to have a heavenly evening

heavenly ['hevənlɪ]

adjective

(a) (from heaven, the sky) céleste, du ciel; (holy) divin;

∎ Heavenly Father Père m céleste

(b) familiar (wonderful) divin, merveilleux;

∎ what heavenly peaches! quelles pêches délicieuses!;

∎ to have a heavenly evening passer une soirée merveilleuse

►► heavenly body corps m céleste

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

á, prep., often used elliptically, or even adverbially, [Goth. ana; Engl. on; Germ. an. In the Scandinavian idioms the liquid n is absorbed. In English the same has been supposed to happen in adverbial phrases, e. g. ‘along, away, abroad, afoot, again, agate, ahead, aloft, alone, askew, aside, astray, awry,’ etc. It is indeed true that the Ormulum in its northern dialect freq. uses o, even in common phrases, such as ‘o boke, o land, o life, o slæpe, o strande, o write, o naht, o loft,’ etc., v. the glossary; and we may compare on foot and afoot, on sleep (Engl. Vers. of Bible) and asleep; A. S. a-butan and on-butan (about); agen and ongean (again, against); on bæc, aback; on life, alive; on middan, amid. But it is more than likely that in the expressions quoted above, as well as in numberless others, as well in old as in modern English, the English a- as well as the o- of the Ormulum and the modern Scottish and north of England o- are in reality remains of this very á pronounced au or ow, which was brought by the Scandinavian settlers into the north of England. In the struggle for supremacy between the English dialects after the Conquest, the Scandinavian form á or a won the day in many cases to the exclusion of the Anglo-Saxon on. Some of these adverbs have representatives only in the Scandinavian tongues, not in Anglo-Saxon; see below, with dat. B. II, C. VII; with acc. C. I. and VI. The prep. á denotes the surface or outside; í and ór the inside; at, til, and frá, nearness measured to or from an object: á thus answers to the Gr. επί; the Lat. in includes á and i together.]

With dat. and acc.: in the first case with the notion of remaining on a place, answering to Lat. in with abl.; in the last with the notion of motion to the place, = Lat. in with acc.

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

I. generally on, upon; á gólfi, on the floor, Nj. 2; á hendi, on the hand (of a ring), 48, 225; á palli, 50; á steini, 108; á vegg, 115; á sjá ok á landi, on sea and land. In some instances the distinction between d and i is loose and wavering, but in most cases common sense and usage decide; thus ‘á bók’ merely denotes the letters, the penmanship, ‘í’ the contents of a book; mod. usage, however, prefers ‘í,’ lesa í bók, but stafr á bók. Old writers on the other hand; á bókum Enskum, in English books, Landn. 24, but í Aldafars bók, 23 (in the book De Mensurâ Temporum, by Bede), cp. Grág. i. 76, where á is a false reading instead of at; á bréfi, the contents of a letter: of clothing or arms, mítr á höfði, sverð á hlið, mitre on head, sword on side, Fms. i. 266, viii. 404; hafa lykil á sér, on one’s person, 655 xxvii. 22; möttull á tyglum, a mantle hanging on (i. e. fastened by) laces, Fms. vii. 201: á þingi means to be present at a meeting; í þingi, to abide within a jurisdiction; á himni, á jörðu, on (Engl. in) heaven and earth, e. g. in the Lord’s Prayer, but í helviti, in hell; á Gimli, Edda (of a heavenly abode); á báti, á skipi denote crew and cargo, ‘í’ the timber or materials of which a ship is built, Eg. 385; vera í stafni á skipi, 177: á skógi, to be abroad in a wood (of a hunter, robber, deer); but to be situated (a house), at work (to fell timber), í skógi, 573, Fs. 5, Fms. iii. 122, viii. 31, xi. 1, Glúm. 330, Landn. 173; á mörkinni, Fms. i. 8, but í mörk, of a farm; á firðinum means lying in a firth, of ships or islands (on the surface of the water), þær eyjar liggja á Breiðafirði, Ld. 36; but í firði, living in a district named Firth; á landi, Nj. 98, Fms. xi. 386.

II. á is commonly used in connection with the pr. names or countries terminating in ‘land,’ Engl. in, á Englandi, Írlandi, Skotlandi, Bretlandi, Saxlandi, Vindlandi, Vínlandi, Grænalandi, Íslandi, Hálogalandi, Rogalandi, Jótlandi, Frakklandi, Hjaltlandi, Jamtalandi, Hvítramannalandi, Norðrlöndum, etc., vide Landn. and the index to Fms. xii. In old writers í is here very rare, in modern authors more frequent; taste and the context in many instances decide. An Icelander would now say, speaking of the queen or king, ‘á Englandi,’ ruling over, but to live ‘í Englandi,’ or ‘á Englandi;’ the rule in the last case not being quite fixed.

2. in connection with other names of countries: á Mæri, Vörs, Ögðum, Fjölum, all districts of Norway, v. Landn.; á Mýrum (in Icel.), á Finnmörk, Landn., á Fjóni (a Danish island); but í Danmörk, Svíþjóð (á Svíþjóðu is poët., Gs. 13).

3. before Icel. farms denoting open and elevated slopes and spaces (not too high, because then ‘at’ must be used), such as ‘staðr, völlr, ból, hjalli, bakki, heimr, eyri,’ etc.; á Veggjum, Landn. 69; á Hólmlátri, id.: those ending in ‘-staðr,’ á Geirmundarstöðum, Þórisstöðum, Jarðlangsstöðum…, Landn.: ‘-völlr,’ á Möðruvöllum: á Fitjum (the farm) í Storð (the island), í Fenhring (the island) á Aski (the farm), Landn., Eg.: ‘-nes’ sometimes takes á, sometimes í (in mod. usage always ‘í’), á Nesi, Eb. 14, or í Krossnesi, 30; in the last case the notion of island, νησος, prevails: so also, ‘fjörðr,’ as, þeir börðust á Vigrafirði (of a fight o n the ice), Landn. 101, but orusta í Hafrsfirði, 122: with ‘-bær,’ á is used in the sense of a farm or estate, hón sa á e-m bæ mikit hús ok fagrt, Edda 22; ‘í bæ’ means within doors, of the buildings: with ‘Bær’ as pr. name Landn. uses ‘í,’ 71, 160, 257, 309, 332.

4. denoting on or just above; of the sun, when the time is fixed by regarding the sun in connection with points in the horizon, a standing phrase in Icel.; sól á gjáhamri, when the sun is on the crag of the Rift, Grág. i. 26, cp. Glúm. 387; so, brú á á, a bridge on a river, Fms. viii. 179, Hrafn. 20; taka hús á e-m, to surprise one, to take the house over his head, Fms. i. 11.

