six brothers are my witnesses.10
PRONOUNS: PART 2
OTHER TYPES OF PRONOUNS
10.1. In chapter 4 you met the personal pronouns: first, second, and third person. The words ἐγώ/ἡμεῖς, σύ/ὑμεῖς, and αὐτός/αὐτή/αὐτό should all be very familiar by now. In this chapter, you will meet several other types of pronouns.
The English demonstratives are this/these and that/those. These words may be used as pronouns, in which case we call them demonstrative pronouns:
This is what I am going to do.
Those must be painted.
The same words may also be used as adjectives; in this instance they modify nouns and are called demonstrative adjectives:
This course is a piece of cake!
These cookies are as hard as rocks.
The words this and these are called near demonstratives; that and those are named far demonstratives. This is not a spatial relationship but refers to what is uppermost in the speaker’s mind (“near”) or more remote conceptually (“far”).
Greek demonstratives function much like English demonstratives.
Near Demonstrative Forms
10.2. The forms of the demonstratives are easy, since they are little more than two new vocabulary words to learn. They use the same set of case endings that you already know, and they occur in each of the three genders. Here is what they look like. Do the bold portions of these words look familiar? Compare them to the forms on the article chart.
Near Demonstrative Pronoun
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | οὗτος | αὕτη | τοῦτο |
| GS | τούτου | ταύτης | τούτου |
| DS | τούτῳ | ταύτῃ | τούτῳ |
| AS | τοῦτον | ταύτην | τοῦτο |
| NP | οὗτοι | αὗται | ταῦτα |
| GP | τούτων | τούτων | τούτων |
| DP | τούτοις | ταύταις | τούτοις |
| AP | τούτους | ταύτας | ταῦτα |
One tricky thing to remember about the demonstratives is that the nominative forms do not look like the other case forms. In the lexicon this word is listed alphabetically under οὗτος (that is, the masculine singular nominative form), but when you shift to any of the oblique cases, the rough breathing drops off and is replaced by a tau. The nominative plural retains the rough breathing. Likewise, the feminine forms follow the same pattern. The tau is present throughout in the neuter. Do notice that the genitive plural form in the feminine has omicron as the second letter rather than the characteristic alpha. This means that the genitive plural form by itself does not distinguish gender.
Far Demonstrative Forms
10.3. The far demonstrative is very consistent; it has none of the morphological variations of its near cousins.
Far Demonstrative Pronoun
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | ἐκεῖνος | ἐκείνη | ἐκεῖνο |
| GS | ἐκείνου | ἐκείνης | ἐκείνου |
| DS | ἐκείνῳ | ἐκείνῃ | ἐκείνῳ |
| AS | ἐκεῖνον | ἐκείνην | ἐκεῖνο |
| NP | ἐκεῖνοι | ἐκεῖναι | ἐκεῖνα |
| GP | ἐκείνων | ἐκείνων | ἐκείνων |
| DP | ἐκείνοις | ἐκείναις | ἐκείνοις |
| AP | ἐκείνους | ἐκείνας | ἐκεῖνα |
Although the article does not show up on the end of the far demonstrative like it does in the near demonstratives, the same case endings are used here—and you already know them from their use on nouns and adjectives.
The Use of Demonstratives
Demonstratives as Substantives
10.4. The demonstratives may be used substantivally:
This person/thing (or this one/man/woman)
That person/thing (or that one/man/woman)
Follow natural gender in translating; translate masculine forms with an English phrase that implies reference to someone of the male sex (or, if the context suggests, a generic form that may refer to either sex), translate feminine forms in such a way as to represent female sex, and so forth. Word meanings and the referent of the pronoun may suggest otherwise in some cases, and English may have conventions that differ from Greek at this point.
| John 1:34, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. | This one is the Son of God. |
| Mark 4:15–16, οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν· καὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη. | Now these are the ones along the road; and these are the ones on the rocky ground. |
| John 9:28, Σὺ μαθητὴς εἶ ἐκείνου, ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐσμὲν μαθηταί. | You are a disciple of that one, but we are disciples of Moses. |
| Hab. 2:13, οὐ ταῦτά ἐστιν παρὰ κυρίου παντοκράτορος; | Are not these things from the Lord Almighty? |
Demonstratives as Adjectives
10.5. A demonstrative can also be used as an adjective (this/that x). It will be in predicate position to the noun that it modifies (that is, there will not be an article in front of it), but do not supply a verb. Both ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος (this second predicate position is more common in the NT) and οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος (the less common first predicate position) mean “this man.”[1]
| Mark 14:71, Οὐκ οἶδα τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον. | I do not know this man. |
| Mark 15:39, Ἀληθῶς οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος υἱὸς θεοῦ ἦν. | Truly this man was the Son of God. |
| Prov. 1:19, αὗται αἱ ὁδοί εἰσιν πάντων τῶν συντελούντων τὰ ἄνομα· τῇ γὰρ ἀσεβείᾳ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν ἀφαιροῦνται. | These are the ways of all who perpetrate lawless deeds, for by unrighteousness they take away their own life. |
A common adjectival use of the far demonstrative is in expressions of time.
