Glory Be to Jesus Christ!
🌞
Since in the work published at the link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/02082025.html
and even earlier in others, published at the 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/12112025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/27112024.html
it is written that the use of prepositions has important significance for the correct understanding of important and topical questions, particularly the question of power, I am writing comments regarding the use of precisely these prepositions. As advice regarding reading what is written — one can read the verse in translation or/and original (whoever has such possibility), and then the corresponding comment regarding prepositions here. Then it is necessary to understand which part of the verse the comment concerns, and also to consider what essential for understanding it affirms — or more rarely — denies. Such thoughtful reading helps to deepen understanding and protects from the mentioned mistakes.
I prepared an improved version of my research, the presentation of which is available at the link:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/posts/
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/uk/commentaries/vystup-2025-hypo-genitive-Romans-XIII_1.pdf
The research material is currently being prepared for publication. I hope, God willing, to present fuller results later after the publication comes out.
I will update the list of references regarding prepositions at the links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/02082025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/uk/commentaries/Pryjmennyky.html
the latter — once or twice a month (in Ukrainian), to keep the text version current and up to date.
Translated from Ukrainian by Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic AI), with subsequent editing by me.
Strong's references (note: according to Strong) in the translation of the original text mean that the word is taken from Strong's dictionary, and the specific meaning was chosen following the translation and commentary by Google Gemini Fast 3.
As Great Lent has begun, the readings from the New Testament are replaced with readings from the Old Testament, in order to urge people more towards repentance.
As it is spoken of several Ancient Greek (Koine) prepositions, the Old Testament readings will continue to be commented upon, examining the first complete translation into Ancient Greek — the Septuagint.
The most widely read are the book of the prophet Isaiah, who is also called the Old Testament evangelist
on account of the clarity of his prophecies concerning Christ, the book of Genesis, from which we learn much concerning the meaning and the need for salvation and concerning God's will, and the book of the Proverbs of Solomon, which is an instructive canonical book, called to raise a person above the commonplace to the threshold of eternity, to prepare them for the higher through the seeking of wisdom rather than of certain earthly gains. All three books, as indeed the whole of the Old Testament, bear witness to Jesus Christ, notwithstanding that each of the books does so in an entirely different manner.
The theme is very profound, but it must be noted at once that the readers and hearers of the Old Testament in its own time differed from people today. The most essential difference was that the depth of understanding, especially the understanding of repentance, conversion and purification, was being formed at that time, and it is precisely for this reason that the reading of Old Testament books takes place first and foremost in the time of the fast, in the time of repentance and preparation, for that which those people encountered is also relevant today.
At the 6th Hour:
Isaiah XLVIII, 17 — 'ἐν ᾗ πορεύσῃ ἐν αὐτῇ' — 'en he poreuse en aute' - by which you will walk
. What is meant is the conduct of the person, that is, the person will behave in this manner.
Isaiah XLVIII, 20 — 'ἔξελθε ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος φεύγων ἀπὸ τῶν Χαλδαίων' — 'exelthe ek Babylonos pheugon apo ton Khaldaion' - go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans
. The preposition 'ek' indicates here a departure from Babylon (a parallel to the departure of the Jews from Egypt with Moses, a symbol of spiritual deliverance, which may also signify not only spiritual deliverance). The preposition 'apo' indicates here that the Chaldeans are to be left completely — that is, one must cease clinging to the customs, way of life and conduct, and views of the pagans, of whom the ancient Chaldeans were representatives.
Isaiah XLVIII, 21 — 'ὕδωρ ἐκ πέτρας' — 'hydor ek petras' - water from the rock; water from the stone
. That is, whence that water flowed.
Isaiah XLIX, 1 — 'ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου' — 'ek koilias metros mou' - from the womb of my mother
. That is, whence.
Isaiah XLIX, 2 — 'ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ' — 'hypo ten skepen tes kheiros autou' - under the shadow of his hand
. The preposition 'hypo' here with the accusative indicates that under which the Lord hid the one spoken of (here in the text — the symbolic people of God, Israel). 'ἐν τῇ φαρέτρᾳ αὐτοῦ' - 'en te pharetra autou' - in his quiver (note: according to Strong)
.
Isaiah XLIX, 3 — 'ἐν σοὶ δοξασθήσομαι' — 'en soi doxasthesomai' - in you I will be glorified; with you I will be glorified
. Both translations are possible, the first indicating that the Lord will manifest His glory in Israel, will appear Himself, and the second — that the faithful will glorify God and will also be the occasion for others to glorify God.
Isaiah XLIX, 4 — 'εἰς μάταιον καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν ἔδωκα τὴν ἰσχύν μου' — 'eis mataion kai eis ouden edoka ten iskyn mou' - in vain and for nothing I gave my strength
. That is, the strength that was possessed was used in vain, one grew weary and was exhausted in this way. What is spoken of is the fruitlessness of a sinful life. The preposition 'eis' indicates here how Israel directed its strength. 'διὰ τοῦτο ἡ κρίσις μου παρὰ κυρίῳ' - 'dia touto he krisis mou para kyrio' - therefore my judgement is in the vicinity of the Lord
. The preposition 'para' here with the dative case indicates that whether Israel will have praise, reward, honour, and significance — all this is at God's discretion — if the Lord manifests mercy and love, then Israel, even though it has spent God's gifts in vain, will be shown mercy and saved; but if God judges, then the verdict will be righteous and just. An image of the feelings and state of the sinful person who entrusts themselves to God in conversion.