III. á is sometimes used in old writers where we should now expect an acc., esp. in the phrase, leggja sverði (or the like) á e-m, or á e-m miðjum, to stab, Eg. 216, Gísl. 106, Band. 14; þá stakk Starkaðr sprotanum á konungi, then Starkad stabbed the king with the wand, Fas. iii. 34; bíta á kampi (vör), to bite the lips, as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 209, 68; taka á e-u, to touch a thing, lay hold of it, v. taka; fá á e-u, id. (poët.); leggja hendr á (better at) síðum, in wrestling, Fms. x. 331; koma á úvart á e-m, to come on one unawares, ix. 407 (rare).

B. TEMP. of a particular point or period of time, at, on, in:

I. gener. denoting during, in the course of; á nótt, degi, nætrþeli …, Bs. i. 139; or spec. adding a pron. or an adject., á næsta sumri, the next summer; á því ári, þingi, misseri, hausti, vári, sumri …, during, in that year …, Bs. i. 679, etc.; á þrem sumrum, in the course of three summers, Grág. i. 218; á þrem várum, Fms. ii. 114; á hálfs mánaðar fresti, within half a month’s delay, Nj. 99; á tvítugs, sextugs … aldri, á barns, gamals aldri, etc., at the age of …, v. aldr: á dögum e-s, in the days of, in his reign or time, Landn. 24, Hrafn. 3, Fms. ix. 229.

II. used of a fixed recurrent period or season; á várum, sumrum, haustum, vetrum, á kveldum, every spring, summer …, in the evenings, Eg. 711, Fms. i. 23, 25, vi. 394, Landn. 292: with the numeral adverbs, cp. Lat. ter in anno, um sinn á mánuði, ári, once a month, once a year, where the Engl. a is not the article but the preposition, Grág. i. 89.

III. of duration; á degi, during a whole day, Fms. v. 48; á sjau nóttum, Bárð. 166; á því meli, during that time, in the meantime, Grág. i. 259.

IV. connected with the seasons (á vetri, sumri, vári, hausti), ‘á’ denotes the next preceding season, the last winter, summer, autumn, Eb. 40, 238, Ld. 206: in such instances ‘á’ denotes the past, ‘at’ the future, ‘í’ the present; thus í vetri in old writers means this winter; á vetri, last winter; at vetri, next winter, Eb. 68 (in a verse), etc.

C. In various other relations, more or less metaphorically, on, upon, in, to, with, towards, against:

I. denoting object, in respect of, against, almost periphrastically; dvelja á náðum e-s, under one’s protection, Fms. i. 74; hafa metnað á e-u, to be proud of, to take pride in a thing, 127.

2. denoting a personal relation, in; bæta e-t á e-m, to make amends, i. e. to one personally; misgöra e-t á e-m, to inflict wrong on one; hafa elsku (hatr) á e-m, to bear love ( hatred) to one, Fms. ix. 242; hefna sín á e-m, to take revenge on one’s person, on anyone; rjúfa sætt á e-m, to break truce on the person of any one, to offend against his person, Nj. 103; hafa sár á sér, 101; sjá á e-m, to read on or in one’s face; sér hann á hverjum manni hvárt til þín er vel eðr illa, 106; var þat brátt auðséð á hennar högum, at …, it could soon be seen in all her doings, that …, Ld. 22.

3. also generally to shew signs of a thing; sýna fáleika á sér, to shew marks of displeasure, Nj. 14, Fs. 14; taka vel, illa, lítt, á e-u, to take a thing well, ill, or indifferently, id.; finna á sér, to feel in oneself; fann lítt á honum, hvárt …, it could hardly be seen in his face, whether …, Eb. 42; líkindi eru á, it is likely, Ld. 172; göra kost á e-u, to give a choice, chance of it, 178; eiga vald á e-u, to have power over …, Nj. 10.

II. denoting encumbrance, duty, liability; er fimtardómsmál á þeim, to be subject to …, Nj. 231; the phrase, hafa e-t á hendi, or vera á hendi e-m, on one’s hands, of work or duty to be done; eindagi á fé, term, pay day, Grág. i. 140; ómagi (skylda, afvinna) á fé, of a burden or encumbrance, D. I. and Grág. in several passages.

III. with a personal pronoun, sér, mér, honum …, denoting personal appearance, temper, character, look, or the like; vera þungr, léttr … á sér, to be heavy or light, either bodily or mentally; þungr á sér, corpulent, Sturl. i. 112; kátr ok léttr á sér, of a gay and light temper, Fms. x. 152; þat bragð hafði hann á sér, he looked as if, … the expression of his face was as though …, Ld., cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á sér svip, bragð, æði, sið, of one’s manner or personal appearance, to bear oneself as, or the like; skjótr (seinn) á fæti, speedy ( slow) of foot, Nj. 258.

IV. as a periphrasis of the possessive pronoun connected with the limbs or parts of the body. In common Icel. such phrases as my hands, eyes, head … are hardly ever used, but höfuð, eyru, hár, nef, munnr, hendr, fætr … á mér; so ‘í’ is used of the internal parts, e. g. hjarta, bein … í mér; the eyes are regarded as inside the body, augun í honum: also without the possessive pronoun, or as a periphrasis for a genitive, brjóstið á e-m, one’s breast, Nj. 95, Edda 15; súrnar í augum, it smarts in my eyes, my eyes smart, Nj. 202; kviðinn á sér, its belly, 655 xxx. 5, Fms. vi. 350; hendr á henni, her hands, Gísl. (in a verse); í vörunum á honum, on his lips, Band. 14; ristin á honum, his step, Fms. viii. 141; harðr í tungu, sharp of tongue, Hallfred (Fs. 114); kalt (heitt) á fingrum, höndum, fótum …, cold ( warm) in the fingers, hands, feet …, i. e. with cold fingers, etc.; cp. also the phrase, verða vísa (orð) á munni, of extemporising verses or speeches, freq. in the Sagas; fastr á fótum, fast by the leg, of a bondsman, Nj. 27: of the whole body, díla fundu þeir á honum, 209. The pers. pron. is used only in solemn style (poetry, hymns, the Bible), and perhaps only when influenced by foreign languages, e. g. mitt hjarta hví svo hryggist þú, as a translation of ‘warumb betrübst du dich mein Herz?’ the famous hymn by Hans Sachs; instead of the popular hjartað í mér, Sl. 43, 44: hjartað mitt is only used as a term of endearment, as by a husband to his wife, parents to their child, or the like, in a metaphorical sense; the heart proper is ‘í mér,’ not ‘mitt.’

