Μὴ φαγὼν καὶ ἐμπλησθεὶς καὶ οἰκίας καλὰς οἰκοδομήσας καὶ κατοικήσας ἐν αὐταῖς (Deuteronomy 8:12 LXX)
Setting the Scene
This fragment belongs to a conditional warning in Deuteronomy 8, where the people are cautioned against pride and forgetfulness once they have enjoyed prosperity in the land. The Greek renders a Hebrew sequence of clauses in a way that layers four aorist participles, all dependent on an implied apodosis of potential disobedience. The grammar creates a rising chain of events that leads from provision to potential spiritual danger.
Grammar in Focus: Coordinated Aorist Participles
The phrase consists of four participial clauses joined by καί:
1. μὴ φαγών – “when you have eaten”
2. καὶ ἐμπλησθείς – “and have been satisfied”
3. καὶ οἰκίας καλὰς οἰκοδομήσας – “and have built fine houses”
4. καὶ κατοικήσας ἐν αὐταῖς – “and have lived in them”
All are aorist active or passive participles in the nominative masculine singular, agreeing with the understood subject (“you”), and introduced under the umbrella of μή (“lest”), which here governs the participial sequence.
Detailed Morphology
| Greek Form | Lemma | Parsing | Function | Lexical Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| φαγών | ἐσθίω | Aorist Active Participle, Nom. Masc. Sg. | Temporal/circumstantial, introducing first stage | having eaten |
| ἐμπλησθείς | ἐμπίμπλημι | Aorist Passive Participle, Nom. Masc. Sg. | Consecutive stage, result of eating | having been satisfied |
| οἰκοδομήσας | οἰκοδομέω | Aorist Active Participle, Nom. Masc. Sg. | Further development in prosperity | having built |
| κατοικήσας | κατοικέω | Aorist Active Participle, Nom. Masc. Sg. | Final stage in the sequence | having lived/dwelt |
Syntax and Flow
The syntax places these four participles in asyndetic dependency on a future main verb that follows in the full verse (v. 12–14). They form a temporal-circumstantial chain, where the aorist aspect marks each event as a completed step leading to the cautionary point. The repetition of καί between each participle creates rhythm and rhetorical momentum, intensifying the warning.
Aspectual Insight
Using aorist participles for each action frames them as punctiliar, whole events rather than ongoing processes. The warning thus targets the settled state after these acts have been fully accomplished — a time when complacency and forgetfulness of YHWH might take root.
Theological Reflection
The grammar is part of the message: each participle is a milestone in blessing — eating, being filled, building, dwelling — but when stacked under μή, they become milestones toward potential apostasy. The participial sequence reminds readers that spiritual danger often comes not in scarcity, but after abundance.
Grammatical Echoes: The Crescendo of Comfort
The LXX’s chain of aorist participles mirrors the Hebrew פֶּן־תֹּאכַ֖ל וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבָתִּ֥ים טֹובִ֛ים תִּבְנֶ֖ה וְיָשָֽׁבְתָּ׃. But by rendering them as coordinated participles, the Greek creates a compressed sequence that piles completed blessings into a single breath — a stylistic move that builds toward the sober climax: “beware… lest you forget the LORD.”
