Καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ συνήχθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλος πολύς, ὥστε αὐτὸν ἐμβάντα εἰς τὸ πλοῖον καθῆσθαι ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἦσαν. (Mark 4:1)
And again he began to teach beside the sea, and a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into the boat and sat in the sea, and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
Declension Analysis Table
| Greek Form | Morphology | Case & Function | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| τὴν θάλασσαν (first occurrence) | 1st declension feminine singular with article | Accusative object of preposition παρά | “Beside the sea” — locative sense with accusative after παρά. |
| αὐτόν | 3rd person pronoun, accusative masculine singular | Object of preposition πρός | “To him” — marks direction of the crowd’s gathering. |
| ὄχλος πολύς | 2nd declension masculine nominative singular + adjective | Nominative subject | “A great crowd” — collective singular noun; adjective agrees in case, gender, number. |
| αὐτὸν ἐμβάντα | 3rd person pronoun accusative + aorist participle accusative masc. sg. | Accusative absolute within infinitival clause | Marks subject of infinitive καθῆσθαι: “so that he, having entered the boat, might sit.” |
| τὸ πλοῖον | 2nd declension neuter accusative singular with article | Accusative object of participle ἐμβάντα | “The boat” — vessel of teaching, central narrative object. |
| τῇ θαλάσσῃ | 1st declension feminine dative singular with article | Dative of location | “In the sea” — situates Jesus’ position inside the water, by means of the boat. |
| πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος | Adjective + noun with article, nominative masculine singular collective | Nominative subject of ἦσαν | “The whole crowd” — universality stressed by πᾶς. |
| τὴν θάλασσαν (second occurrence) | 1st declension feminine singular with article | Accusative object of preposition πρός | “Toward the sea” — locative-dynamic sense. |
| τῆς γῆς | 1st declension feminine genitive singular with article | Genitive object of preposition ἐπί | “On the land” — locative genitive use after ἐπί. |
Nominatives Framing Participants
The nominatives ὄχλος πολύς and πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος are not redundant: the first introduces the crowd’s presence, the second underscores its totality, stressing the magnitude of Jesus’ audience.
Accusatives Charting Motion
τὴν θάλασσαν (twice) and τὸ πλοῖον function as accusatives of place and object, showing the shift of focus: from teaching beside the sea, to entering the boat, to the people gathering toward the sea.
Datives and Genitives Anchoring Place
The dative τῇ θαλάσσῃ locates Jesus in the sea (by means of the boat), while the genitive τῆς γῆς places the people firmly on land. Together they create a spatial polarity — teacher afloat, audience ashore.
Grammar as Stage Design
The declensions in Mark 4:1 arrange a visual stage: Jesus seated in the boat, sea around him, the mass of people gathered on land facing the water. Case endings choreograph the geography of revelation — the nominatives populate the scene, the accusatives map movement, and the dative and genitive fix spatial boundaries. Grammar here literally sets the pulpit on water.
