πάσαι and δεκατέσσαρες
The first word - πάσαι - is an adjective meaning, generally, 'every' or 'all'. (Don't forget to check Matthew 1:17 on www.greekbiblestudy.org for all forms of this adjective.)
The adjective's exact meaning depends on context, and particularly whether or not the modified noun is accompanied by the definite article. For example:
1) When the noun is not accompanied by an article, the meaning is 'every', 'all', 'each':
πας άνθρωπος
each/every person
πάσα πόλις
each/every city
πάσαι πόλεις
all cities
2) When a singular noun is accompanied by an article, the meaning is more 'the whole of':
πάσα η πόλις
all the city (the whole city)
3) But when a plural noun is accompanied by an article, as it is in Matthew 1:17 ('πάσαι αι γενεαί') the meaning is 'all', as in 'all of a group'.
Thus 'πάσαι αι γενεαί' simply means all the generations taken together as a group.
The second word, δεκατέσσαρες, is the word 'fourteen': it is a combination of the Greek word for ten ('δέκα') and the Greek word for four ('τέσσαρες').
So - all the generations from Abraham to David - taken together - are fourteen; but where is the verb? In fact, there is no verb at all in this verse. The Greek 'I am' or 'to be' verb ('ειμί' - we haven't seen it yet) is understand from the context and must be added in an English translation; in classical and koine Greek it is common for this verb to be left out when its meaning can be assumed.
Χαίρετε!
No comments:
Post a Comment