Commentary for (John XX, 11-18; Acts XVI, 16-34; John IX, 1-38 ; 2 Corinthians IV, 6-15; Matthew XI, 2-15)

Oleksandr Zhabenko 🇬🇧
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.

The Early Service:
(John XX, 11-18)
John XX, 11 — ‘εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον’ - ‘eis to menemeion’ - ‘into the sepulchre; to the grave’. Where to.

John XX, 12 — ‘δύο ἀγγέλους ἐν λευκοῖς καθεζομένους’ - ‘duo angelous en leukois kathezomenous’ - ‘two angels in white (bright clothes) are sitting’. In what clothes.

John XX, 14 — ‘ἐστράφη εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω’ - ‘estraphe eis ta opiso’ - ‘turned back’. To where.

Liturgy:
(Acts XVI, 16-34)
Acts XVI, 16 — ‘εἰς τὴν προσευχὴν’ - ‘eis ten preseukhen’ - ‘for high spiritual prayer; to a place of high spiritual prayer’. Where to and for what purpose.

Acts XVI, 18 — ‘ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ’ - ‘en onomati Iesou CHristou’ - ‘in the name of Jesus Christ; with the name of Jesus Christ’. Both translations are possible, the first indicating that Paul is acting as a faithful of Christ, as a Christian and an apostle, and the second that Paul is acting as a representative of Christ, on His behalf. See also more here:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/PowerOfHuman.html
‘ἀπ’ αὐτῆς' — ap autes - out of her. The preposition ‘apo’ in its form before the next vowel indicates here that the apostle Paul commands the unclean spirit to leave the woman completely, to come out completely, totally, not to touch her anymore.

Acts XVI, 19 — ‘εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν’ - ‘eis ten agoran’ - ‘to the agora (a place of assembly for judgement, trade and communication); to the marketplace’. Where to.

Acts XVI, 23 — ‘εἰς φυλακήν’ - ‘eis phylaken’ - ‘into prison’. Where to. This was not part of the Apostle Paul's plans, i.e. he was placed there by force, but this does not mean that he resisted.

Acts XVI, 24 — ‘εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν φυλακὴν’ - ‘eis ten esoteran phylaken’ - ‘into the inner prison (more secure, where there was also the possibility of interrogation and torture)’. Where to. ‘εἰς τὸ ξύλον’ - ‘eis to xylon’ - ‘into a wooden (boxes, logs)’. Where to.

Acts XVI, 32 — ‘ἐλάλησαν αὐτῷ τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ’ - ‘elalesan auto ton logon tou kyriou syn pasin tois en te oikia autou’ - ‘they spoke the Word of the Lord to him with (and) all those who were in his house’. That is, to all of them, the order of words is somewhat unusual for this.

Acts XVI, 33 — ‘ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς νυκτὸς’ - ‘en ekeine te hora tes nyktos’ - ‘at the same hour of the night; at that time of the night’. When. ‘ἔλουσεν ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν’ - ‘elousen apo ton plegon’ - ‘washed from the wounds’. The preposition ‘apo’ indicates that the guard was diligent in washing the wounds in order to heal them quickly and to minimise their impact.

Acts XVI, 34 — ‘εἰς τὸν οἶκον’ - ‘eis ton oikon’ - ‘into the house’. Where to. They all believed God, the verse says here, which means that God did this, and they believed God in this way.

For more on the reading, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/21052023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/09062024.html

(John IX, 1-38 )
John IX, 1 — ‘ἄνθρωπον τυφλὸν ἐκ γενετῆς’ - ‘anthropon typhlon ek genetes’ - ‘a man blind from birth’. The preposition ‘ek’ here indicates that it was a congenital disease, he was blind from the time his eyesight developed in the womb, that is, as far as we can talk about the sight of a human being. Of course, at that time there were no such means of prenatal diagnosis, but this detail is recorded through God's inspiration, for God knows everything.

John IX, 3 — ‘ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ’ - ‘hina phanerothe ta erga tou theou en auto’ - ‘that the works of God may be made manifest (become evident, visible) in him (with him)'. In other words, God had permitted that illness from the womb in order to grant a miracle and glorify Christ later. The works are of God, i.e. here actually of the Father, but they are performed, as in other places of the Gospel, by Jesus Christ. The Father glorifies the Son in this way, and the Son glorifies the Father.

John IX, 5 — ‘ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ’ - ‘en to kosmo’ - ‘in the world’. Where.

