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Chapter 34 · Lesson 34.4 · Particle
Particle – εἰ
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The syntax and semantics of conditional clauses with the particle εἰ
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| πνευματικός, -ή, -όν | spiritual | adjective | A.a.α |
| ἡ Μακεδονία, -ας | Macedonia | noun | B.a.α.ii |
| καταλείπω τι | (I) leave something (acc) | verb | C.a.α |
| μιμνῄσκομαι τινός | (I) remember something/one (gen) | verb | C.a.α |
| ἀναβλέπω εἴς τινα | (I) look up to something/one (acc) | verb | C.a.η |
| ἀπὸ μέρους | partly | phrase |
SyntaxSyntax-semantics: Particle – εἰ
When we introduced the conditional ἐάν (32.4.3.1), we said that there were four classes of conditional statements in Greek, and two of them were with εἰ and a verb in the indicative mood. These are the first- and second-class conditionals. In the first class, εἰ combines with any verb form and takes the negator οὐ, whereas in the second class, εἰ must combine with a past tense verb, and the negator, if present, is μή. The meaning of first-class conditionals does not include the idea that the protasis is assumed to be true, though this kind of statement is sometimes said about first-class conditionals in Greek. They are thus sometimes wrongly translated ‘since.’ We already said that conditional statements are modal by virtue of them being conditional statements, which means that they are not asserted or presupposed as true. They state that the apodosis holds (the then -statement) whenever the protasis holds (the if -statement), but they do not say anything about whether the protasis holds or not. Although there might be some difference in meaning between first- and third-class conditionals (those with εἰ and ἐάν), there is at least a high degree of overlap between the two in that neither assume that the protasis holds without the apodosis holding:
εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρός μου, μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι (John 10:37)
If I do not do the works of my father, you should not believe in me
In this first-class condition, Jesus is not saying that he does not do the works of his father (which is the expected meaning if first-class conditionals did assume the protasis were true), but he says that if that happens to be the case, his addressees should not believe in him. In other words, the condition under which the apodosis should hold (not believing in Jesus) is the protasis holding (Jesus not doing his father’s works).
Second-class conditionals, however, certainly have a distinct syntax and meaning. They have a past tense form in the protasis. In many languages, past tense forms are used for what are called counterfactual conditionals. In these conditional statements, the protasis is assumed to be false:
εἰ ἦν προφήτης, ἐγίνωσκεν ἄν τίς καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ γυνὴ ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ (Luke 7:39)
If he were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman it is that is touching him
The second-class conditional, indicated by the past tense verb ἦν, shows that the pharisee did not in fact believe that Jesus was a prophet, since if he were a prophet, he would not have let the woman touch him. Since he did let the woman touch him, the pharisee assumes that Jesus is not actually a prophet.
There are several other uses of εἰ besides what we have given here. First, it is used to introduce the complement clause of some verbs, just as we saw with ὅτι and ἵνα. One such verb is θαυμάζω:
μὴ θαυμάζετε εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος (1 John 3:13)
Do not marvel if the world hates you
Second, it is used with μή to mean ‘except’ where it negates all options but one:
οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ δι’ ἐμοῦ (John 14:6)
No one comes to the father except through me
Finally, εἰ takes on a slightly different meaning with εἰ καὶ where it is best understood as ‘although’ or ‘even if.’ In this use, it is presupposed that the clause with εἰ is true:
εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι (Col 2:5)
For although I am absent in the flesh, I am with you in the spirit
Paul is indeed absent in person, so this statement is presupposed to be true, but it is contrasted with another statement, namely Paul’s presence in the spirit.
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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).