Pronoun: Reflexive

MorphologyPronoun – Reflexive 1s, 2s

• Both pronouns are based on the declined forms of the 3rd person pronoun αὐτός.
• The 1s reflexive pronoun has the prefix ἐμ-, and the 2s has σε-.

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MorphologyPronoun – Reflexive (3s)

• 3s reflexive pronouns are formed by attaching the prefix ἑ- to the regular 3rd person pronoun αὐτός (the fem forms are not found in the NT)

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MorphologyPronoun – Reflexive plural

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person reflexive pronouns have the same form in the pl
• The forms are the same as the 3s pronoun (see 34.3.3.1), but with pl endings

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SyntaxPronoun – Reflexive (Anaphoric reference)

Reflexive pronouns have received an enormous amount of attention in the syntax literature. The main question being asked in that literature is: under what conditions is the reflexive pronoun used? This question gets very complicated very quickly, but the basic description given to reflexive pronouns is that they are anaphors. This means that they refer back to a noun or pronoun used earlier in the sentence. The noun or pronoun that the reflexive pronoun refers back to is called an antecedent.

Because the reflexive pronoun needs an antecedent, the main verb is normally in the same person as the reflexive pronoun. It is this pronoun, whether given explicitly in ἐγώ or σύ or implicitly in the verb, that the reflexive pronoun refers back to:

• (312) Referring back to the corresponding pronoun
• θέλω δὲ πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ὡς καὶ ἐμαυτόν (1 Cor 7:7)

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SemanticsPronoun – Reflexive (without help)

In most cases, the reflexive pronoun refers back to another element already given in the sentence. However, the reflexive pronoun does occasionally take on a special meaning in prepositional phrases, such as by myself, which often means “without anyone’s help.” In Greek, the reflexive pronoun also may take on a special meaning with some prepositions. For example, the phrase ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ may mean ‘from my own authority’:

• (329) From my own authority
• I do nothing ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ [from my own authority], but only speak as my father teaches me (John 8:28)

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SemanticsPronoun – Reflexive (Reciprocal and possessive)

Third person plural reflexives are found in some contexts where they seem to be interpreted differently than anaphors referring back to another element in the clause. First, they can be used in what looks like reciprocal constructions meaning ‘each other’ (on which, see 47.4.3):

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