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Chapter 40 · Lesson 40.3
Verb - εἰς, πρός, διά, τοῦ + Infinitive (causal prepositions)
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The syntax-semantics of the infinitive with the prepositions εἰς, πρός, and διά, and the article τοῦ
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| βραχύς, -εῖα, -ύ | little | adjective | A.a.ε |
| ὁ νοῦς, νοός | the mind | noun | B.a.γ.ix2 |
| εὐφραίνομαι | (I) celebrate | verb | C.a.ια |
| ὁ διαλογισμός, -οῦ | the thought | noun | B.a.β.i |
| διατρίβω ἐν τόπῳ | (I) stay in a place (dat) | verb | C.a.η |
| παρατίθημι σοί τι | (I) set something (acc) before you (dat) | verb | C.a.ε |
SyntaxSyntax-semantics: Verb - εἰς, πρός, διά, τοῦ + Infinitive (causal prepositions)
Not only can prepositions specify temporal relationships between an infinitive and main clause (see 39.4.3.1), they can also specify causal/purpose relationships. Both εἰς and πρός are used to introduce a purpose clause, and εἰς is additionally used to introduce a result:
προσέχετε [δὲ] τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς (Matt 6:1)
Be careful not to do your righteous deeds in front of people in order to be seen by them
God’s invisible attributes were manifested εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους [so that they are without excuse] (Rom 1:20)
In the πρός clause, Jesus is warning his disciples not to have poor motives when doing good deeds, so the infinitive is referring to a purpose. While the preposition εἰς is more commonly used with a purpose interpretation (and it is more common than πρός in infinitive clauses generally), it can additionally be used to introduce a result, such as people not having an excuse for not worshiping God due to his manifested attributes.
The infinitive with διά introduces a reason just like διά plus the accusative normally does:
Herod had desired to see Jesus for a very long time διὰ τὸ ἀκούειν περὶ αὐτοῦ [because of his hearing about him] (Luke 23:8)
The reason why Herod wanted to see Jesus is because of the things he had already heard.
- Finally, infinitives may be used with the neuter genitive article and no preposition to also introduce a purpose:
- (397) Introducing a purpose (genitive article):
- Jesus came to John the Baptist τοῦ βαπτισθῆναι ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ [in order to be baptized by him] (Matt 3:13)
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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).