2. of other things, and as a periphrasis of a genitive, of a part belonging to the whole, e. g. dyrr á husi = húsdyrr, at the house-doors; turn á kirkju = kirkju turn; stafn, skutr, segl, árar … á skipi, the stem, stern, sail … of a ship, Fms. ix. 135; blöð á lauk, á tré …, leaves of a leek, of a tree …, Fas. i. 469; egg á sverði = sverðs egg; stafr á bók; kjölr á bók, and in endless other instances.

V. denoting instrumentality, by, on, or a-, by means of; afla fjár á hólmgöngum, to make money a-duelling, by means of duels, Eg. 498; á verkum sínum, to subsist on one’s own work, Njarð. 366: as a law term, sekjast á e-ju, to be convicted upon …, Grág. i. 123; sekst maðr þar á sínu eigini ( a man is guilty in re sua), ef hann tekr af þeim manni er heimild ( possessio) hefir til, ii. 191; falla á verkum sínum, to be killed flagranti delicto, v. above; fella e-n á bragði, by a sleight in wrestling; komast undan á flótta, to escape by flight, Eg. 11; á hlaupi, by one’s feet, by speed, Hkr. ii. 168; lifa á e-u, to feed on; bergja á e-u, to taste of a thing; svala sér á e-u, to quench the thirst on.

VI. with subst. numerals; á þriðja tigi manna, up to thirty, i. e. from about twenty to thirty, Ld. 194; á öðru hundraði skipa, from one to two hundred sail strong, Fms. x. 126; á níunda tigi, between eighty and ninety years of age, Eg. 764, v. above: used as prep., á hendi, on one’s hand, i. e. bound to do it, v. hönd.

VII. in more or less adverbial phrases it may often be translated in Engl. by a participle and a- prefixed; á lopti, aloft; á floti, afloat; á lífi, alive; á verðgangi, a-begging; á brautu, away; á baki, a-back, behind, past; á milli, a-tween; á laun, alone, secretly; á launungu, id.; á móti, against; á enda, at an end, gone; á huldu, hidden; fara á hæli, to go a-heel, i. e. backwards, Fms. vii. 70;—but in many cases these phrases are transl. by the Engl. partic. with a, which is then perh. a mere prefix, not a prep., á flugi, a-flying in the air, Nj. 79; vera á gangi, a-going; á ferli, to be about; á leiki, a-playing, Fms. i. 78; á sundi, a-swimming, ii. 27; á verði, a-watching, x. 201; á hrakningi, a-wandering; á reiki, a-wavering; á skjálfi, a-shivering; á-hleri, a-listening; á tali, a-talking, Ísl. ii. 200; á hlaupi, a-running, Hkr. ii. 268; á verki, a-working; á veiðum, a-hunting; á fiski, a-fishing; á beit, grazing: and as a law term it even means in flagranti, N. G. L. i. 348.

VIII. used absolutely without a case in reference to the air or the weather, where ‘á’ is almost redundant; þoka var á mikil, a thick fog came on, Nj. 267; niðamyrkr var á, pitch darkness came on, Eg. 210; allhvast á norðan, a very strong breeze from the north, Fms. ix. 20; þá var á norðrænt, a north wind came on, 42, Ld. 56; hvaðan sem á er, from whatever point the wind is; var á hríð veðrs, a snow storm came on, Nj. 282; görði á regn, rain came on, Fms. vi. 394, xi. 35, Ld. 156.

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

I. denoting simple direction towards, esp. connected with verbs of motion, going, or the like; hann gékk á bergsnös, Eg. 389; á hamar, Fas. ii. 517.

2. in phrases denoting direction; liggja á útborða, lying on the outside of the ship, Eg. 354; á annat borð skipinu, Fms. vii. 260; á bæði borð, on both sides of the ship, Nj. 124, Ld. 56; á tvær hliðar, on both sides, Fms. v. 73. Ísl. ii. 159; á hlið, sidewards; út á hlið, Nj. 262, Edda 44; á aðra hönd henni, Nj. 50, Ld. 46; höggva á tvær hendr, to hew or strike right and left, Ísl. ii. 368, Fas. i. 384, Fms. viii. 363, x. 383.

3. upp á, upon; hann tók augu Þjaza ok kastaði upp á himin, Edda 47: with verbs denoting to look, see, horfa, sjá, líta, etc.; hann rak skygnur á land, he cast glances towards the land, Ld. 154.

II. denoting direction with or without the idea of arriving:

1. with verbs denoting to aim at; of a blow or thrust, stefna á fótinn, Nj. 84; spjótið stefnir á hann miðjan, 205: of the wind, gékk veðrit á vestr, the wind veered to west, Fms. ix. 28; sigla á haf, to stand out to sea, Hkr. i. 146, Fms. i. 39: with ‘út’ added, Eg. 390, Fms. x. 349.

2. conveying the notion of arriving, or the intervening space being traversed; spjótið kom á miðjan skjöldinn, Eg. 379, Nj. 96, 97; langt upp á land, far up inland, Hkr. i. 146: to reach, taka ofan á belti, of the long locks of a woman, to reach down to the belt, Nj. 2; ofan á bringu, 48; á þa ofan, 91.

III. without reference to the space traversed, connected with verbs denoting to go, turn, come, ride, sail, throw, or the like, motion of every kind; hann kastar honum á völlinn, he flings him down, Nj. 91; hlaupa á skip sitt, to leap on board his ship, 43; á hest, to mount quickly, Edda 75; á lend hestinum, Nj. 91; hann gengr á sáðland sitt, he walks on to his fields, 82: on, upon, komast á fætr, to get upon one’s legs, 92; ganga á land, to go a-shore, Fms. i. 40; ganga á þing, vii. 242, Grág. (often); á skóg, á merkr ok skóga, into a wood, Fb. i. 134, 257, Fms. xi. 118, Eg. 577, Nj. 130; fara á Finnmörk, to go travelling in Finmark, Fms. i. 8; koma, fara á bæ, to arrive at the farm-house; koma á veginn, Eg. 578; stíga á bát, skip, to go on board, 158; hann gékk upp á borg, he went up to the burg (castle), 717; en er þeir komu á loptriðið, 236; hrinda skipum á vatn, to float the ships down into the water, Fms. i. 58; reka austr á haf, to drift eastwards on the sea, x. 145; ríða ofan á, to ride down or over, Nj. 82.