The reading has two parts, divided by the beginning of a new chapter.
The mention of Babylon is one of the indications that the author of the second part of the book of the prophet Isaiah (after chapter 40) was the so-called Second Isaiah
— one of the disciples of the school of prophets founded by Isaiah himself, who lived some 200 years after him.
Nevertheless, the indication is indirect; in general one may think that there was only one Isaiah, and the indications in the second part concern the power of his prophetic gift.
In general the question of whether one Isaiah wrote the book or whether there were two (with an interval of more than a century) remains not fully clear.
Returning to the text, I shall note that in the first part of today's reading the Lord recalls the promises to Abraham and the patriarchs, speaking of sand
and grains of sand
(rather than dust
, as in the first promise to Abraham), that is, something that can at least approximately be counted
.
Peace like a river (stream), and righteousness like a wave of the sea
— a distinctive metaphor, which can be compared with what is written in the works at the links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mereza/permalink/2871043933194200/
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/ThememoryofSt.GregorytheTheologian.html — this one in English,
that is, that through the action of God's grace upon righteous people, their righteousness (and especially if an entire people is righteous) is as frequent and strong as waves upon the sea arise easily in great numbers, and happy life would penetrate everywhere, into all spheres of life, just as one cannot easily stop the flow of a river.
The second part (from the beginning of chapter XLIX) — a prophecy concerning the special calling of the people of Israel, through whom the Messiah-Christ was to come (and has already come). An arrow
— that which is to accurately defeat sin, being sharp
, that is, a minority of humanity (one people) directly contributed to the fulfilment of God's prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah-Christ into the world.
At the same time there are also pointers to Christ Himself, Who glorifies God the Father, and is the true Light.
It must be noted that the difficult history of the people of Israel and of humanity in general is also shown — they did not together become righteous, but nonetheless are capable of repentance, and this is what takes place.
More concerning the readings from the Prophets see at the links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/07042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/03042023.html
At Vespers:
Genesis XXVII, 3, 5 — 'εἰς τὸ πεδίον' — 'eis to pedion' - into the plain
. That is, whither.
Genesis XXVII, 9 — 'εἰς τὰ πρόβατα' — 'eis ta probata' - to the sheep; to the flock of sheep
. That is, whither.
Genesis XXVII, 15 — 'παρ' αὐτῇ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ' — 'par aute en to oiko' - in the vicinity of her in the house
. The preposition 'para' in its form before the following vowel here with the dative case indicates that as mistress of the household she knew where that garment of her son was. It is possible that she looked after that garment on behalf of her son Esau.
Genesis XXVII, 17 — 'εἰς τὰς χεῖρας Ιακωβ' — 'eis tas kheiras Iakob' - into the hands of Jacob
. That is, whither.
Genesis XXVII, 19 — 'ἀπὸ τῆς θήρας μου' — 'apo tes theras mou' - from what I have hunted
. The preposition 'apo' here indicates that this is a gift from the son to his father.
Verses 22 and 23 indicate that Jacob and Esau had a similar bodily constitution, even though very different characters and worldviews.
Genesis XXVII, 25 — 'ἀπὸ τῆς θήρας σου τέκνον' — 'apo tes theras sou teknon' - from what you have hunted, my child
. The preposition 'apo' indicates here that what was hunted is a gift of the son to his father.
Genesis XXVII, 28 — 'ἀπὸ τῆς δρόσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πιότητος τῆς γῆς' — 'apo tes drosou tou ouranou kai apo tes piotetos tes ges' - from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth
. The preposition 'apo' indicates here that these are God's gifts. Heaven gives dew, which in the prophets is the dew of healings, in the story of the young men in Babylon is a sign of deliverance from fire, and is a symbol of the resurrection; whilst the earth is presented as a well-nourished, well-fed, full person, fruitful and generous.
Genesis XXVII, 30 — 'ἀπὸ προσώπου Ισαακ' — 'apo prosopou Isaak' - from the face of Isaac
. That is, from Isaac, so that he should not see him at all. 'ἀπὸ τῆς θήρας' - 'apo tes theras' - from what was hunted
. See the comment on verse 25 above.
Genesis XXVII, 31 — 'ἀπὸ τῆς θήρας τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ' — 'apo tes theras tou hyiou autou' - from what your son has hunted
. Analogous to verses 25, 30, 31.
Genesis XXVII, 33 — 'ἀπὸ πάντων' — 'apo panton' - from all
. That is, everything. The preposition 'apo' indicates here that that food was eaten with appetite.
Genesis XXVII, 39 — 'ἀπὸ τῆς πιότητος τῆς γῆς' — 'apo tes pistetos tes ges' - from the fatness of the earth
. 'ἀπὸ τῆς δρόσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἄνωθεν' - 'apo tes drosou tou ouranou anothen' - from the dew of heaven from above
. Analogous to verse 28 above. Here both blessings coincide, which points to their universal human character — that it is good to wish these things for people in general.
