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Chapter 22 · Lesson 22.4 · Preposition
Preposition – περί + Genitive, accusative
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The syntax and semantics of the preposition περί
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ λῃστής, -ου | the robber | noun | B.a.α.iv |
| ἐκχέω τι | (I) pour out something (acc) | verb | 1 |
| ἕλκω τινὰ εἰς τόπον | (I) drag something/one (acc) to a place (acc) | verb | C.a.α |
| ἥκω εἰς τόπον | (I) come to a place | verb | C.a.ζ |
| πιστός, -ή, -όν | faithful | adjective | A.a.α |
| τὸ χάρισμα, -ατος | the gift | noun | B.a.γ.i(a) |
Noteπερί + gen
With the genitive case, περί ‘about’ introduces content (on which, see 14.2.3.2). This is common after verbs that refer to content, such as ἀκούω ‘hear’, γράφω ‘write’, γινώσκω ‘know’, and λέγω ‘say’:
τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ; (Luke 16:2)
What is this I hear about you ?
Noteπερί + acc
With the accusative, περί means ‘around,’ often in the sense of spatially encircling something:
John had a leather belt περί [around] his waist (Matt 3:4)
At other times, περί seems to mean ‘around’ in the sense of ‘near’:
- (198) Physical proximity οἱ περὶ αὐτόν [those around him] began to ask him about the parables (Mark 4:10)
Lastly, a similar meaning is possible in the temporal domain as well where περί refers to an approximate time:
The vineyard owner went out περί [around / about] the third hour (Matt 20:3)
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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).