| Mark 4:35, λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. | He said to them in that day. |
| Mark 8:1, Ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις πάλιν [there was] πολλοῦ ὄχλου. | In those days there was a large crowd. |
| Num. 9:6, οὐκ ἠδύναντο (they were able) ποιῆσαι τὸ πάσχα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ προσῆλθον (they came) ἐναντίον Μωϋσῆ καὶ Ἀαρὼν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. | They were not able to observe the Passover in that day, and so they came before Moses and Aaron in that day. |
Demonstratives as Personal Pronouns
10.6. Sometimes you can represent a demonstrative in English simply as a personal pronoun: he/she/it. This is what is sometimes referred to as a weakened demonstrative. Of course the beginning student’s question is, How do I know when this is the case? To which the standard answer is forthcoming: “context”![2] One of the context clues is to ask if there is any sort of contrast implied in the context: does the writer intend you to think about this person as opposed to some other person? Or is the writer simply referring to an individual “on his (or her) own”? A contrast should usually be maintained with this/that, but if there is no contrast, a simple English he/she/it is probably adequate.
Here are two examples of demonstratives that appear to have the weakened force of a personal pronoun:
| Luke 1:32, οὗτος ἔσται (will be) μέγας καὶ υἱὸς ὑψίστου (of the highest) κληθήσεται (he will be called). | He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Highest. |
It would be possible to translate this sentence as “This one will be great”—but that is somewhat clumsy English, and the context does not suggest any particular reason to specify “this one” as opposed to “that one.”[3]
| John 1:8, οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς. | He was not the light. |
| Gen. 10:9, οὗτος ἦν γίγας κυνηγὸς ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ· διὰ τοῦτοa ἐροῦσιν (they will say), Ὡς Νεβρὼδ γίγας κυνηγὸς ἐναντίον κυρίου. | He was a mighty hunter before the Lord God; on account of this they will say, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” |
a διὰ τοῦτο; see §9.18. |
|
| Mark 9:7, Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός. | |
| John 21:7, λέγει οὖν ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος τῷ Πέτρῳ, Ὁ κύριός ἐστιν. | |
| John 1:2, οὗτος ἦν (was) ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. | |
| John 1:19, αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Ἰωάννου. | |
| John 1:41, εὑρίσκει οὗτος πρῶτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἴδιον Σίμωνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Εὑρήκαμεν (we have found) τὸν Μεσσίαν. | |
| John 20:13, λέγουσιν αὐτῇ ἐκεῖνοι, Γύναι,a τί κλαίεις; | |
a Vocative case; see app. D. |
|
| Gen. 31:43, τί ποιήσωa ταύταιςb σήμερον ἢ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῶν; | |
|
a “What shall I do?” (τί is an interrogative pronoun; see §12.13). b Be sure you notice the gender of this pronoun. To whom does it refer? |
|
| Jon. 4:2, προσεύξατο (he prayed) πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν (he said), Ὦ κύριε,a οὐχ οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι μου ἔτι ὄντος μουb ἐν τῇ γῇ μου; | |
|
a Vocative case; see app. D. b ἔτι ὄντος μου, “while I was still living” (This is a genitive absolute construction, which you will learn about in chap. 27.) |
|
| Mark 4:20, ἐκεῖνοί εἰσιν οἱa ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν σπαρέντες (sown). | |
a The article οἱ governs σπαρέντες (“the ones sown”), not the prepositional phrase, which modifies σπαρέντες in first attributive position. |
|
Sometimes a demonstrative implies a physical gesture. In the following example you can almost see Peter pointing to the six men who stood with him as he explained to the church in Jerusalem why he had been so bold as to enter the home of a Gentile and eat with him: these six brothers are my witnesses.
| Acts 11:12, ἦλθον δὲ σὺν ἐμοὶ καὶ οἱ ἓξ ἀδελφοὶ οὗτοι καὶ εἰσήλθομεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀνδρός. |
[The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.] These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. (NIV) |
10.9. In addition to demonstrative pronouns, Greek also has what is called a relative pronoun. Since English also has a relative pronoun that functions very much like its older Greek cousin, we will begin with English and then compare Greek usage. English usage is more important than usual here, since relative pronouns are used in such diverse ways in our own language. How one translates a Greek relative pronoun (and the relative clause that it introduces) is largely a matter of English grammar. The syntactical form functions similarly in both languages; relative clauses in Greek are almost always translated by the same formal structure in English.
English Relative Pronouns
10.10. The relative pronouns in English include such words as who (or the objective and possessive forms: whom, whose), which, what, and that.[4] Relative clause refers to the relative pronoun and the clause that it introduces. In the following sentence the relative clause is italicized.
The boy who is driving the tractor is my grandson Cody.
Relative clauses can function as a unit in a sentence and can take the place of a noun (or sometimes an adjective). Compare the following sentence pairs, and note how the italicized words function syntactically in each sentence.
| I eat clams. | “Clams” is the direct object of the sentence. |
| I eat what is served me. | The relative clause functions in the sentence as the direct object the same way that “clams” does in the previous sentence. |
| Ryan is not against me. | “Ryan” is the subject. |
| Whoever is with me is not against me. | The relative clause is the subject. |
| Give the Bible to Audrey. | “Audrey” is the object of the preposition. |
| Give the Bible to whoever asks for it. | The relative clause is the object of the preposition. |
10.11. In the examples just cited, the relative clause functions the same as the simple noun. Other times the antecedent of a relative pronoun is an entire clause, in which case the relative introduces an adjectival clause.
We are going to study Greek tonight, which is the wise thing to do.
The relative pronouns which and what (and their indefinite forms, whichever and whatever) can be used as adjectives, in which case they are often called pronominal adjectives, that is, pronouns functioning as adjectives. In the following two examples, the relative pronoun modifies the noun “book”:
I know which book I am going to order: BDAG!
Whatever books you buy, you need to get BDAG.
Greek Relative Pronouns
10.12. The relative pronoun in Greek functions very much as it does in English. We will first learn what the relative pronouns look like, then consider some principles as to how they function in sentences, and finally look at a number of examples.
Forms of the Greek Relative Pronoun
10.13. Compare the forms on the chart below with similar forms that you have already learned.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | English Equivalent | ||
| NS | ὅς | ἥ | ὅ | who, which, that | |
| GS | οὗ | ἧς | οὗ | whose, of whom | |
| DS | ᾧ | ᾗ | ᾧ | to whom, which | |
| AS | ὅν | ἥν | ὅ | whom, which, that | |
| NP | οἵ | αἵ | ἅ | who, which, that | |
| GP | ὧν | ὧν | ὧν | whose, of whom | |
| DP | οἷς | αἷς | οἷς | to whom, which | |
| AP | οὕς | ἅς | ἅ | whom, which, that |
ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ are all forms of the article. To keep the article and the relative pronoun distinct, remember that the relative pronoun always has a rough breathing mark and an accent mark. The article has only a rough breathing mark. In many cases the basic difference between the article and relative pronoun is that the article begins with a tau but the relative pronoun uses a rough breathing mark instead. The word ἦν, with a smooth breathing and circumflex accent, is a form of εἰμί, “he/she/it was” (you will learn this form in chap. 16), whereas the relative pronoun is ἥν, with a rough breathing and an acute accent.
a Conybeare and Stock, Grammar of Septuagint Greek, §69.
Grammar of the Relative Pronoun
10.14. Relative pronouns most commonly relate a clause (called a relative clause) to a previous statement.[5] The word in the previous statement to which the relative pronoun refers is the antecedent, just as with other pronouns. The number and gender of a relative pronoun are determined by its antecedent (just like a personal pronoun). The case of a relative pronoun is determined by its function in its own clause. Most relative pronouns stand at the head of the relative clause. The most common exception to that principle is when the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, in which case it follows the preposition.
| Mark 1:2, ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου. | I will send my messenger, who will prepare your way. |
In this example, the relative pronoun, ὅς, is nominative because it functions as the subject of the verb κατασκευάσει (will prepare). It is masculine singular to agree with its antecedent, τὸν ἄγγελον, in the preceding clause.
The relative clause is always a subordinate clause. That is, it never expresses the main idea of the sentence. In the example just above, the main idea is “I will send my messenger.” The subordinate, relative clause then tells us something further about that statement—in this case, what the messenger is going to do.
10.15. If a relative pronoun does not have an antecedent, it is often translated as “the one who” or “the ones who” or “that which.” There are other viable English equivalents that may sound better in various contexts: “he who,” “those whom,” and so on.[6] In these instances the relative clause is functioning substantivally, taking the place of a noun.
| Mark 3:13, ἀναβαίνει (he ascended) εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ προσκαλεῖται (he summoned) οὓς ἤθελεν (he desired) αὐτός. | He ascended the mountaina and summoned those whom he desired. |
a We do not say “he ascended into a mountain” in English, so the preposition εἰς is omitted in translation. |
|
Here the relative pronoun is in the accusative case because it is functioning as the direct object of the verb ἤθελεν (he desired); the subject of the clause is αὐτός. There is no antecedent for the pronoun in this example. The entire relative clause (οὓς ἤθελεν αὐτός) functions as the object of the main verb, προσκαλεῖται. He summoned not Grant, or Meghan, or the townspeople, but “those whom he desired.”
10.16. When a relative pronoun is combined with ἄν or ἐάν, the phrase expresses an indefinite idea.[7] Instead of translating as who, whom, which, and so forth, the indefinite form is whoever, whomever, whichever. Instead of referring to a specific person or thing, the indefinite is a general reference to anyone or anything that fits the description. These indefinite forms are used with a specific verb form that you have not yet learned, the subjunctive. Even though you will not understand why the verb is spelled the way it is in the examples that follow, you can still make good sense of the statements, using the parallel English text.
| Mark 3:35, ὃς ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος ἀδελφός μου καὶ ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν. | Whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother and sister and mother. |
The relative pronoun ὅς is nominative because it is the subject of ποιήσῃ, “he/she/it does.”
| Mark 8:35, ὃς ἐὰν θέλῃ (desires) τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι (to save) ἀπολέσει (will lose) αὐτήν. | Whoever desires to save their life will lose it. |
The subject of the main verb, ἀπολέσει, is the entire relative clause (ὃς ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι). ὅς is nominative since it is the subject of the verb θέλῃ in the relative clause. The reference of the entire verse is to “whoever” (ὃς ἐάν), so the translation uses singular they for αὐτοῦ (some might prefer the older generic he).
| 1 Macc. 2:41, ἐβουλεύσαντο (they decided) τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ λέγοντες (saying), Πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἐὰν ἔλθῃ (should come) ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς εἰς πόλεμον τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων,a πολεμήσωμεν (let us fight) κατέναντι αὐτοῦ. | They decided on that day saying, “Every person, whoever should come against us in battle on the Sabbath, let us fight against him.” |
a τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων, i.e., “on the Sabbath” (Σάββατον is customarily plural even if only one day is intended.) |
|
| Mark 7:13, ἀκυροῦντες (nullifying) τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ παραδόσει ὑμῶν ᾗ παρεδώκατε (you hand down). | [This is] nullifying the Word of God by your tradition, which you hand down. |
a If you are curious regarding the explanation, see Wallace, Greek Grammar, 337–39.
| Mark 10:39, ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν (said) αὐτοῖς, Τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω πίεσθε (you will drink). | |
| Mark 6:16, ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἔλεγεν (said), Ὃν ἐγὼ ἀπεκεφάλισα (beheaded) Ἰωάννην, οὗτος ἠγέρθη (is raised). | |
| John 2:22, ἐπίστευσαν τῇ γραφῇ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ὃν εἶπεν (he spoke) ὁ Ἰησοῦς. | |
| 3 Kgdms. (1 Kings) 2:11, αἱ ἡμέραι, ἃς ἐβασίλευσεν Δαυὶδ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραήλ, τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη· ἐν Χεβρὼν ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη ἑπτὰ καὶ ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ τριάκοντα τρία ἔτη. | |
| Dan. 3:96 (3:29 Eng.), νῦν ἐγὼ κρίνω ἵνα πᾶν ἔθνος καὶ πᾶσαι φυλαὶ καὶ πᾶσαι γλῶσσαι, ὃς ἂν βλασφημήσῃ (should blaspheme) εἰς τὸν κύριον τὸν θεὸν Σεδράχ, Μισάχ, Ἀβδεναγώ, διαμελισθήσεται (he will be dismembered) καὶ ἡ οἰκία αὐτοῦ δημευθήσεται (will be confiscated), διότι οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς ἕτερος ὃς δυνήσεται ἐξελέσθαιa οὕτως. | |
a δυνήσεται ἐξελέσθαι, “he is able to deliver” |
|
| John 6:9, Ἔστιν παιδάριον ὧδε ὃς ἔχει πέντε ἄρτους. |
In this example the relative pronoun does not agree in gender with its antecedent. The pronoun ὅς is masculine, but the antecedent, παιδάριον, is neuter. This is an instance of natural gender—the neuter παιδάριον refers to a boy in this instance, so the pronoun is masculine.
10.18. A reflexive pronoun is used when the object (either a direct object or the object of a preposition) refers back to the subject of the sentence. These words are usually the equivalent of the English compound pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. In some contexts the simple English pronoun is more appropriate. These words occur only in the oblique cases since they are never used as subjects. In the lexicon, they will appear as three separate entries (one for each person), listed under the genitive spelling:
1. ἐμαυτοῦ, ῆς, “myself”: This is the first-person reflexive pronoun. The lexical entry gives the masculine singular genitive and the feminine singular genitive forms. The chart below gives the complete set of these forms, although there are no feminine forms in the NT and only three each in the LXX[8] and Josephus; neuter forms do not occur at all.
2. σεαυτοῦ, ῆς, “yourself”: This entry gives the masculine and feminine genitive forms of the second-person reflexive pronouns. There are no feminine forms in the NT but 21 in the LXX;[9] neuter forms do not occur at all.
3. ἑαυτοῦ, ῆς, οῦ, “himself, herself, itself”: The three forms listed in the lexicon are masculine, feminine, and neuter (singular, genitive).
