in the midst of a crooked generation

μέσος, η, ον (Hom.+). The distinction between ‘middle’ and ‘among’ for μ. is sometimes rather fluid, and some of the passages here cited may fit equally well under 1 or 2.

① pert. to a middle position spatially or temporally, middle, in the middle.

ⓐ as adj. (of intermediate terms: Pla., Rep. 330b, Pol. 303a) ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν ἀνήρ the man in their midst, apparently surrounded by them Hs 9, 12, 7. μέσης νυκτός at midnight (3 Km 3:20.—B-D-F §270, 2; Rob. 495; Lobeck, Phryn. p. 53; 54; 465) Mt 25:6. ἡμέρας μέσης at midday (Jos., Bell. 1, 651, Ant. 17, 155) Ac 26:13. εἰς μέσην τὴν οἰκοδομήν into the middle of the building Hs 9, 7, 5; cp. 9, 8, 2; 4; 6 (cp. Philo, Fuga 49 εἰς μέσον τὸν ποταμόν; Jos., Ant. 4, 80 εἰς μέσον τὸ πῦρ). ἐσταύρωσαν … μέσον τὸν Ἰησοῦν they crucified Jesus between (them) J 19:18. ἐσχίσθη τὸ καταπέτασμα μέσον the curtain was torn in two Lk 23:45 (cp. Artem. 4, 30 τὸ ἱμάτιον μέσον ἐρρωγέναι). ἐλάκησεν μέσος Ac 1:18 (cp. Aristoph., Ran. 955). ἐν μέσοις τοῖς ὀργάνοις τοῦ διαβόλου in the midst of the tools of the devil 2 Cl 18:2 (for the syntax cp. Gen 2:9 ἐν μέσῳ τῷ παραδείσῳ).

ⓑ as subst. neut. τὸ μ. the middle (on the absence of the art. s. B-D-F §264, 4; cp. Rob. 792) ἀνὰ μέσον τινός (s. ἀνά 1) ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ὁρίων within or through the region Mk 7:31. ἀνὰ μ. αὐτῶν between them GPt 4:10; Hs 9, 2, 3; 9, 15, 2. ἀνὰ μ. ἐκκλησίας ἁγίων B 6:16; 4:10; διακρῖναι ἀνὰ μ. τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ between one (congregation) member and another 1 Cor 6:5 (s. ἀνά 1b. Perh. μέσος prompted a shortening of the sentence tending to obscurity; cp. the Stoic expr. μέσα καθήκοντα = καθήκοντα ἃ ἐν μέσῳ ἐστὶ κατορθωμάτων κ. ἁμαρτημάτων: MPohlenz, D. Stoa II ’49, 73f). τὸ ἀρνίον τὸ ἀ. μ. τοῦ θρόνου the lamb who is (seated) on the center of the throne Rv 7:17. ἀνὰ μ. τῆς ὁδοῦ (they made) half their journey GJs 17:3.—διὰ μέσου αὐτῶν through the midst of them (X., An. 1, 4, 4; Aesop. Fab. 147 P.=247 H./201a Ch./152 [I, II] H-H.; Am 5:17; Jer 44:4; Jdth 11:19; 1 Macc 5:46; Ath. 18, 3 ‘between’) Lk 4:30; J 8:59 v.l. διὰ μέσον Σαμαρείας καὶ Γαλιλαίας Lk 17:11 prob. can only mean through Samaria and Galilee; but this raises a practical difficulty, since we should expect to find the provinces mentioned in the opposite order. Perh. the text is damaged (cp. the vv.ll. διὰ μέσου and μέσον; s. B-D-F §222; Rob. 648; JBlinzler, AWikenhauser Festschr. ’54, 46ff. If the v.l. διὰ μέσου Σ. καὶ Γ. should be correct, we could compare Maximus Tyr. 28, 4a διὰ μέσου πίστεως κ. ἀπιστίας=throughout between). For the view that μέσον signifies the area betw. S. and G. s. the comm. Cp. δια B1.—εἰς τὸ μέσον into the middle or center (X., Cyr. 3, 1, 6; Dio Chrys. 19 [36], 24; 3 Km 6:8; Jos., Ant. 9, 149) Mk 3:3; Lk 4:35; 5:19; 6:8; J 20:19, 26 (ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον as Vi. Aesopi G 82 P.); Hs 9, 8, 5; also in the middle 9, 6, 1. W. gen. (X., An. 1, 5; 14a; Jer 21:4; 48:7; Sb 6270, 13) εἰς τὸ μ. αὐτῶν in the midst of them 9, 11, 7. Without the art. (LXX; Jos., Vi. 334; SibOr 3, 674) εἰς μ. τοῦ πεδίου in the middle of the plain Hs 9, 2, 1 (εἰς μ.=‘in the middle’, as Ps.-Clem., Hom. 3, 30 p. 44, 21 Lag.). τί … τὸ ἔριον εἰς μ. τῶν ἀκανθῶν τιθέασιν; Why do they place the wool in the middle of the thorns? 7:11. ἀναστὰς εἰς μ. he arose (and came) forward Mk 14:60 (cp. Theocr. 22, 82 ἐς μέσον=into the middle; Himerius, Or. 63 [=Or. 17], 2 εἰς μέσον ἔρχεσθαι=come into the open; X., Cyr. 4, 1, 1 στὰς εἰς τὸ μ.).—ἐν τῷ μ. among, before (more closely defined by the context, or = in public [so Clearch., Fgm. 45 οἴκοι καὶ μὴ ἐν τῷ μέσῳ; Appian, Liby. 15 §63]) Mt 14:6 (Dio Chrys. 30 [79], 39 ὀρχεῖσθαι ἐν τῷ μέσω; Lucian, Pereg. 8) and into the middle, before (them) (Vi. Aesopi W c. 86 στὰς ἐν τῷ μέσῳ ἔφη) Ac 4:7. Without the art. (LXX) ἐν μέσῳ (on the spelling ἐμ μέσῳ, which occurs several times as v.l., s. B-D-F §19, 1; Mlt-H. 105) abs. into the middle, before (someone) (Appian, Hann. 16 §67, Liby. 14 §59; Jos., Ant. 7, 278) J 8:3; MPol 18:1 and in the middle (Pla., Rep. 558a; Herm. Wr. 4, 3; PLille 1 recto, 5 [259 B.C.]; GrBar 13:4) J 8:9. W. gen. of place (Aeneas Tact. 1529; 1532; TestAbr A 12 p. 90, 21 [Stone p. 28], B 8 p. 113, 3 [St. p. 74]; ParJer 1:2; GrBar 10:2) τῆς θαλάσσης (En 97:7) in the middle of the lake Mk 6:47. τῆς πλατείας through the middle of the street Rv 22:2. ἐν μ. τῆς αὐλῆς in the middle of the courtyard Lk 22:55a; τοῦ τάφου GPt 13:55. ἐν μ. αὐτῆς within it (the city of Jerusalem) Lk 21:21; cp. Dg 12:3; MPol 12:1; 12:2(?). ἐν μ. τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τῶν τεσσάρων ζῴων on the center of the throne and among the four living creatures Rv 5:6a (w. double gen. also between: Appian, Hann. 14 §60, Bell. Civ. 5, 23 §92; Arrian, Anab. 1, 20, 2; 3, 28, 8 al.; Lucian, Fugit. 10 ἐν μ. ἀλαζονείας κ. φιλοσοφίας). ἐν μέσῳ τ. θρόνου around (on every side of) the throne 4:6 (but between the throne and a more remote point: RBrewer, JBL 71, ’52, 227–31).—ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας Hb 2:12 (Ps 21:23); cp. Ac 17:22. κατὰ μέσον (Jos., Bell. 5, 207; SibOr 3, 802 κατὰ μέσσον=‘in the middle’ [of the day]) κατὰ μ. τῆς νυκτός about midnight Ac 16:25 D; 27:27.