IV. in some cases the acc. is used where the dat. would be used, esp. with verbs denoting to see or hear, in such phrases as, þeir sá boða mikinn inn á fjörðinn, they saw great breakers away up in the bight of the firth, the acc. being due perhaps to a motion or direction of the eye or ear towards the object, Nj. 124; sá þeir fólkit á land, they saw the people in the direction of land, Fas. ii. 517: in phrases denoting to be placed, to sit, to be seated, the seat or bench is freq. in the acc. where the dat. would now be used; konungr var þar á land upp, the king was then up the country, the spectator or narrator is conceived as looking from the shore or sea-side, Nj. 46; sitja á miðjan bekk, to be seated on the middle bench, 50; skyldi konungs sæti vera á þann bekk … annat öndvegi var á hinn úæðra pall; hann setti konungs hásæti á miðjan þverpall, Fms. vi. 439, 440, cp. Fagrsk. l. c., Sturl. iii. 182; eru víða fjallbygðir upp á mörkina, in the mark or forest, Eg. 58; var þar mörk mikil á land upp, 229; mannsafnaðr er á land upp (viewed from the sea), Ld. 76; stóll var settr á mótið, Fas. i. 58; beiða fars á skip, to beg a passage, Grág. i. 90.

V. denoting parts of the body; bíta e-n á barka, to bite one in the throat, Ísl. ii. 447; skera á háls, to cut the throat of any one, Nj. 156; brjóta e-n á háls, to break any one’s neck; brjóta e-n á bak, to break any one’s back, Fms. vii. 119; kalinn á kné, frozen to the knees with cold, Hm. 3.

VI. denoting round; láta reipi á háls hesti, round his horse’s neck, 623. 33; leggja söðul á hest, Nj. 83; and ellipt., leggja á, to saddle; breiða feld á hofuð sér, to wrap a cloak over his head, 164; reyta á sik mosa, to gather moss to cover oneself with, 267; spenna hring á hönd, á fingr, Eg. 300.

VII. denoting a burden; stela mat á tvá hesta, hey á fimtán hesta, i. e. a two, a fifteen horse load, Nj. 74: metaph., kjósa feigð á menn, to choose death upon them, i. e. doom them to death, Edda 22.

B. TEMP.

I. of a period of time, at, to; á morgun, to-morrow (í morgun now means the past morning, the morning of to-day), Ísl. ii. 333.

II. if connected with the word day, ‘á’ is now used before a fixed or marked day, a day of the week, a feast day, or the like; á Laugardag, á Sunnudag …, on Saturday, Sunday, the Old Engl. a-Sunday, a-Monday, etc.; á Jóladaginn, Páskadaginn, on Yule and Easter-day; but in old writers more often used ellipt. Sunnudaginn, Jóladaginn …, by dropping the prep. ‘á,’ Fms. viii. 397, Grág. i. 18.

III. connected with ‘dagr’ with the definite article suffixed, ‘á’ denotes a fixed, recurring period or season, in; á daginn, during the day-time, every day in turn, Grett. 91 A.

IV. connected with ‘evening, morning, the seasons,’ with the article; á kveldit, every evening, Ld. 14; á sumarit, every summer, Vd. 128, where the new Ed. Fs. 51 reads sumrum; á haust, every autumn, Eg. 741 (perh. a misprint instead of á haustin or á haustum); á vetrinn, in the winter time, 710; á várit, every spring, Gþl. 347; the sing., however, is very rare in such cases, the old as well as mod. usage prefers the plur.; á nætrnar, by night, Nj. 210; á várin, Eg. 710; á sumrin, haustin, á morgnana, in the morning (á morgin, sing., means to-morrow); á kveldin, in the evening, only ‘dagr’ is used in sing., v. above (á daginn, not á dagana); but elliptically and by dropping the article, Icelanders say, kveld og morgna, nótt og dag, vetr sumar vor og haust, in the same sense as those above mentioned.

V. denoting duration, the article is dropped in the negative phrase, aldri á sinn dag, never during one’s life; aldri á mína daga, never in my life, Bjarn. 8, where a possess. pron. is put between noun and prep., but this phrase is very rare. Such phrases as, á þann dag, that day, and á þenna dag, Stj. 12, 655 xxx. 2. 20, are unclassical.

VI. á dag without article can only be used in a distributive sense, e. g. tvisvar á dag, twice a-day; this use is at present freq. in Icel., yet instances from old writers are not on record.

VII. denoting a movement onward in time, such as, liðið á nótt, dag, kveld, morgun, sumar, vetr, vár, haust (or nóttina, daginn …), jól, páska, föstu, or the like, far on in the night, day …, Edda 33; er á leið vetrinn, when the winter was well on, as the winter wore on, Nj. 126; cp. áliðinn: also in the phrase, hniginn á inn efra aldr, well stricken in years, Ld. 68.

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

I. somewhat metaphorically, denoting an act only (not the place); fara á fund, á vit e-s, to call for one, Eg. 140; koma á ræðu við e-n, to come to a parley with, to speak, 173; ganga á tal, Nj. 103; skora á hólm, to challenge to a duel on an island; koma á grið, to enter into a service, to be domiciled, Grág. i. 151; fara á veiðar, to go a-hunting, Fms. i. 8.

β. generally denoting on, upon, in, to; bjóða vöxtu á féit, to offer interest on the money, Grág. i. 198; ganga á berhögg, to come to blows, v. berhögg; fá á e-n, to make an impression upon one, Nj. 79; ganga á vápn e-s, to throw oneself on an enemy’s weapon, meet him face to face, Rd. 310; ganga á lagið, to press on up the spear-shaft after it has passed through one so as to get near one’s foe, i. e. to avail oneself of the last chance; bera fé á e-n, to bribe, Nj. 62; bera öl á e-n, to make drunk, Fas. i. 13; snúinn á e-t, inclined to, Fms. x. 142; sammælast á e-t, to agree upon, Nj. 86; sættast, verða sáttr á e-t, in the same sense, to come to an agreement, settlement, or atonement, 78, Edda 15, Eb. 288, Ld. 50, Fms. i. 279; ganga á mála, to serve for pay as a soldier, Nj. 121; ganga á vald e-s, to put oneself in his power, 267; ganga á sætt, to break an agreement; vega á veittar trygðir, to break truce, Grág. ii. 169.

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

1. of colour, complexion, the hue of the hair, or the like; hvítr, jarpr, dökkr … á hár, having white, brown, or dark … hair, Ísl. ii. 190, Nj. 39; svartr á brún ok brá, dark of brow and eyebrow; dökkr á hörund, id., etc.