John IX, 6 — ‘πηλὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτύσματος’ - ‘pelon ek tou ptysmatos’ - ‘a mud (dirt) of the spittle’. The preposition ‘ek’ is quite unusual here - if we are talking about the material from which something is made, it is typical to use ‘apo’ instead, but then it is implied that the product is significantly different from the material, for example, a wooden product is significantly different from the wood from which it is made, whereas the preposition ‘ek’ indicates that the mixture is no different in meaning and effect from the pure saliva of Christ Himself, i.e. this miraculous mixture has not acquired the properties of earth and dirt, but has the properties of saliva, and it is healing - not by itself, but through the work of Christ Himself, as well as the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. See also:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/30042025.html

John IX, 7 — ‘εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν τοῦ Σιλωάμ’ - ‘eis ten kolymbethran tou Siloam’ - ‘to the pool of Siloam’. That is, it indicates where to go, not where to wash. The important point here is that the water of Siloam did not affect the miracle, only the saliva of Christ and His divine will. That is, ‘go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself’. Hence it is obvious that it was necessary to wash oneself, solely (only) to wash away the dirt from the mixture, the former did not provide healing, but was needed as an image of God's work in the world. The words of the reading from the Apostle for today come to mind: ‘We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the greatness of the power may be God's and not ours’ (2 Corinthians IV, 7). See also the following links about the Eucharist:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/18042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/30042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/09052025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/08052025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/07052025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/06052025.html

John IX, 11 — ‘ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν Σιλωὰμ καὶ νίψαι’ - ‘hypage eis ton Siloam kai nipsai’ - ‘go to Siloam and wash yourself’. Where to. See the explanation of the verses 6 and 7 above.

John IX, 14 — ‘ἐν ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ’ - ‘en e hemera’ - ‘on the day when’. When. The healing took place on the Sabbath, the day of the Lord for the Jews, the day of expectation of the Coming of the Messiah, the Christ.

John IX, 16 — ‘σχίσμα ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς’ - ‘skhisma en en autois’ - ‘division was in them’. That is, they were divided.

John IX, 24 — ‘ἐκ δευτέρου’ - ‘ek deuterou’ - ‘the second time’. A common expression.

John IX, 30 — ‘ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ τὸ θαυμαστόν ἐστιν’ - ‘en touto gar to thaumaston estin’ - ‘for this is the strange thing’.

John IX, 34 — ‘ἐν ἁμαρτίαις’ - ‘en hamartiais’ - ‘in sins’. The Pharisees believed that only the testimony of righteous people regarding faith could be trusted, and that sickness was evidence of sinfulness, so they concluded that they would not listen to the testimony about the spiritual things done to this healed man. They were wrong in both opinions.

John IX, 35 — ‘σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;’ - ‘sy pisteueis eis ton hyion tou anthropou?’ - ‘do you believe in the Son of Man? The preposition ‘eis’ here indicates that true faith leads to Christ, the Son of Man, Who is the goal and destination of the faith.

John IX, 36 — ‘ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν;’ - ‘hina pisteuso eis auton?’ - ‘so that (I) may believe in Him?’ See the explanation above on the verse 35.

For more on the reading from the Gospel, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/21052023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/09062024.html

To the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John:
(2 Corinthians IV, 6-15; Matthew XI, 2-15)
For more on the reading from the Apostle, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/06102024.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17092023.html

Matthew XI, 2 — ‘ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ’ - ‘en to desmoterio’ - ‘in the prison’. Where.

Matthew XI, 6 — ‘μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί’ - ‘makarios estin hos hean me skandalisthe en emoi’ - ‘blessed is the one who will have no reason to stumble in Me’. That is, the one who can accept Christ as He is, completely, totally, unconditionally, without hesitation. This is possible only for a person who is able by faith to accept Christ and who is like Him in many ways.

Matthew XI, 7 — ‘εἰς τὴν ἔρημον’ - ‘eis ten eremon’ - ‘into the wilderness’. Where to. ‘ὑπὸ ἀνέμου σαλευόμενον’ - ‘hypo anemou seleuomenon’ - ‘swaying in the wind; swaying with the wind; swaying from the wind’. The preposition ‘hypo’ is here with the genitive case and indicates that it is the passive voice of the participle, which is translated as ‘swaying’.

Matthew XI, 8 — ‘ἄνθρωπον ἐν μαλακοῖς ἠμφιεσμένον;’ - ‘anthropon en malakois emphiesmenon? ‘a man dressed in soft (soft, pleasant to the touch) clothes?’ ‘ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις τῶν βασιλέων’ - ‘en tois oikois ton basileon’ - ‘in the houses (palaces) of kings’. Where.

Matthew XI, 11 — ‘ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν’ - ‘en gennetois gynaikon’ - ‘’among those born of women; among those begotten by women‘’. Where, among whom. ‘ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν’ - ‘en te basileia ton ouranon’ - ‘in the Kingdom of God’. Where.

Matthew XI, 12 — ‘ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου’ - ‘apo de ton hemeron Ioannou’ - ‘from the days of John’. The preposition ‘apo’ indicates the beginning of the count, i.e. the preaching of the Kingdom of God, which came in the Person of Jesus Christ, began with the beginning of John's preaching.

For more on the Gospel reading, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/09032023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/26062023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/16072024.html

Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!