Conjunction-Preposition – ἕως & Adverb – τότε

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The syntax and semantics of the conjunction-preposition ἕως and the adverb τότε

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ὁ διωγμός, -οῦ	the persecution	noun	B.a.β.i
τὸ πλήρωμα, -ατος	the contents	noun	B.a.γ.i(a)
ἡ ἐργασία, -ας	the business	noun	B.a.α.ii
ἐντέλλομαί σοι ποιῆσαι	(I) command you (dat) to do	verb	C.a.ια
ἀναστρέφω ἔν τινι	(I) live according to something (dat)	verb	C.a.η
πολλάκις	often	adverb

SyntaxSyntax-Semantics: Conjunction-preposition - ἕως

Most commonly, ἕως ‘until’ introduces the boundary of an interval of time. In this use, one clause precedes ἕως which is followed by another clause (typically in the Aorist subjunctive, often with ἄν or οὗ) or a noun in the genitive that refers to a time:

Example 415ἕως marking a temporal boundary

φεῦγε εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ ἴσθι ἐκεῖ ἕως ἂν εἴπω σοι (Matt 2:13)

Flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you

The ἕως phrase marks the end of the time in which Joseph is supposed to stay in Egypt. When the angel tells them it is okay to leave, they no longer need to stay there. When the sentence before ἕως or ἕως οὗ is negated, we infer that the event did in fact occur after the ἕως phrase.

Example 416ἕως after negated phrase

μήτε φαγεῖν μήτε πιεῖν ἕως οὗ ἀποκτείνωσιν τὸν Παῦλον ( Acts 23:12)

Neither eat nor drink until they kill Paul

While the Jews will not eat or drink before they kill Paul, we infer from this that as soon as they do, they will. Since they did not end up killing him, they should still be fasting to this day.

At times, ἕως is best approximated with ‘while,’ particularly when two situations are described that do not have natural endings. Because the situations do not end in this case, they are found in Luo rather than Aorist:

Example 417ἕως meaning ‘while’

ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν (John 9:4)

It is necessary for us to do the works of the one who sent me while it is still day

Both doing works (habitually) and it being day do not have a natural endpoint, so ἕως means ‘while’ in this context. In addition to these temporal uses, ἕως may also be used spatially for where something ends:

Example 418Spatial endpoint

Fill up the jugs ἕως ἄνω [up to the top] (John 2:7)

SyntaxSyntax-semantics: Adverb - τότε

Like its best English equivalent ‘then’, τότε is ambiguous between a sequential reading and a referential reading. Under the sequential reading (which is common in narrative), τότε refers to a new time in the story, specifically a time period or interval that is after another time. In its referential reading, τότε refers to a salient time in the context.

Example 419Sequential use of τότε

καὶ παραγενόμενος ὁ δοῦλος ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα. τότε ὀργισθεὶς ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης (Luke 14:21)

And the slave arrived and reported these things to his master. Then the house-owner got angry

Example 420Referential use of τότε

ἀπὸ τότε ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ εὐαγγελίζεται (Luke 16:16)

The law and the prophets were preached until John. From then, the kingdom of God is preached

Luke 14:21 speaks of a slave that comes and reports bad news to his master. The next line starts with ‘then (τότε) the master got angry.’ Because the master could only possibly get angry after hearing what the slave said to him, τότε must refer not to the time when the slave spoke but to the time just after when the slave spoke, i.e. the time when the master reacts in anger. In Luke 16:16, Jesus introduces a time period, namely the time of the law and the prophets. He then says from then (ἀπὸ τότε) the kingdom of God is preached, so τότε refers back to the time period just mentioned.

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