2. denoting skill, dexterity; hagr á tré, a good carpenter; hagr á járn, málm, smíðar …, an expert worker in iron, metals …, Eg. 4; fimr á boga, good at the bow: also used of mastership in science or arts, meistari á hörpuslátt, a master in striking the harp, Fas. iii. 220; fræðimaðr á kvæði, knowing many poems by heart, Fms. vi. 391; fræðimaðr á landnámssögur ok forna fræði, a learned scholar in histories and antiquities (of Are Frode), Ísl. ii. 189; mikill á íþrótt, skilful in an art, Edda (pref.) 148; but dat. in the phrase, kunna (vel) á skíðum, to be a cunning skater, Fms. i. 9, vii. 120.

3. denoting dimensions; á hæð, lengd, breidd, dýpt …, in the heighth, length, breadth, depth …, Eg. 277; á hvern veg, on each side, Edda 41 (square miles); á annan veg, on the one side, Grág. i. 89.

β. the phrase, á sik, in regard to oneself, vel (illa) á sik kominn, of a fine ( ugly) appearance, Ld. 100, Fas. iii. 74.

III. denoting instrumentality; bjargast á sínar hendr, to live on the work of one’s own hands, (á sínar spýtur is a mod. phrase in the same sense); (vega) á skálir, pundara, to weigh in scales, Grág. ii. 370; at hann hefði tvá pundara, ok hefði á hinn meira keypt en á hinn minna selt, of a man using two scales, a big one for buying and a little one for selling, Sturl. i. 91; á sinn kostnað, at one’s own expense; nefna e-n á nafn, by name, Grág. i. 17, etc. The Icel. also say, spinna á rokk, snældu, to spin on or with a rock or distaff; mala á kvern, to grind in a ‘querne,’ where Edda 73 uses dat.; esp. of musical instruments, syngja, leika á hljóðfæri, hörpu, gígju …; in the old usage, leika hörpu …, Stj. 458.

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

1. á þessa lund, in this wise, Grág. ii. 22; á marga vega, á alla, ymsa vega, in many, all, respects, Fms. i. 114; á sitt hóf, in its turn, respectively, Ld. 136, where the context shews that the expression answers to the Lat. mutatis mutandis; á Þýðersku, after German fashion, Sks. 288.

2. esp. of language; mæla, rita á e-a tungu, to speak, write in a tongue; á Írsku, in Irish, Ld. 76; Norrænu, in Norse, Eb. 330, Vm. 35; a Danska tungu, in Danish, i. e. Scandinavian, Norse, or Icelandic, Grág. i. 18; á Vára tungu, i. e. in Icelandic, 181; rita á Norræna tungu, to write in Norse, Hkr. (pref.), Bs. i. 59:—at present, dat. is sometimes used.

3. in some phrases the acc. is used instead of the dat.; hann sýndi á sik mikit gaman, Fms. x. 329; hann lét ekki á sik finna, he shewed no sign of motion, Nj. 111; skaltú önga fáleika á þik gera (Cod. Kalf.), 14.

V. used in a distributive sense; skal mörk kaupa gæzlu á kú, eðr oxa fim vetra gamlan, a mark for every cow, Grág. i. 147; alin á hvert hross, 442; á mann, per man (now freq.): cp. also á dag above, lit. B.

VI. connected with nouns,

1. prepositional; á hendr (with dat.), against; á hæla, at heel, close behind; á bak, at back, i. e. past, after; á vit (with gen.), towards.

2. adverbially; á braut, away, abroad; á víxl, in turns; á mis, amiss; á víð ok dreif, a-wide and a-drift, i. e. dispersedly.

3. used almost redundantly before the following prep.; á eptir, after, behind; á undan, in front of; á meðal, á milli, among; á mót, against; á við, about, alike; á frá (cp. Swed. ifrån), from (rare); á fyrir = fyrir, Haustl. 1; á hjá, beside (rare); á fram, a-head, forwards; á samt, together; ávalt = of allt, always: following a prep., upp á, upon; niðr á, down upon; ofan á, eptir á, post eventum, (temp.) á eptir is loc., id., etc.

VII. connected with many transitive verbs, answering to the Lat. ad- or in-, in composition, in many cases periphrastically for an objective case. The prep. generally follows after the verb, instead of being prefixed to it as in Lat., and answers to the Engl. on, to; heita kalla, hrópa á, to call on; heyra, hlusta, hlyða á, to hearken to, listen to; hyggja, hugsa á, to think on; minna á, to remind; sjá, líta, horfa, stara, mæna, glápa, koma auga … á, to look on; girnast á, to wish for; trúa á, to believe on; skora á, to call on any one to come out, challenge; kæra á, to accuse; heilsa á, to greet; herja, ganga, ríða, hlaupa, ráða … á, to fall on, attack, cp. ágangr, áreið, áhlaup; ljúga á, to tell lies of, to slander; telja á, to carp at; ausa, tala, hella, kasta, verpa … á, to pour, throw on; ríða, bera, dreifa á, to sprinkle on; vanta, skorta á, to fall short of; ala á, to plead, beg; leggja á, to throw a spell on, lay a saddle on; hætta á, to venture on; gizka á, to guess at; kveða á, to fix on, etc.: in a reciprocal sense, haldast á, of mutual strife; sendast á, to exchange presents; skrifast á, to correspond (mod.); kallast á, to shout mutually; standast á, to coincide, so as to be just opposite one another, etc.

f. [Lat. aqua; Goth. ahva; Hel. aha; A. S. eâ; O. H. G. aha, owa; cp. Germ. ach and aue; Fr. eau, eaux; Engl. Ax-, Ex-, etc., in names of places; Swed.-Dan. å; the Scandinavians absorb the hu, so that only a single vowel or diphthong remains of the whole word]:—a river. The old form in nom. dat. acc. sing. is , v. the introduction to A, page 1, Bs. i. 333 sq., where ́n, ́ (acc.), and ́na; so also Greg. 677; the old fragm. of Grág. ii. 222, 223, new Ed. In the Kb. of the Edda the old form occurs twice, viz. page 75, ́na (acc.), (but two lines below, ána), í ́nni (dat.) The old form also repeatedly occurs in the Kb. and Sb. of the Grág., e. g. ii. 266, 267: gen. sing. ár; nom. pl. ár, gen. á contracted, dat. ám, obsolete form ́m; Edda 43, Eg. 80, 99, 133, 185: proverbs, at ósi skal á stemma, answering to the Lat. principiis obsta, Edda 60; hér kemr á til sæfar, here the river runs into the sea, metaph. = this is the very end, seems to have been a favourite ending of old poems; it is recorded in the Húsdrápa and the Norðsetadrápa, v. Edda 96, Skálda 198; cp. the common saying, oil vötn renna til sævar, ‘all waters run into the sea.’ Rivers with glacier water are in Icel. called Hvítá, White river, or Jökulsá: Hitá, Hot river, from a hot spring, opp. to Kaldá, v. Landn.: others take a name from the fish in them, as Laxá, Lax or Salmon river (freq.); Örriða á, etc.: a tributary river is þverá, etc.: ár in the Njála often means the great rivers Ölfusá and Þjórsá in the south of Iceland. Áin helga, a river in Sweden, Hkr. ii: á is also suffixed to the names of foreign rivers, Tempsá = Thames; Dóná, Danube (Germ. Don-au), (mod.), etc. Vide Edda (Gl.) 116, 117, containing the names of over a hundred North-English and Scottish rivers.

