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Greek Lessons
- Vindicated at the Table: How Speech Condemns and Grammar Acquits
- Carried, Not Carrying: The Grammar That Topples Boasting
- Spliced into Abundance: The Grammar of Displacement and Participation in ἐνεκεντρίσθης
- When the Heart Expands Toward Ruin: The Grammar of Self-Watchfulness
- Living, Begetting, Dying: The Grammar of Time and Continuity
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Category
Tag Archives: 1 Timothy 6:7
We Came with Nothing, We Leave with Nothing: The Grammar of Divine Detachment in 1 Timothy 6:7
οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δυνάμεθα·
In the pastoral epistles, Paul distills theological truth into concise, memorable aphorisms—statements that are simple in form but profound in content. In 1 Timothy 6:7, he delivers one such crystalline insight about human dependence and divine sovereignty:
οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δυνάμεθα.
“For we brought nothing into the world, clearly we cannot take anything out of it.” This verse functions as a moral anchor in a passage addressing the dangers of materialism and the pursuit of wealth. Yet beneath its surface lies a fascinating grammatical structure: the use of the aorist indicative in both clauses, followed by an infinitive with a present tense finite verb (ἐξενεγκεῖν… δυνάμεθα).… Learn Koine Greek
Brought In, Carried Out: Verb Morphology and Eternal Perspective
Οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δυνάμεθα·
(1 Timothy 6:7)
For we brought nothing into the world; it is clear that we are not able to carry anything out either.
Three Verbs Framing a Life TruthThis compact verse expresses a profound theological truth about human existence and material detachment, using three critical Greek verbs:
εἰσηνέγκαμεν — aorist active indicative, “we brought in” ἐξενεγκεῖν — aorist active infinitive, “to carry out” δυνάμεθα — present middle/passive indicative, “we are able”Each verb not only serves its syntactic function but also shapes how Paul communicates the transience of material gain and the limits of human power.… Learn Koine Greek
