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Chapter 18 · Lesson 18.3 · Preposition
Preposition – κατά + Genitive, accusative
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The morphology, syntax, and semantics of the preposition κατά
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| πλούσιος, -α, -ον | rich | adjective | A.a.β |
| νέος, -α, -ον | new | adjective | A.a.β |
| ὁ γραμματεύς, -έως | the law expert | noun | B.a.γ.iii |
| πατάσσω τήν | (I) strike the (acc) | verb | C.a.ζ |
| χωρίζομαι ἀπὸ τόπου | (I) leave from a place (gen) | verb | C.a.θ |
| πρὸς καιρόν | temporarily | phrase |
Table 160 (continued)
MorphologyMorphology: Prep – κατά + genitive, accusative
Noteκατά + gen
With the genitive, κατά has two basic senses. It can be used spatially to mean ‘down’ or ‘throughout.’ We see this in the story of Jesus sending the demons into the pigs and when Jesus’ fame is said to spread throughout a region:
The pigs rushed κατά [down from] the hill into the sea (Mark 8:32)
Jesus’ fame spread κατά [throughout] the entire region (Luke 4:14)
In both cases, we have movement away from some center and spreading to something else, which is how we have seen the genitive case used with other prepositions (e.g. ἐκ and ἀπό). In addition to the spatial sense with the genitive, it can also mean ‘against’ in a hostile sense, either with verbs of speaking or verbs referring to physical actions:
We testified κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ [against God] (1 Cor 15:15)
The person with an evil spirit leapt on the seven sons of Sceva and prevailed κατά [against] them (Acts 19:16)
Noteκατά + acc
Κατά with the accusative case is even broader. It can mean ‘each’ or ‘every’ as in the common phrase καθ’ ἡμέραν ‘each day.’ Likewise, it can refer to the direction which someone is facing or someone’s orientation, as in the phrase κατὰ πρόσωπον ‘face to face.’ It is also used in certain phrases indicating separateness, such as κατ’ ἰδίαν ‘by oneself.’
Besides these common phrases, it can refer to a standard by which something is done or spoken:
Judge Jesus κατὰ τὸν νόμον ὑμῶν [according to your law] (John 18:31)
In this case, κατά introduces the standard by which the Jews should assess Jesus, namely the law. This meaning is almost the opposite of what we have with κατά in the genitive when it means ‘against.’ Someone can speak ‘against’ something (κατά + gen) or ‘according’ to something (κατά + acc). To remember this distinction, think about how the genitive and accusative cases are used with prepositions in general. The accusative is used for things that go towards something else, while the genitive is used for things going away. When we speak κατά something, it can either be toward or for that thing (with the accusative) or away or against that thing (with the genitive).
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New Testament text shown on hover: Greek from the SBLGNT, © 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0; English from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain).