New Testament Greek

ἔλεγεν γὰρ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰωάννης· οὐκ ἔξεστί σοι ἔχειν αὐτήν

The verb ἔλεγεν is the imperfect active indicative of λέγω — “he was saying.” The imperfect tense indicates repeated, habitual, or ongoing past action. John the Baptist didn’t confront Herod once — he kept telling him. This verb choice reflects prophetic persistence, an ongoing voice of conviction.

The explanatory conjunction γὰρ (“for”) links this statement to the surrounding context — particularly Herod’s troubled conscience.

αὐτῷ is the dative singular masculine pronoun, meaning “to him” — referring to Herod Antipas.… Learn Koine Greek

Matthew 28:14 presents a case of political strategy expressed through conditional syntax and future-oriented verbal constructions. Spoken by the chief priests to the soldiers, this verse contains conditional modality, implied social manipulation, and legal nuance. The Greek grammar reveals a persuasive structure dependent on mood, aspect, and pronoun emphasis. Every clause is economically constructed yet dense with rhetorical power.

– The clause begins with ἐὰν, a conditional particle used with the subjunctive to form a third-class (future more probable) condition. – ἀκουσθῇ is aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular of ἀκούω, meaning “to hear.”… Learn Koine Greek

This opening clause is a classic example of the genitive absolute, a syntactic feature where a genitive noun or pronoun and a genitive participle form a phrase independent of the main clause.

– Τοῦ Ἰησοῦ: genitive singular of Ἰησοῦς (Jesus) – γεννηθέντος: aorist passive participle, genitive singular masculine of γεννάω (to be born)

This construction functions temporally: “when Jesus was born”. The particle δὲ is postpositive, softening the transition rather than indicating contrast.

– ἐν Βηθλέεμ: prepositional phrase indicating location; Βηθλέεμ is indeclinable.… Learn Koine Greek