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Chapter 20 · Lesson 20.4 · Preposition
Preposition – ὑπό + Genitive, accusative
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The morphology, syntax, and semantics of the preposition ὑπό
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἡ τιμή, -ῆς | the honor | noun | B.a.α.i |
| ἀεί | always | adverb | |
| σπείρω ἐπὶ τόπον | (I) sow on a place | verb | C.a.ι |
| ὀπίσω | behind | adverb | |
| ἑπτά | seven | number | |
| ἡ χρεία, -ας | the need | noun | B.a.α.ii |
Noteχρείαν ἔχω
The normal way to express that you need something in Greek is to use the word χρεία with the verb ἔχω, as in the phrase ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ‘I have a need.’ The need itself is then expressed with the genitive or infinitive:
ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχει (Mark 11:3)
The Lord has need of it
οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε γράφειν ὑμῖν (1 Thess 4:9)
I have no need to write to you
MorphologyMorphology: Prep – ὑπό + genitive, accusative
- The preposition ὑπό is an elision preposition (see 4.4.3.1); e.g. ὑπό καθέδραν (ὑπό + consonant), ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπου (ὑπ’+ smooth vowel), ὑφ’ ἵππου (ὑφ’ + rough vowel)
Noteὑπό + gen
With the genitive, ὑπό introduces someone who performed the action in a passive verb or in a verb which has a subject that is acted upon:
All who heard marveled at what was spoken ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς [by the shepherds to them] (Luke 2:18)
The son of man is about πάσχειν ὑπ’ αὐτῶν [to suffer by them] (Matt 17:12)
Noteὑπό + acc
With the accusative, ὑπό means ‘under,’ either marking a physical location or someone’s relative social rank or obligation to something:
All of Israel’s forefathers were ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην [under the cloud] in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:1)
For you are not ὑπὸ νόμον [under the law] but ὑπὸ χάριν [under grace] (Rom 6:15)
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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).