Forms of Reflexive Pronouns
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | |||
| Masc. | Fem. | Masc. | Fem. | |
| NS | — | — | — | — |
| GS | ἐμαυτοῦ | ἐμαυτῆς | σεαυτοῦ | σεαυτῆς |
| DS | ἐμαυτῷ | ἐμαυτῇ | σεαυτῷ | σεαυτῇ |
| AS | ἐμαυτόν | ἐμαυτήν | σεαυτόν | σεαυτήν |
| 3rd Person | |||
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | — | — | — |
| GS | ἑαυτοῦ | ἑαυτῆς | ἑαυτοῦ |
| DS | ἑαυτῷ | ἑαυτῇ | ἑαυτῷ |
| AS | ἑαυτόν | ἑαυτήν | ἑαυτό |
| NP | — | — | — |
| GP | ἑαυτῶν | ἑαυτῶν | ἑαυτῶν |
| DP | ἑαυτοῖς | ἑαυταῖς | ἑαυτοῖς |
| AP | ἑαυτούς | ἑαυτάς | ἑαυτά |
The first- and second-person reflexive pronouns have only singular forms. The plural forms of the third-person ἑαυτοῦ also function as plurals for the first and second person. Context must determine if first or second person is intended. See ἑαυτά in 1 John 5:21 (§10.20) for an example of the plural used for second person.
10.19. Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
| John 5:31, Ἐὰν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἡ μαρτυρία μου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθής. | If I testify concerning myself, my testimony is not true. |
| John 17:19, ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἁγιάζω (I set apart) ἐμαυτόν. | On their behalf I set myself apart. |
| Matt. 15:30, προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ ἔχοντες μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν χωλούς, τυφλούς, κυλλούς, κωφούς, καὶ ἑτέρους πολλούς. | Many crowds came to him having with thema the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. |
a Here the simple pronoun is necessary in English; reading this as “themselves” would be very awkward. |
|
| Zech. 12:12–14, κόψεται (it will mourn) ἡ γῆ κατὰ φυλὰς φυλάς,a | The land will mourn tribes by tribes, |
| φυλὴ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς, | a tribe by itself and their wives by themselves, |
| φυλὴ οἴκου Δαυὶδ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς, | the tribe of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves, |
| φυλὴ οἴκου Νάθαν καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς, | the tribe of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves, |
| φυλὴ οἴκου Λευὶ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς, | the tribe of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves, |
| φυλὴ τοῦ Συμεὼν καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς, | the tribe of Simeon by itself and their wives by themselves, |
| πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ αἱ ὑπολελειμμέναι φυλὴ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ᾿ ἑαυτάς. | all the tribes that are left, tribe by itself and their wives by themselves. |
a The English parallel gives a formal equivalent that reflects the fact that φυλάς is plural; idiomatically we would say, “each tribe by itself.” |
|
This text is interesting in the repetition of the reflexive pronouns in a formulaic manner. Each section is formatted here to begin on a new line so that you can see the parallels more easily. The preposition κατά (spelled καθ᾿ before a vowel with rough breathing) is used in a distributive sense.
| Mark 4:17, οὐκ ἔχουσιν ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. | |
| Mark 5:5, ἦν κατακόπτωνa ἑαυτὸν λίθοις. | |
a ἦν κατακόπτων, “he was cutting” |
|
| Mark 12:31, Ἀγαπήσεις (Love!) τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. | |
| 1 John 5:21, Τεκνία, φυλάξατε (guard!) ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων. | |
| Apoc. Sedr. 1.11, ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ἑαυτὸν φρεναπατᾷ.a | |
a This is a contract verb; you will learn why the ending changes from -ει to -ᾳ in chap. 21. It is the 3rd sg. pres. act. ind. of φρεναπατάω. |
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| 1 Clem. 17.3–4, Ἰὼβ ἦν (was) δίκαιος καὶ ἄμεμπτος, ἀληθινός, θεοσεβής. ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ κατηγορεῖ,a Οὐδεὶς καθαρὸς ἀπὸ ῥύπου. | |
a When κατηγορέω (a technical legal term: “I bring charges in court”) is used with a genitive, the word in the genitive identifies against whom the charge is brought. |
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10.21. When a speaker wants to refer to a relationship involving two parties equally in a give-and-take relationship (which may include the speaker or may be two other parties), the reciprocal pronoun can be used: ἀλλήλων, “one another.” Since there are always two (or more) parties involved, this word only occurs in the plural. Only masculine forms are found in the NT, but both feminine and neuter forms are found in the LXX and other Koine writings.[10] Due to the nature of the relationship, a reciprocal pronoun cannot be the subject of a sentence, so no nominative forms occur.
