Pronoun – Demonstrative far plural

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology of the far-demonstrative pronoun (pl) and more on its syntax and semantics

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
εὐαγγελίζομαί σοι ὅτι	(I) tell good news to you (dat) that	verb	C.a.θ
τὸ γόνυ, γόνατος	the knee	noun	B.a.γ.i(a)
τὸ οὖς, ὠτός	the ear	noun	B.a.γ.i(b)
σός, -ή, -όν	your	pronoun	A.a.α
περιτέμνω σε	(I) circumcise you (acc)	verb	C.a.α
δοξάζω σε	(I) honor you (acc)	verb	C.a.θ

MorphologyMorphology: Pronoun – Demonstrative far plural

Remember: these forms combine with 1st declension endings in the fem, and 2nd declension endings in the masc/neut (see 22.3.3.1)

Morphology: Pronoun – Demonstrative far plural

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative plural	ἐκεῖν-οι	ἐκεῖν-αι	ἐκεῖν-α
Genitive plural	ἐκείν-ων	ἐκείν-ων	ἐκείν-ων
Dative plural	ἐκείν-οις	ἐκείν-αις	ἐκείν-οις
Accusative plural	ἐκείν-ους	ἐκείν-ας	ἐκεῖν-α

SyntaxSyntax: Pronoun – Demonstrative far (Direct reference)

The first syntactical environment we noted for the far demonstrative pronoun was when it modified a noun. One hallmark of demonstrative pronouns is that they can refer to entities without modifying a noun:

Example 202Reference to an entity without a noun

ἐκεῖνο ἦλθε πρὸς με

That came to me

There is no noun that ἐκεῖνο is modifying here, but it functions as a pronoun on its own and refers to whatever entity ‘came.’

SemanticsSemantics: Pronoun – Demonstrative far (Reference to a person)

One feature of the near demonstrative pronoun was that it could be used in a very similar way to the third person pronoun in that both could refer to people (see 14.2.3.2). The same is true for ἐκεῖνος:

Example 203Reference to a person

οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς (John 1:8)

That one (or he) was not the light

Interestingly, John 1:8 refers to John the Baptist with οὗτος. The difference between ἐκεῖνος and οὗτος in this context is how we described it previously: the far demonstrative pronoun refers to someone who is more distant in the discourse in some way. While verse 7 begins about John, it ends with talking about the light, which becomes the new topic of the paragraph (on the notion of “topic”, see Syntax C). Verse 8 uses ἐκεῖνος to refer to John instead of οὗτος as a way to signal to the reader that he is not the topic anymore. The sense of the whole passage is something like “οὗτος (this person whom we are now discussing) came to be a witness about the light, so that everyone would believe through him. ἐκεῖνος (that person whom we were just talking about) was not the light.” Once ‘the light’ becomes the new topic, the pronoun switches to the far demonstrative for John because he is seen as more distant in the discourse.

Lesson 23.3 quiz

Check your understanding

2 questions · self-graded

1What is the feminine nominative plural of ἐκεῖνος?
ἐκεῖνοιἐκεῖναιἐκεῖναἐκείνας
2Why does John 1:8 use ἐκεῖνος rather than οὗτος to refer to John the Baptist?
Because ‘the light’ has become the new topic, so John is more distant in the discourseBecause John was physically far from the narratorBecause οὗτος cannot refer to peopleBecause a negated verb requires ἐκεῖνος

Become a fluent reader of the biblical languages

Biblingo is the only language-learning app (mobile and web) that provides everything you need to go from zero knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin to reading the Bible in its original and historic languages — all in one place.

Start Free Trial