COMPDS: áráll, árbakki, árbrot, ardjúp, árfarvegr, árfors, árgljúfr, árhlutr, ármegin, árminni, ármót, áróss, árreki, árstraumr, árströnd, árvað, árvegr, árvöxtr.

εἰμί (Hom.+) impv. ἴσθι, ἔσο IPol 4:1, ἔστω—also colloq. ἤτω (BGU 276, 24; 419, 13; POxy 533, 9; Ps 103:31; 1 Macc 10:31) 1 Cor 16:22; Js 5:12; 1 Cl 48:5; Hv 3, 3, 4;—3 pers. pl. ἔστωσαν (ins since 200 B.C. Meisterhans³-Schw. 191; PPetr III, 2, 22 [237 B.C.]) Lk 12:35; 1 Ti 3:12; GJs 7:2. Inf. εἶναι. Impf. 1 pers. only mid. ἤμην (Jos., Bell. 1, 389; 631; s. further below); ἦν only Ac 20:18 D, 2 pers. ἦσθα (Jos., Ant. 6, 104) Mt 26:69; Mk 14:67 and ἦς (Lobeck, Phryn. 149 ‘say ἦσθα’; Jos., Ant. 17, 110 al.; Sb 6262, 16 [III A.D.]) Mt 25:21, 23 al., 3 sg. ἦν, 1 pl. ἦμεν. Beside this the mid. form ἤμην (pap since III B.C.; Job 29:16; Tob 12:13 BA), s. above, gives the pl. ἤμεθα (pap since III B.C.; Bar 1:19) Mt 23:30; Ac 27:37; Eph 2:3. Both forms in succession Gal. 4:3. Fut. ἔσομαι, ptc. ἐσόμενος. The mss. vary in choice of act. or mid., but like the edd. lean toward the mid. (W-S. §14, 1; Mlt-H. 201–3; Rob. index; B-D-F §98; Rdm.² 99; 101f; Helbing 108f; Reinhold 86f). Also s. ἔνι.

① be, exist, be on hand a pred. use (for other pred. use s. 3a, 4, 5, 6, 7): of God (Epicurus in Diog. L. 10, 123 θεοί εἰσιν; Zaleucus in Diod S 12, 20, 2 θεοὺς εἶναι; Wsd 12:13; Just., D. 128, 4 angels) ἔστιν ὁ θεός God exists Hb 11:6; cp. 1 Cor 8:5. ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν the one who is and who was (cp. SibOr 3, 16; as amulet PMich 155, 3 [II A.D.] ὁ ὢν θεὸς ὁ Ἰάω κύριος παντοκράτωρ=the god … who exists.) Rv 11:17; 16:5. ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, in this and the two preceding passages ἦν is treated as a ptc. (for the unusual use of ἦν cp. Simonides 74 D.: ἦν ἑκατὸν φιάλαι) 1:4; 4:8 (cp. Ex 3:14; Wsd 13:1; Paus. 10, 12, 10 Ζεὺς ἦν, Ζ. ἔστι, Ζ. ἔσσεται; cp. Theosophien 18. S. OWeinreich, ARW 19, 1919, 178f). οὐδʼ εἶναι θεὸν παντοκράτορα AcPlCor 1:11. ἐγώ εἰμι (ins in the Athena-Isis temple of Saïs in Plut., Is. et Os. 9, 354c: ἐγώ εἰμι πᾶν τὸ γεγονὸς κ. ὸ̓ν κ. ἐσόμενον. On the role of Isis in Gk. rel. s. IBergman, Ich bin Isis ’68; RMerkelbach, Isis Regina—Zeus Sarapis ’95; for further lit. s. MGustafson in: Prayer fr. Alexander to Constantine, ed. MKiley et al. ’97, 158.) Rv 1:8 (s. ἐγώ beg.). ὁ ὤν, … θεός Ro 9:5 is classed here and taken to mean Christ by JWordsworth ad loc. and HWarner, JTS 48, ’47, 203f. Of the λόγος: ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λ. J 1:1 (for ἦν cp. Herm. Wr. 1, 4; 3, 1b ἦν σκότος, Fgm. IX 1 p. 422, 23 Sc. γέγονεν ἡ ὕλη καὶ ἦν).—Of Christ πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι, ἐγὼ εἰμί before Abraham was born, I am 8:58 (on the pres. εἰμί cp. Parmenides 8, 5: of the Eternal we cannot say ἦν οὐδʼ ἔσται, only ἔστιν; Ammonius Hermiae [Comm. in Aristotl. IV 5 ed. ABusse 1897] 6 p. 172: in Timaeus we read that we must not say of the gods τὸ ἦν ἢ τὸ ἔσται μεταβολῆς τινος ὄντα σημαντικά, μόνον δὲ τὸ ἔστι=‘was’ or ‘will be’, suggesting change, but only ‘is’; Ps 89:2; DBall, ‘I Am’ in John’s Gospel [JSNT Suppl. 124] ’96).—Of the world πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι before the world existed 17:5. Satirically, of the beast, who parodies the Lamb, ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν Rv 17:8. Of God’s temple: ἔστιν B 16:6f it exists. τὸ μὴ ὄν that which does not exist, the unreal (Sallust. 17 p. 32, 7 and 9; Philo, Aet. M. 5; 82) Hm 1:1. τὰ ὄντα that which exists contrasted w. τὰ μὴ ὄντα Ro 4:17; cp. 1 Cor 1:28; 2 Cl 1:8. Of God κτίσας ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος τὰ ὄντα what is out of what is not Hv 1, 1, 6 (on the contrast τὰ ὄντα and τὰ μὴ ὄντα cp. Ps.-Arist. on Xenophanes: Fgm. 21, 28; Artem. 1, 51 p. 49, 19 τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα; Ocellus Luc. 12; Sallust. 17, 5 p. 30, 28–32, 12; Philo, Op. M. 81; PGM 4, 3077f ποιήσαντα τὰ πάντα ἐξ ὧν οὐκ ὄντων εἰς τὸ εἶναι; 13, 272f τὸν ἐκ μὴ ὄντων εἶναι ποιήσαντα καὶ ἐξ ὄντων μὴ εἶναι; Theoph. Ant. 1, 4 [p. 64, 21] τὰ πάντα ὁ θεὸς ἐποίησεν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς τὸ εἶναι).—Of existing in the sense be present, available, provided πολλοῦ ὄχλου ὄντος since a large crowd was present Mk 8:1. ὄντων τῶν προσφερόντων those are provided who offer Hb 8:4. οὔπω ἦν πνεῦμα the Spirit had not yet come J 7:39. ἀκούσας ὄντα σιτία when he heard that grain was available Ac 7:12.—Freq. used to introduce parables and stories (once) there was: ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν πλούσιος there was (once) a rich man Lk 16:1, 19. ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τ. Φαρισαίων there was a man among the Pharisees J 3:1.—There is, there are ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοί as there are many gods 1 Cor 8:5. διαιρέσεις χαρισμάτων εἰσίν there are various kinds of spiritual gifts 12:4ff; 1J 5:16 al. Neg. οὐκ ἔστι there is (are) not, no (Ps 52:2; Simplicius in Epict. p. 95, 42 as a quot. from ‘tragedy’ οὐκ εἰσὶν θεοί) δίκαιος there is no righteous man Ro 3:10 (Eccl 7:20). ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν there is no resurr. of the dead 1 Cor 15:12; οὐδʼ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν AcPlCor 1:12; 2:24; cp. Mt 22:23; Ac 23:8 (cp. 2 Macc 7:14). εἰσὶν οἵ, or οἵτινες there are people who (Hom. et al.; LXX; Just., D. 47, 2 εἰ μήτι εἰσὶν οἱ λέγοντες ὅτι etc.—W. sing. and pl. combined: Arrian, Ind. 24, 9 ἔστι δὲ οἳ διέφυγον=but there are some who escaped) Mt 16:28; 19:12; Mk 9:1; Lk 9:27; J 6:64; Ac 11:20. Neg. οὐδείς ἐστιν ὅς there is no one who Mk 9:39; 10:29; Lk 1:61; 18:29. As a question τίς ἐστιν ὅς; who is there that? Mt 12:11—In an unusual (perh. bureaucratic terminology) participial construction Ac 13:1 ἡ οὖσα ἐκκλησία the congregation there (cp. Ps.-Pla., Eryx. 6, 394c οἱ ὄντες ἄνθρωποι=the people with whom he has to deal; PLond III 1168, 5 p. 136 [18 A.D.] ἐπὶ ταῖς οὔσαις γειτνίαις=on the adjoining areas there; PGen 49; PSI 229, 11 τοῦ ὄντος μηνός of the current month); cp. 14:13.—αἱ οὖσαι (sc. ἐξουσίαι) those that exist Ro 13:1 (cp. UPZ 180a I, 4 [113 B.C.] ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν).

