Preposition – ἐν ‘in’

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology-syntax and semantics of the preposition ἐν ‘in’

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ὁ οὐρανός, -οῦ	the sky	noun	B.a.β.i
ἡ αὐλή, -ῆς	the courtyard	noun	B.a.α.i
ἡ ἀγάπη, -ης	the love	noun	B.a.α.i
τὸ σανδάλιον, -ου	the sandal	noun	B.a.β.ii
πάλιν	again	adverb
ἡ γῆ, -ῆς	the ground	noun	B.a.α.i

MorphologyMorphology-syntax: Preposition – ἐν + dative

Like ἡ and ὁ, ἐν is a proclitic (see 1.2.3).
ἐν takes the dat case after it (not acc like πρός)

SemanticsSemantics: Preposition – ἐν + dative

The preposition ἐν can be used in a variety of ways with different verbs, but its most basic function is to mark a location of something being ‘in’ something else:

Example 34Location

The one who is ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ [in the field] should not return to get his cloak (Matt 24:18)

At other times, it may refer to someone who is in a particular state of being:

Example 35Stative

I saw a vision ἐν [in] a trance (Acts 11:5)

When used with verbs of motion that already specify movement towards something, it may be equivalent to ‘into’ (English in works the same way, e.g. Samuel fell in a pool = Samuel fell into a pool):

Example 36Movement into location

The report about Jesus spreads out ἐν [into] Judea (Luke 7:17)

And finally, it may also introduce an instrument like the dative:

Example 37Instrument

To kill ἐν [with] sword (Rev 6:8)

Although there are other uses of ἐν, these are the most common.

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