ⓒ The neut. μέσον serves as adv. (e.g., Appian, Bell. Civ. 3, 43 §175 μ.=meanwhile) ἦν μέσον ὡς he was in the center of it as MPol 15:2; and is used as prep. w. gen. (B-D-F §215, 3; Rob. 644. Cp. Hdt. 9, 107, 2; Polyb. 8, 25, 1; Epict. 2, 22, 10; LXX, TestSol; TestAbr A 4 p. 80, 31 [Stone p. 8]; JosAs 24:21; Jos., Ant. 6, 65; SibOr 3, 319) μ. τῆς θαλάσσης in the middle of the lake Mt 14:24 v.l.; μ. γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς in the midst of a crooked generation Phil 2:15 (cp. Maximus Tyr. 36, 5a ἐν μέσῳ τῷ σιδηρῷ τούτῳ γένει).

② pert. to a position within a group, without focus on mediate position, among.

ⓐ as adj. ἐκάθητο ὁ Πέτρος μέσος αὐτῶν Peter was sitting among them Lk 22:55 (the point being not as center of attention but inconspicuously in the group; cp. Jos., Ant. 9, 107). μέσος ὑμῶν ἕστηκεν J 1:26 (Jos., Ant. 14, 23). τοῦ πύργου μέσου Hs 9, 8, 2. εἶδον … μέσον αὐτῶν τὸν Παῦλον AcPl Ha 11, 14.

ⓑ as subst. neuter ἀνὰ μέσον τινός (s. ἀνά 1) among someth. Mt 13:25. W. gen. pl. (TestJob 32:6 ἐν μέσῳ τῶν τέκνων σου) in the midst of, among in answer to the questions where and whither (B-D-F §215, 3 app.) Mt 18:2, 20; Mk 9:36; Lk 2:46; 24:36; Ac 1:15; 2:22; 6:15 D; 27:21; Rv 5:6b; cp. 6:6. Of close personal relationship ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν among you = in communion with you Lk 22:27; 1 Th 2:7.—ἐν μ. λύκων among wolves Mt 10:16; Lk 10:3; 2 Cl 5:2.—W. gen. pl. of things (Alciphron 3, 24, 3) Lk 8:7; Rv 1:13; 2:1. ἐκ (τοῦ) μ. from among (X., An. 1, 5, 14b; oracular response in Diod S 9, 3, 2; LXX=מִתּוֹךְ): αἴρειν τι (or τινά) ἐκ (τοῦ) μέσου (τινῶν) Col 2:14; 1 Cor 5:2 (s. αἴρω 3). ἁρπάσαι αὐτὸν ἐκ μ. αὐτῶν Ac 23:10 (s. ἁρπάζω 2a). ἀφορίζειν τοὺς πονηροὺς ἐκ μ. τῶν δικαίων Mt 13:49 (s. ἀφορίζω 1). γίνεσθαι ἐκ μ. 2 Th 2:7 (s. γίνομαι 6b). ἐξέρχεσθαι ἐκ μ. αὐτῶν from among them Ac 17:33; cp. 2 Cor 6:17 (cp. Is 52:11). κύριος λαμβάνει ἑαυτῷ ἔθνος ἐκ μ. ἐθνῶν 1 Cl 29:3 (cp. Dt 4:34).—B. 864. DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.