② to be in close connection (with), is, freq. in statements of identity or equation, as a copula, the equative function, uniting subject and predicate. On absence of the copula, Mlt-Turner 294–310.

ⓐ gener. πραΰς εἰμι I am gentle Mt 11:29. ἐγώ εἰμι Γαβριήλ Lk 1:19. σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ Mk 3:11; J 1:49 and very oft. ἵνα … ὁ πονηρὸς … ἐλεγχθῇ [το? s. app. in Bodm.] μὴ ὢν θεός AcPlCor 2:15 (Just., D. 3, 3 φιλολόγος οὖν τις εἶ σύ).—The pred. can be supplied fr. the context: καὶ ἐσμέν and we are (really God’s children) 1J 3:1 (Eur., Ion 309 τ. θεοῦ καλοῦμαι δοῦλος εἰμί τε. Dio Chrys. 14 [31], 58 θεοφιλεῖς οἱ χρηστοὶ λέγονται καὶ εἰσίν; Epict. 2, 16, 44 Ἡρακλῆς ἐπιστεύθη Διὸς υἱὸς εἶναι καὶ ἦν.—The ptc. ὤν, οὖσα, ὄν used w. a noun or adj.and serving as an if-, since-, or although-clause sim. functions as a copula πονηροὶ ὄντες Mt 7:11; 12:34.—Lk 20:36; J 3:4; 4:9; Ac 16:21; Ro 5:10; 1 Cor 8:7; Gal 2:3 al.).—W. adv. of quality: οὕτως εἶναι be so preceded by ὥσπερ, καθώς or followed by ὡς, ὥσπερ Mt 13:40; 24:27, 37, 39; Mk 4:26; Lk 17:26. W. dat. of pers. οὕτως ἔσται ὁ υἱὸς τ. ἀ. τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ so the Human One (Son of Man) will be for this generation 11:30. εἰμὶ ὡσ/ὥσπερ I am like Mt 6:5; Lk 18:11. W. dat. ἔστω σοι ὥσπερ τελώνης he shall be to you as a tax-collector Mt 18:17. εἰμὶ ὥς τις I am like someone of outward and inward similarity 28:3; Lk 6:40; 11:44; 22:27 al. καθώς εἰμι as I am Ac 22:3; 1J 3:2, 7; 4:17.—W. demonstr. pron. (Just., A I, 16, 1 ἃ ἔφη, ταῦτά ἐστι: foll. by a quotation; sim. 48, 5 ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα; and oft.) τὰ ὀνόματά ἐστιν ταῦτα Mt 10:2. αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία J 1:19. W. inf. foll. θρησκεία αὕτη ἐστίν, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι Js 1:27. W. ὅτι foll. αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν J 3:19; cp. 21:24; 1J 1:5; 3:11; 5:11. W. ἵνα foll. τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον, ἵνα πιστεύητε J 6:29; cp. vs. 39f; 15:12; 17:3; 1J 3:11, 23; 5:3. W. τηλικοῦτος: τὰ πλοῖα, τηλικαῦτα ὄντα though they are so large Js 3:4. W. τοσοῦτος: τοσοῦτων ὄντων although there were so many J 21:11. W. τοιοῦτος: τοιοῦτος ὤν Phlm 9 (cp. Just., A I, 18, 4 ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτά ἐστι).—W. interrog. pron. ὑμεῖς τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι; who do you say I am? Mt 16:15; cp. 21:10; Mk 1:24; 4:41; 8:27, 29; Lk 4:34 al.; σὺ τίς εἶ; J 1:19; 8:25; 21:12 al. (cp. JosAs 14:6 τίς εἶ συ tell me ‘who you are’). σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων; (Pla., Gorg. 452b; Strabo 6, 2, 4 σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ τὸν Ὅμηρον ψέγων ὡς μυθογράφον;) Ro 14:4; ἐγὼ τίς ἤμην; (cp. Ex 3:11) Ac 11:17; τίς εἰμι ἐγὼ ὅτι who am I, that GJs 12:2 (Ex 3:11). W. πόσος: πόσος χρόνος ἐστίν; how long a time? Mk 9:21. W. ποταπός of what sort Lk 1:29.—W. relative pron. οἷος 2 Cor 10:11; ὁποῖος Ac 26:29; 1 Cor 3:13; Gal 2:6; ὅς Rv 1:19; ὅστις Gal 5:10, 19.—W. numerals ἦσαν οἱ φαγόντες πεντακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες 6:44 (cp. Polyaenus 7, 25 ἦσαν οἱ πεσόντες ἀνδρῶν μυριάδες δέκα); cp. Ac 19:7; 23:13. Λάζαρος εἷς ἦν ἐκ τῶν ἀνακειμένων L. was one of those at the table J 12:2; cp. Gal 3:20; Js 2:19. τῶν πιστευσάντων ἦν καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία Ac 4:32. εἷς εἶναι be one and the same Gal 3:28. ἓν εἶναι be one J 10:30; 17:11, 21ff; 1 Cor 3:8.—οὐδʼ εἶναι τὴν πλάσιν τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ θεοῦ (that) the creation of humankind is not God’s doing AcPlCor 1:13.—To establish identity the formula ἐγώ εἰμι is oft. used in the gospels (corresp. to Hebr. אֲנִי הוּא Dt 32:39; Is 43:10), in such a way that the predicate must be understood fr. the context: Mt 14:27; Mk 6:50; 13:6; 14:62; Lk 22:70; J 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28; 13:19; 18:5f and oft.; s. on ἐγώ.—In a question μήτι ἐγώ εἰμι; surely it is not I? Mt 26:22, 25.

