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Chapter 40 · Lesson 40.4 · Conjunction
Conjunction – τε, οὔτε
ObjectivesLearning objectives
- The syntax and semantics of the conjunctions τε and οὔτε
VocabularyVocabulary
| Greek | Gloss | Part of speech | Paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ βοῦς, βοός | the bull | noun | B.a.γ.ix3 |
| ἡ φύσις, -εως | the nature | noun | B.a.γ.v |
| ἀλείφω σε | (I) anoint you (acc) | verb | C.a.η |
| θλίβω τίνα | (I) press against something/one (acc) | verb | C.a.η |
| στηρίζω τινά | (I) establish something/one (acc) | verb | C.a.ζ |
| ὠφελεῖταί τι | (he) gains something (acc) | verb | C.a.β |
SyntaxSyntax-semantics: Conjunction – τε, οὔτε
The enclitic conjunction τε often functions like καί to simply connect two things. It can also be used with καί to mean ‘both and’ as in
We previously asserted that Ἰουδαίους τε καὶ Ἕλληνας πάντας ὑφ’ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι [both Jews and Greeks, all, are under sin]’ (Rom 3:9)
τε may also be repeated in two conditional clauses with ἐάν to mean ‘whether this … or whether that’:
ἐάν τε γὰρ ζῶμεν, τῷ κυρίῳ ζῶμεν, ἐάν τε ἀποθνῄσκωμεν, τῷ κυρίῳ ἀποθνῄσκομεν (Rom 14:8) For whether we are living, we live for the Lord, or whether we die, we die for the Lord
The conjunction οὔτε is very similar to τε except that it is a negator as well. It is commonly repeated to negate two or more things meaning ‘neither … nor …’:
οὔτε εἰς τὸν νόμον τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὔτε εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν οὔτε εἰς Καίσαρά τι ἥμαρτον (Acts 25:8)
Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way
The first negative can also be found with οὐ or οὐδέ, and ἀλλά may introduce a final positive thing that contrasts with the two negated elements:
οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ παρὰ ἀνθρώπου παρέλαβον αὐτὸ οὔτε ἐδιδάχθην, ἀλλὰ δι’ ἀποκαλύψεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Gal 1:12)
For I did not receive it from a human, nor was I taught it, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ
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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).