Preposition – διά + Genitive, accusative

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology and syntax-semantics of the preposition διά

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ἡ ἐντολή, -ῆς	the command	noun	B.a.α.i
τὸ σχίσμα, -ατος	the tear/rip	noun	B.a.γ.i(a)
νηστεύω	(I) fast	verb	C.a.α
διαπορεύομαι διά τόπου	(I) travel through a place (gen)	verb	C.a.α
ἀγοράζω τήν	(I) buy the (acc)	verb	C.a.θ
προσέρχομαί σοι	(I) approach you (dat)	verb	C.a.α

MorphologyMorphology: Preposition – διά + genitive, accusative

διά is similar to other prepositions that contract (see 4.4.3.1), but there is no consonant change, e.g. διὰ τράπεζαν vs. δι’ οἶκον

Noteδιά + gen

In the genitive, διά has three main functions: movement through something, temporal extent, and the means of an action:

Example 119Movement through something

No one could pass διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ [through the road] (Matt 8:28)

Example 120Temporal extent

Though we have labored διά [through] the whole night, we caught nothing (Luke 5:5)

Example 121Means of an action

The Holy Spirit spoke beforehand διὰ στόματος Δαυίδ [through the mouth of David] (Acts 1:16)

Noteδιά + acc

For the accusative, the main idea is to introduce a reason, whether it is found in a statement or in a question (the latter meaning ‘why’ and answered with διὰ τοῦτο ‘because of this’:

Example 122Reason

Jesus’ disciples will be hated διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου [because of my name] (Matt 10:22)

Example 123Questioning a reason (why?)

διὰ τί [why] does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? (Matt 9:11)

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