Forms of Reciprocal Pronouns
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NP | — | — | — |
| GP | ἀλλήλων | ἀλλήλων | ἀλλήλων |
| DP | ἀλλήλοις | ἀλλήλαις | ἀλλήλοις |
| AP | ἀλλήλους | ἀλλήλας | ἄλληλα |
10.22. Examples of Reciprocal Pronouns
| Eph. 4:25, ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων μέλη. | We are members of one another. |
| 1 John 1:7, κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων. | We have fellowship with one another. |
| John 13:14, εἰ οὖν ἐγὼ ἔνιψα (I washed) ὑμῶν τοὺς πόδας (feet) ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος, καὶ ὑμεῖς ὀφείλετε ἀλλήλων νίπτειν (to wash) τοὺς πόδας. | Therefore if I, Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. |
| Amos 4:1, 3, Ἀκούσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, δαμάλεις τῆς Βασανίτιδος· Ἐξενεχθήσεσθε γυμναὶ κατέναντι ἀλλήλωνa καὶ ἀπορριφήσεσθε εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ Ῥεμμάν, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός. | Hear this word, heifers of Bashan: “You will be carried out naked before one another and cast out on Mount Remman,” says the Lord God. |
a ἀλλήλων is feminine since it refers to the “heifers” (δάμαλις), which in this context is probably a figurative reference to wealthy women. |
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| Gal. 5:13, διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε (serve!) ἀλλήλοις. | |
| 1 Thess. 4:9, ὑμεῖς θεοδίδακτοί (“God-taught”) ἐστε εἰς τὸ ἀγαπᾶνa ἀλλήλους. | |
a εἰς τὸ ἀγαπᾶν, “to love” (an infinitive construction you will learn in chap. 22). |
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| Exod. 25:20, οἱ χερουβὶμ will have τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν εἰς ἄλληλα.a | |
a The neuter ἄλληλα is used to agree with πρόσωπα. |
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10.24. Although the genitive form of the personal pronoun may be used to indicate possession (e.g., ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ, “the Word of God”), Greek also has a class of adjectives that can be used (though less commonly) for this purpose.[11] These are called possessive adjectives. These include the singular forms ἐμός, ή, όν (“my, mine”) and σός, ή, όν (“your”), and the plural forms ἡμέτερος, α, ον (“our”) and ὑμέτερος, α, ον (“your”). All these forms decline using the same endings as a regular adjective, function in sentences like any other adjective in both position and meaning, and will agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.
Forms of Possessive Adjectives
10.25. The first-person singular form, ἐμός, “my,” the possessive adjective form of ἐγώ, is used 76 times in the NT and 104 times in the LXX. The first-person plural, ἡμέτερος, “our,” occurs only 7 times in the NT and 22 times in the LXX. These words are declined below. There is no need to memorize these charts; you already know the endings, so all that is necessary is to recognize the word with its various endings. Not all of the forms shown in the following tables occur in the NT, though most of them do occur in the LXX or in other Koine texts. (The same is true of the second-person forms below.)
First-Person Singular Possessive Adjective
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | ἐμός | ἐμή | ἐμόν |
| GS | ἐμοῦ | ἐμῆς | ἐμοῦ |
| DS | ἐμῷ | ἐμῇ | ἐμῷ |
| AS | ἐμόν | ἐμήν | ἐμόν |
| NP | ἐμοί | ἐμαί | ἐμά |
| GP | ἐμῶν | ἐμῶν | ἐμῶν |
| DP | ἐμοῖς | ἐμαῖς | ἐμοῖς |
| AP | ἐμούς | ἐμάς | ἐμά |
First-Person Plural Possessive Adjective
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | ἡμέτερος | ἡμετέρα | ἡμέτερον |
| GS | ἡμετέρου | ἡμετέρας | ἡμετέρου |
| DS | ἡμετέρῳ | ἡμετέρᾳ | ἡμετέρῳ |
| AS | ἡμέτερον | ἡμετέραν | ἡμέτερον |
| NP | ἡμέτεροι | ἡμέτεραι | ἡμέτερα |
| GP | ἡμετέρων | ἡμετέρων | ἡμετέρων |
| DP | ἡμετέροις | ἡμετέραις | ἡμετέροις |
| AP | ἡμετέρους | ἡμετέρας | ἡμέτερα |
The second-person singular form, σός, “your,” the possessive form of σύ, is used 25 times in the NT and 135 times in the LXX. The second-person plural, ὑμέτερος, “our,” which occurs only 11 times in the NT and 4 times in the LXX, is not common in Koine. These terms decline as follows. As with the first-person forms, there is no need to memorize this chart, since you already know the endings.
Second-Person Singular Possessive Adjective
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | σός | σή | σόν |
| GS | σοῦ | σῆς | σοῦ |
| DS | σῷ | σῇ | σῷ |
| AS | σόν | σήν | σόν |
| NP | σοί | σαί | σά |
| GP | σῶν | σῶν | σῶν |
| DP | σοῖς | σαῖς | σοῖς |
| AP | σούς | σάς | σά |
Second-Person Plural Possessive Adjective
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
| NS | ὑμέτερος | ὑμετέρα | ὑμέτερον |
| GS | ὑμετέρου | ὑμετέρας | ὑμετέρου |
| DS | ὑμετέρῳ | ὑμετέρᾳ | ὑμετέρῳ |
| AS | ὑμέτερον | ὑμετέραν | ὑμέτερον |
| NP | ὑμέτεροι | ὑμέτεραι | ὑμέτερα |
| GP | ὑμετέρων | ὑμετέρων | ὑμετέρων |
| DP | ὑμετέροις | ὑμετέραις | ὑμετέροις |
| AP | ὑμετέρους | ὑμετέρας | ὑμέτερα |
10.26. Examples of Possessive Adjectives
| John 5:30, ἡ κρίσις ἡ ἐμὴ δικαία ἐστίν. | My judgment is righteous. |
| John 7:8, ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀναβαίνω εἰς τὴν ἑορτὴν ταύτην, ὅτι ὁ ἐμὸς καιρὸς οὔπω πεπλήρωται (is come). | I am not going up to this feast because my time is not yet come. |
| Mark 2:18, Διὰ τίa οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ τῶν Φαρισαίων νηστεύουσιν, οἱ δὲ σοὶb μαθηταὶ οὐ νηστεύουσιν; | “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?” |
|
a Διὰ τί, “Why?” b You may have noticed that the masc. pl. nom. form of the possessive adjective σός is identical to the accented form of the dative singular second-person personal pronoun σοί (§4.6). You can distinguish them in this example because the possessive adjective occurs where you would expect to find a modifier: first attributive position. |
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| John 4:42, τῇ τε γυναικὶa ἔλεγον (they said) ὅτι Οὐκέτι διὰ τὴν σὴν λαλιὰν πιστεύομεν. | They said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word.” |
a τῇ γυναικί, “to the woman” (dative, third declension) |
|
| Matt. 20:14, ἆρον (take!) τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε (go!). | Take what is yours and go. |
This example shows the substantival use of the pronoun with the article functioning as a nominalizer.
