Particle: Particle - ἐάν

GrammarParticle - ἐάν

In this lesson, we learn the conditional word ἐάν ‘if.’ Conditional words introduce conditional statements, which are hypothetical statements giving the conditions under which something is true. The statement If Mary comes to Jerusalem, then she will see her uncle provides a condition, namely Mary coming to Jerusalem, under which it is true that she will see her uncle. As we will see below, the type and meaning of conditional statements vary depending on what kind of clause is in the if -statement and then -statement. There are several different kinds of conditional statements in Greek, and there is a fair amount of confusion around their meaning. To begin with, we will look at the different syntactic options for conditional statements in NT Greek, and then we will look at the meaning of conditionals with ἐάν specifically.

Conditionals in Greek vary along two basic parameters: the conditional particle used, either εἰ or ἐάν, and the verb form used, the tense and mood being particularly important for the interpretation. Based on these parameters, conditional sentences have been divided into four classes in Greek. The first class is real conditions with εἰ where the if -statement (which is called the protasis or antecedent) has any verb form in indicative mood, potentially negated with οὐ, and the then -statement (which is called the apodosis or consequent) may have any verb form in any mood. The second class is counterfactual conditionals with εἰ where the protasis has a verb in indicative mood in past tense, potentially negated with μή, and the apodosis also has a past tense verb in indicative mood. Third class conditionals (covered in this lesson) have ἐάν in the protasis with a verb in subjunctive mood potentially negated with μή, and any mood and any tense in the apodosis. Finally, fourth class conditionals have εἰ in the protasis and a verb in optative mood (introduced in 47.3.3) in both the protasis and apodosis.

fromLesson 32.4

SemanticsParticle - ἐάν

In the conditional system outlined above, there are two unique features of third-class conditionals: the use of ἐάν and a subjunctive verb in the protasis. The conditional particle ἐάν is itself a combination of the words εἰ and ἄν, the latter of which is normally found with the subjunctive. There are several options for the apodosis, including another subjunctive:

• ἐὰν ὑμῖν εἴπω, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσητε (Luke 22:67)
• If I tell you, you will certainly not believe

Contrary to some descriptions of the third-class conditional in Greek, it does not mean that the fulfillment of the condition is more contingent, as we might expect given what we have said about the meaning of the subjunctive (28.1.4). What, then, does the third-class conditional mean? In linguistics, it has been noticed that the apodosis of conditionals also has a modal element of some kind. In other words, it is contingent in some way. This could be from a subjunctive, but it may also be generic or habitual statements:

fromLesson 32.4