Christ Is Risen!
🌞
Since in the works published at the following links:
https://churchandsociety.org.ua/pdf/projects/zbirnyk.pdf
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17082024.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/27112024.html
it is written that the use of prepositions is important for the correct understanding of important and actual issues, in particular the issue of power, I am writing commentaries on the use of these prepositions. As a piece of advice on how to read the text, you can read the verse in translation and/or in the original (if you have the opportunity), and then the commentary on prepositions here. Next, you need to understand which part of the verse the commentary refers to, and consider what it affirms — or less often, denies — that is essential to understanding. This thoughtful reading helps to deepen understanding and protects against the mistakes mentioned above.
Liturgy:
Acts I, 12 — εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀπὸ ὄρους τοῦ καλουμένου ἐλαιῶνος
- eis Ierousalem apo oros tou kaloumenou elaionos
- to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives
. The preposition eis
indicates the place and arrival to the destination, and the preposition apo
indicates that the disciples had completely descended from the territory of the Mount of Olives.
Acts I, 13 — εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον
- eis to hypeoon
- into the upper room (in a house with several floors)
.
Acts I, 15 — ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις
- en tais hemerais tautais
- in those days
. 'ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν' - en meso ton adelphon
- in the midst of the brethren
. That is, where.
Acts I, 17 — ‘ἐν ἡμῖν’ - ‘en hemin’ - ‘in us’.
Acts I, 21 — ‘ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ’ - ‘en panti khrono’ - ‘at all times; continually’. A common expression. It means in general all the time, rather than always and everywhere.
Acts I, 22 — ‘ἀπὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος Ἰωάννου’ - ‘apo tou baptismatos Ioannou’ - ‘from the baptism of John (the Forerunner)’. That is, from the beginning of the public activity of the mature Jesus. The preposition ‘apo’ indicates here the beginning of the counting of time. 'ἀνελήμφθη ἀφ' ἡμῶν' - anelemphthe aph hemon
- ascended from us
. The preposition apo
in its form before the following he
indicates here that Christ visibly withdrew from the disciples in body and soul, without leaving them with His saving and sanctifying presence, as He had promised.
Acts I, 24 — ‘ἐξελέξω ἐκ τούτων τῶν δύο ἕνα’ - ‘exelexo ek touton ton duo hena’ - ‘You chose one of these two for Yourself’. The preposition ek
indicates that it is the representative of the two. The verb here is cognate with the word Church
, which also indicates that this is a reference to the Church, and is a parallel to Christ's words that many are called, but few are chosen
. See also:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/27112024.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mereza/posts/3675509139414338/
Acts I, 25 — 'ἀφ' ἧς παρέβη Ἰούδας' - 'aph hes parebe Ioudas' - 'Judas has fell by transgression from it (i.e. fallen away because of his heavy fall into sin)'. The preposition apo
in its form before the following he
indicates here that Judas has ceased to be an apostle at all, has lost all affiliation even with the disciples of Jesus in general. 'εἰς τὸν τόπον τὸν ἴδιον' - eis ton topon ton idion
- to his own place
. That is, where to. Since one of the reasons for Judas's downfall was that he used the common money for his 'own, private’ interests, it is this attitude of Judas that the apostle Peter is referring to here. He is not talking about some kind of predestination, destiny, fate, or the like.
For more information about the reading, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17042023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/06052024.html
John I, 18 — ‘ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός’ - ‘ho monogenes hyios ho on eis ton kolpon tou patros’ - ‘the Only Begotten Son, who is into (moving in) the bosom of the Father’. The preposition ‘eis’ is unusual here, since it indicates either movement towards the bosom of the Father (i.e. where to, which is quite unusual, since He is already there), or a certain impermanence, movement in the bosom of the Father (as if to indicate the movements of an unborn baby in the womb). The first option means that Christ represents the Father in Himself so that the faithful can approach the bosom of the Father, i.e. in the case of people, this means approaching the state of God's beloved children, about whom God cares especially with tenderness and affection. For more on this, see this link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/01032025.html
The second option indicates that, just as a mother comes to know her unborn child more deeply and communicates with her child by listening to his or her movements, so the Revelation of God in the Son has the same power and depth of intimacy with the Father as that of the mother and her child.
John I, 19 — ἐξ Ἱεροσολύμων
- ex Ierosolymon
- from Jerusalem
. That is, from where.
John I, 23 — ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
- en te eremo
- in the wilderness
. This is a well-known prophecy of Isaiah, which also allows for two readings due to the absence of punctuation marks.
John I, 26 — βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι
- baptizo en hydati
- I baptise with water; I baptise in water
. Both translations are possible.
John I, 28 — ἐν Βηθανίᾳ
- en Bethania
- in Bethany
. Where.
For more information about the reading, please refer to the link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17042023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/06052024.html
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!