| Bar. 4:24, νῦν ἑωράκασιν (they see) αἱ πάροικοι Σιὼν τὴν ὑμετέραν αἰχμαλωσίαν. | The neighbors of Zion now see your captivity. |
| Prov. 1:13, τὴν κτῆσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πολυτελῆ καταλαβώμεθα (let us take), πλήσωμεν (let us fill) δὲ οἴκους ἡμετέρους σκύλων. | Let us take his expensive possessions, and let us fill our houses with plunder. |
| John 7:6, λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Ὁ καιρὸς ὁ ἐμὸς οὔπω πάρεστιν (is come), ὁ δὲ καιρὸς ὁ ὑμέτερος πάντοτέ ἐστιν ἕτοιμος. | |
| John 8:17, ἐν τῷ νόμῳ δὲ τῷ ὑμετέρῳ γέγραπται ὅτι δύο ἀνθρώπων ἡ μαρτυρία ἀληθής ἐστιν. | |
| John 14:27, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι (I give) ὑμῖν. | |
| 1 John 1:3, ἡ κοινωνία ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς (Father) καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. | |
| Gen. 30:27, εἶπεν (he said) αὐτῷ Λαβάν, Εὐλόγησέν με ὁ θεὸς τῇ σῇ εἰσόδῳ. | |
10.28. Advanced Information for Reference:
Diagramming Relative Pronouns
| John 4:50, ἐπίστευσεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ λόγῳ ὃν εἶπεν (he spoke) αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς. | The man believed the word which Jesus spoke to him. |
Figure 10.1
Relative clauses are subordinate clauses, so they are diagrammed below the main clause. A dotted line connects the relative pronoun to its antecedent in the main clause.
Reading Passage: 1 John 2:18–27
10.29. There are a number of repeated forms in this passage that you have not yet learned. They are glossed or explained the first time each one occurs but not in their later occurrences.
Many Antichrists Have Come
18Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν, καὶ καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται (is coming), καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν (have come), ὅθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν. 19ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν (they went out) ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἦσαν (they were) ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν, μεμενήκεισαν (they would remain) ἂν μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν· ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν (it should be evident) ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντεςa ἐξ ἡμῶν. 20καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ οἴδατε (you know) πάντες.a 21οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτὴν καὶ ὅτι πᾶν (every) ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν.b 22Τίς (who?) ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀρνούμενος (one who denies) ὅτιc Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός; οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν πατέρα (Father) καὶ τὸν υἱόν. 23πᾶς ὁd ἀρνούμενος τὸν υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει, ὁ ὁμολογῶν (one who confesses) τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει. 24ὑμεῖς ὃ ἠκούσατε ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς, ἐν ὑμῖν μενέτω (let it remain). ἐὰν ἐν ὑμῖν μείνῃ (it remains) ὃ ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς ἠκούσατε, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ (Father) μενεῖτε (you will remain).e 25καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία ἣν αὐτὸς ἐπηγγείλατο (promised) ἡμῖν, τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον.
26Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν πλανώντων (ones who deceive) ὑμᾶς. 27καὶ ὑμεῖς τὸ χρῖσμα ὃ ἐλάβετε (you received) ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, μένει ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἵνα τις (anyone) διδάσκῃ (should teach) ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τὸ αὐτοῦ χρῖσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς περὶ πάντων (all things) καὶ ἀληθές ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ψεῦδος, καὶ καθὼς ἐδίδαξεν ὑμᾶς, μένετε (remain!) ἐν αὐτῷ.
a πάντες is a third-declension adjective (see chap. 12), masc. pl. nom. In v. 19 it is a substantival adjective functioning as the subject of the sentence. In v. 20 it modifies the back-pocket subject of the verb οἴδατε, thus “all of you know/have knowledge.”
b πᾶν . . . οὐκ ἔστιν, formally, “every lie is not from the truth,” but we would say more naturally in English, “no lie is from the truth.”
c This is a “recitative” ὅτι that introduces discourse; it is not a content statement. The meaning expressed by a discourse statement (“the one who denies [saying], “Jesus is not the Messiah”) is consistent with John’s Christology elsewhere in 1 John, but taking ὅτι as content (“the one who denies that Jesus is not the Messiah”) would amount to a double negative in English (the liar would be affirming that “Jesus is the Messiah”) and contradict John’s teaching. Can you distinguish the two different statements?
d πᾶς ὁ, “everyone who”
e Watch the punctuation carefully in v. 24. There are two instances of καί, and they function differently. The comma will help clarify the meaning.
10.30. Vocabulary for Chapter 10
| Part of Speech | Definition | Possible Glosses | Frequency | |
| Word | NT | LXX | ||
| Adjectives | ||||
| πτωχός, ή, όν | In a needy, impoverished condition; deficient in quality or worn out | poor; shabby; beggar (subst.) | 34 | 124 |
| καθαρός, ά, όν | Free from contamination, whether ceremonial or physical; free from guilt or moral impurity | clean, cleansed, pure; innocent | 27 | 160 |
| Prepositions | ||||
| ὑπό | A preposition used with the genitive to indicate agent or cause, or with the accusative to indicate a lower position | (prep. + gen.) by; (prep. + acc.) under, below | 220 | 498 |
| παρά | A preposition used with three cases, all referring to some sort of association: with the genitive, a point of origin or source; with the dative, a close connection; and with the accusative, nearness | (prep. + gen.) from; (prep. + dat.) with, beside, near, in the presence of; (prep. + acc.) alongside, by | 194 | 879 |
| ὑπέρ | A preposition used with either the genitive (benefit, replacement, cause, or interest) or accusative (extent beyond) cases | (prep. + gen.) in behalf of, for, in place of, because of, about; (prep. + acc.) above, beyond, over | 150 | 427 |
| σύν | A preposition used with the dative to indicate association or connection | (prep. + dat.) with | 128 | 233 |
| ἐνώπιον | A preposition used with the genitive to indicate being in the sight of someone | (prep. + gen.) before, in front of, in the sight of | 94 | 558 |
| Pronouns | ||||
| οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο | A near demonstrative pronoun referring to the person or thing comparatively near at hand (“this” as opposed to ἐκεῖνος/“that”) | this, this one, these; he, she, it, they | 1,388 | 4,411 |
| ὅς, ἥ, ὅ | Relative pronoun that usually refers to another noun earlier in the sentence or discourse, introducing a clause that further describes that noun | who, which, that | 1,365 | 4,886 |
| ἑαυτοῦ, ῆς, οῦ | A pronoun that makes a reflexive reference to a person or thing (third person; never occurs in nominative case, so lexical form is genitive; cf. first person, ἐμαυτοῦ; second person, σεαυτοῦ) | himself, herself, itself; themselves | 319 | 662 |
| ἐκεῖνος, η, ο | Far demonstrative pronoun referring to the person or thing that is comparatively remote (“that” as opposed to οὗτος/“this”) | that, that one/man/woman/thing; those | 265 | 739 |
| ἀλλήλων | A pronoun that refers to a reciprocal relationship between two or more people (or rarely, things); never occurs in nominative or in singular, so genitive plural is used for lexical form | one another | 100 | 42 |
| ἐμός, ή, όν (pl. ἡμέτερος) | A pronoun that refers to something pertaining to the speaker, often a possessive or responsible relationship | my, mine; our | 76 | 112 |
| σεαυτοῦ, ῆς | A pronoun that makes a reflexive, second-person reference to a person; a reflexive pronoun (second person; never occurs in nominative case or in neuter, so lexical form is genitive; cf. first person, ἐμαυτοῦ; third person, ἑαυτοῦ) | yourself | 43 | 218 |
| ἐμαυτοῦ, ῆς | A pronoun that makes a reflexive, first-person reference to the speaker; a reflexive pronoun (first person; never occurs in nominative case, in plural, or in neuter, so lexical form is genitive; cf. second person, σεαυτοῦ; third person, ἑαυτοῦ) | myself | 37 | 59 |
10.31. Key Things to Know for Chapter 10
The pronouns in this chapter are learned as vocabulary items, not charts to memorize. They use regular case endings, so you need only to recognize the word. Can you do that?
The near demonstrative οὗτος can be puzzling if you do not remember that most forms are spelled τουτ- instead of οὗτ-. Remember that they will always have a rough breathing mark or a tau on the front of the word.
Relative pronouns always have a rough breathing mark and an accent placed over what looks like just a case ending. Do not confuse this with the article, which begins with either a tau or a rough breathing mark without an accent.
The number and gender of a relative pronoun are determined by its antecedent, but its case is determined by its function in the sentence.
Remember that a relative clause is a subordinate clause, so the main idea of the sentence will not be found in that clause.