Conjunction: ἀλλά ‘but’

GrammarConjunction – ἀλλά ‘but’

We learned that ὅτι introduces a subordinate clause, that is, a clause that cannot stand on its own (see 12.2.3.1). This type of conjunction is called a subordinating conjunction. A conjunction that introduces an independent clause (one that can stand on its own) is a coordinating conjunction. The word ἀλλά ‘but’ is a coordinating conjunction. Like καί (see 3.3.4.1), it connects two main clauses together or two like parts of speech.

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MorphologyConjunction – ἀλλά

• When a vowel comes immediately after ἀλλά, the final α drops out, e.g. ἀλλὰ καθεύδει vs. ἀλλ’ ἡ ἀδελφή. However, this rule is inconsistently applied in the NT (that is, ἀλλά is also found before a word beginning with a vowel).

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SyntaxConjunction – ἀλλά

When connecting two clauses, ἀλλά comes at the beginning of the main clause that it introduces just like καί:

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SemanticsConjunction – ἀλλά

The example in Mark 5:39 illustrates what the conjunction ἀλλά means. The two main clauses contrast the child dying and sleeping. Contrary to what others think, the child did not die but is merely sleeping. Death and sleeping are, of course, very different states, and ἀλλά is used here to signal the distinction between the two.

In the οὐ…ἀλλά construction, two potential participants in the same event are contrasted. In John 4:2, we are only discussing one event, namely baptizing people. We discuss this construction in more detail in 48.1.3.1, but here we note that this contrast is often contrary to the expectations of the reader. Contrary to what the reader might think, Jesus did not baptize anyone, but his disciples did baptize people.

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