Genesis XXVII, 40 — 'ἀπὸ τοῦ τραχήλου σου' — 'apo tou trakelou sou' - from your neck
. The preposition 'apo' indicates here that that yoke will be cast off completely, entirely. One may think that the prophecy was fulfilled after the First Coming of Christ.
The story of the end of Sarah's life, of Abraham's life, a significant part concerning the life of Isaac and Rebekah (his wife), and the early years of the life of Esau and Jacob and their sons, have been omitted.
Here what is spoken of is how Jacob, through the participation of his mother Rebekah, received the greater blessing from his father Isaac who could barely see, whilst Esau received the lesser, and about what allows one to see more clearly the difference between these brothers.
We also see the self-sacrifice of Rebekah as a mother, who is ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of her beloved son; and the importance of blessing (in particular that of parents), and the reverence for blessing.
But the key theme, important in particular for the fast, is that of the attitude to the spiritual, exemplified in the two brothers — the sincere Jacob, who truly believes and strives to act according to conscience, and Esau, who regards the spiritual merely as a certain means, an instrument
for gaining advantage and benefit.
It is precisely on account of this latter disposition that God took the blessing from him and gave it to Jacob — for Esau himself in his soul proved to be unworthy (let us look at how earlier he sold his birthright for a bowl of stew
to Jacob, at the dialogue of Esau with his father, and also at his plan to kill Jacob in keeping with the proper observance of mourning
for his father who would die later, and at his envy). Jacob had no such plans, for he was close to God and had a good conscience. Esau, on the other hand, related to the spiritual — somewhat as to points in a game
that can be earned by playing the game successfully
. God did not truly interest him, whilst the spiritual interested him only by virtue of its outward significance in the surroundings in which he grew up and lived.
It must be said that subsequently, Jacob will make his peace with Esau — precisely through the voice of conscience — and will make his peace through God's grace towards them both.
The blessing of Esau by Isaac also, in this context, recalls a prophecy concerning the secularisation of society — people will strive to formalise
spirituality in order to obtain more freedom
, although the roots of such an attitude lie not at all in any lack of freedom in the spiritual (quite the contrary!), but in the very attitude of people who have distanced themselves from God. One may also say that God cares for people who are far from him.
More concerning the readings from the Law see at the links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/07042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/03042023.html
Proverbs XIX, 18 — 'εἰς δὲ ὕβριν μὴ ἐπαίρου τῇ ψυχῇ σου' — 'eis de hybrin me epairou te psykhe sou' - do not lift up your soul toward insult (contempt, harm)
. The preposition 'eis' indicates here that what is spoken of is a movement of the soul towards a state of insult or contempt, against which the Lord cautions here. That is, children need to be brought up, since one is older and a parent, but this must always be done with respect and without insult.
Proverbs XIX, 21 — 'ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός' — 'en kardia andros' - in the heart of a man
. 'ἡ δὲ βουλὴ τοῦ κυρίου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει' - 'he de boule tou kyriou eis ton aiona menei' - but the purpose (counsel) of the Lord will abide for ever (eternally)
. That is, what the Lord has decided will come to pass and will remain so for ever, without annulment. A comparison of the changeable and uncertain human heart (even in powerful people) with the might of God. See also more at the links below.
Proverbs XIX, 23 — 'φόβος κυρίου εἰς ζωὴν' — 'phobos kyriou eis zoen' - the fear of the Lord unto life; the fear of the Lord for life
. A rich expression, indicating that the fear of the Lord leads to life and is needful for life. More concerning the fear of God see at the link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1539152859716654/?multi_permalinks=3554517061513547
'ἐν τόποις' — 'en topois' — in places
. What follows speaks of a person who does not have this fear of God.
Proverbs XIX, 24 — 'ὁ ἐγκρύπτων εἰς τὸν κόλπον αὐτοῦ χεῖρας ἀδίκως' — 'ho engkypton eis ton kolpon autou kheiras adikos' - one who hides their hands in their bosom unjustly
. What is spoken of is a person who, instead of doing justice, evades it or directly does injustice.
Proverbs XIX, 21 — harmonises with others from chapter XVI:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/25032026.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/11032026.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17042024.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/18042024.html
The Greek and Hebrew texts differ somewhat, but are in general very similar; nonetheless certain verses differ greatly.
In general, the Lord through Solomon teaches here honesty, wisdom, kindness, mercy, care for those in need (in particular the poor), love of learning, the ability to listen and respect for counsel, the need for parents to teach, industriousness, and righteousness.
The most well-known is the verse Proverbs XIX, 17 — which effectively foreshadows the Gospel truth that what we do to people we do to Christ Himself (to God and human, to God) (Matthew XXV).
Attention must also be drawn to the instruction that parents need to teach and bring up their children, but in doing so they must not inwardly exalt themselves, consider themselves teachers, or show superiority. Once again, in the Gospel this rule is developed with far greater depth.
More concerning the readings from the Didactic and Poetic Books see at the links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/07042025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/22042024.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/03042023.html
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!