Conjunction – ἤ

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The basic uses of ἐπεί ‘since’
The syntax and semantics of the conjunction ἤ

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ἡ παρεμβολή, -ῆς	the army camp	noun	B.a.α.i
ἡ ἀδικία, -ας	the injustice	noun	B.a.α.ii
ἡ ἑορτή, -ῆς	the festival	noun	B.a.α.i
ὁ γονεύς, -έως	the parent	noun	B.a.γ.iii
τὸ κρίμα, -ατος	the verdict	noun	B.a.γ.i(a)
ἐπεί	because	conjunction

Noteἐπεί

The conjunction ἐπεί ‘since’ is a combination of the preposition ἐπί and the conditional marker εἰ. It is often used to introduce a reason:

Example 335Introducing a reason

ἐφοβήθησαν τοὺς ὄχλους, ἐπεὶ εἰς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον (Matt 21:46)

They feared the crowds, since they held him to be a prophet

It is not the case that the crowds considering Jesus to be a prophet caused the priests and the pharisees to fear the crowds in the sense that this fact made them fear. Rather, this fact is the reason why they feared. It is also often used in parenthetical statements to give a reason:

Example 336Parenthetical statements

It was already getting late, and ἐπεί [since] it was the day of preparation … Joseph of Arimathea came (Mark 15:42)

SyntaxSyntax: Conjunction - ἤ

There are several different constructions in which ἤ is found. First, it may connect two similar syntactic elements:

Example 337Separating similar syntactic elements

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων; (Matt 21:25)

From heaven or from people?

Here, ἤ stands in-between two prepositional phrases. When ἤ connects two clauses, the second clause may be replaced by a simple negator:

Example 338After another clause with negator

Is it lawful to give taxes to Caesar ἤ οὔ [or no]? (Matt 22:17)

At other times, ἤ precedes both the first and the second element that are being contrasted:

Example 339Before both contrasted elements

ἤ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν… ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν… (Matt 12:33)

Either make the tree good … or make the tree bad …

This kind of construction is not limited to ἤ appearing twice; there may be as many occurrences of ἤ as there are items in the list.

Finally, ἤ may be used in comparative constructions to introduce the thing that something is being compared to. This may be found with or without a comparative adjective preceding it:

Example 340Before something being compared

NoteWith comparative adjective:

εὐκοπώτερον [it is easier] for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ἤ [than] a rich person to get into the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:24)
(341) Without comparative adjective:
καλόν [it is better] to enter life maimed ἤ [than] to depart to Gehenna having two hands (Mark 9:43)

In the latter example, the adjective καλόν is not a comparative form, but two things are clearly being compared, which suggests that ἤ may contribute the idea of comparison.

SemanticsSemantics: Conjunction - ἤ

The examples with ἤ given above are all in questions or imperatives. This is not accidental. When ἤ is used, a choice is given between two options, and this usually implies that the speaker does not know which of the two options happened or will happen (or at least, the speaker wants the addressee to choose between the two options). It is a bit odd to say ‘John came from heaven or from earth,’ but it is perfectly normal to turn the statement into a question: ‘Did John come from heaven or earth?’ Thus, ἤ is far more common with moods or tenses where something is unknown, such as in the imperative, questions, or the future (see Semantics D for more on mood and modality). The basic function of ἤ, then, is for the speaker to present two alternative situations, either of which may occur in the real world.

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