) evil things = evil (Ro 3:8) |
| κακά | evil things = evil (1Pe 3:12) |
b) Due to frequent nominalization many adjectives tend to be viewed no longer as adjectives, but as nouns (↑260c), e.g.:
| ἡ ἔρημος (sc. χώρα/γῆ land) | the wilderness/desert (↑ e.g. Mt 3:3) |
On this ellipsis and the one of ἡμέρα day, ὥρα hour etc.↑260c; 293c (↑BDF §241).
c) Especially Paul seems to have a liking for the neuter singular of an adjective taking the place of an abstract noun (↑132d; also CG and literary KG), e.g.:
| τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ = ἡ χρηστότης … | God’s kindness (Ro 2:4) |
| τὸ δυνατὸν αὐτοῦ = τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ | his power (Ro 9:22) |
137e
4. There are a number of adjectives that may be used as adverbials: in such a case the adjective phrase does not (as an attributive modifier) modify the noun phrase it shows concord with, but the “action” referred to by the verb (↑259a–259m, 259q; 258c; for the very frequent analogous use of participles also ↑230–232); note that adjective phrases used in this way never have the article (↑135b), e.g.:
| δευτεραῖοι (TempA) ἤλθομεν … | on the second day we arrived … (Ac 28:13) |
↑also Lk 24:22 (ὀρθριναί early in the morning).
| εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν (ManA) τοῦτο πράσσω … εἰ δὲ ἄκων (ManA) … | For if I do this voluntarily …; if not voluntarily … (1Cor 9:17) |
↑also Lk 1:6 (ἄμεμπτοι blamelessly); Mk 4:28/Ac 12:10 (αὐτομάτη by itself); Ac 27:19 (αὐτόχειρες with their own hands); 2Cor 8:17 (αὐθαίρετος of his own accord).
| ὅπου αὐτὸν ἐσταύρωσαν, καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἄλλους δύο …, μέσον (LocA) δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν. | There they crucified him, and with him two others …, and Jesus in the middle. (Jn 19:18) |
↑also Lk 22:55; 23:45; Jn 1:26; Ac 1:18.
| σκηνοῦμεν ὑπαίθριοι (LocA). | We are encamped under the open sky. (Xenophon, Anabasis 5.5.21) |
On terminology ↑259o.
On questions of concord ↑261–265; on pleonastic καί ↑252.29,8.
On possible complements to be expected with certain adjectives (due to their valency) ↑163b; 165; 219; 225a; 254d; 258d.
Note that in the NT noun phrases in the genitive of quality may replace an adjective phrase. On this ↑162; 260c/260e.
←199 | 200→138
Comparison (↑50–52 on forms; ↑BR §253.21; 183, BDF §244–246; Z §143–153)
Properties are typically denoted by (basic form) adjectives. When entities are compared with regard to a gradable property, a higher degree is generally expressed by comparative forms and the highest degree by superlative forms. Sometimes a very high degree rather than the highest is expressed by forms otherwise used as superlatives, which may be called “elative” (or “absolute” superlative, i.e. one without involving any comparison; ↑138b). – On sentence/text level comparisons ↑287; 343ff.
138a
I. Comparative forms are generally connected with an element that in English is introduced by “than”. In Ancient Greek there are two ways of marking the “than” element (an attributive modifier of the comparative adjective [or adverb]; ↑260o):