ⓑ to describe a special connection betw. the subject and a predicate noun ἡμεῖς ναὸς θεοῦ ἐσμεν ζῶντος we are a temple of the living God 2 Cor 6:16. ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ὑμεῖς ἐστε you are our letter (of recommendation) 3:2. σφραγίς μου τῆς ἀποστολῆς ὑμεῖς ἐστε you are the seal of my apostleship 1 Cor 9:2 and oft.

ⓒ in explanations:

α. to show how someth. is to be understood is a representation of, is the equivalent of; εἰμί here, too, serves as copula; we usually translate mean, so in the formula τοῦτʼ ἔστιν this or that means, that is to say (Epict., Ench. 33, 10; Arrian, Tact. 29, 3; SIG 880, 50; PFlor 157, 4; PSI 298, 9; PMert 91, 9; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 16; ApcMos 19; Just., D. 56, 23; 78, 3 al.) Mk 7:2; Ac 19:4; Ro 7:18; 9:8; 10:6, 8; Phlm 12; Hb 7:5 al.; in the sense that is (when translated) (Polyaenus 8, 14, 1 Μάξιμος ἀνηγορεύθη• τοῦτο δʼ ἄν εἴη Μέγιστον) Mt 27:46; Ac 1:19. So also w. relative pron.: ὅ ἐστιν Mk 3:17; 7:11, 34; Hb 7:2. After verbs of asking, recognizing, knowing and not knowing (Antiphanes Com. 231, 1f τὸ ζῆν τί ἐστι;) μάθετε τί ἐστιν learn what (this) means Mt 9:13. εἰ ἐγνώκειτε τί ἐστιν 12:7; cp. Mk 1:27; 9:10; Lk 20:17; J 16:17f; Eph 4:9. W. an indir. question (Stephan. Byz. s.v. Ἀγύλλα: τὶς ἠρώτα τί ἂν εἴη τὸ ὄνομα) τί ἂν εἴη ταῦτα Lk 15:26; τί εἴη τοῦτο 18:36. τίνα θέλει ταῦτα εἶναι what this means Ac 17:20; cp. 2:12, where the question is not about the mng. of terms but the significance of what is happening.—Esp. in interpr. of the parables (Artem. 1, 51 p. 48, 26 ἄρουρα οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ γυνή=field means nothing else than woman) ὁ ἀγρός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος the field means the world Mt 13:38; cp. vss. 19f, 22f; Mk 4:15f, 18, 20; Lk 8:11ff (cp. Gen 41:26f; Ezk 37:11; Ath. 22, 4 [Stoic interpr. of myths]). On τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19 and its various interpretations, see lit. s.v. εὐχαριστία. Cp. Hipponax (VI B.C.) 45 Diehl αὕτη γάρ ἐστι συμφορή=this means misfortune.

β. to be of relative significance, be of moment or importance, amount to someth. w. indef. pron. εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν meat offered to idols means anything 1 Cor 10:19. Esp. εἰμί τι I mean someth. of pers. 1 Cor 3:7; Gal 2:6; 6:3; and of things vs. 15. εἰμί τις Ac 5:36.—Of no account ἐμοὶ εἰς ἐλάχιστόν ἐστιν (telescoped fr. ἐλάχ. ἐστιν and εἰς ἐλάχ. γίνεται, of which there are many exx. in Schmid, I 398; II 161, 237; III 281; IV 455) it is of little or no importance to me 1 Cor 4:3.

③ be in reference to location, persons, condition, or time, be

ⓐ of various relations or positions involving a place or thing: w. ἀπό: εἶναι ἀπό τινος be or come from a certain place (X., An. 2, 4, 13) J 1:44.—W. ἐν: ἐν τοῖς τ. πατρός μου in my father’s house Lk 2:49 (cp. Jos., Ant. 16, 302 καταγωγὴ ἐν τοῖς Ἀντιπάτρου). ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ on the way Mk 10:32. ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Mt 24:26. ἐν ἀγρῷ Lk 15:25. ἐν δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ at God’s right hand Ro 8:34; in heaven Eph 6:9.—W. εἰς: τὴν κοίτην Lk 11:7; τὸν κόλπον J1:18.—W. ἐπὶ w. gen. be on someth. of place, roof Lk 17:31; head J 20:7 (cp. 1 Macc 1:59); also fig., of one who is over someone (1 Macc 10:69; Jdth 14:13 ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν αὐτοῦ) Ro 9:5 (of the angel of death Mel., P. 20, 142 ἐπὶ τῶν πρωτοτόκων); also ἐπάνω τινός J 3:31.—W. dat. be at someth. the door Mt 24:33; Mk 13:29.—W. acc. be on someone: grace Lk 2:40; Ac 4:33; spirit (Is 61:1) Lk 2:25; εἶναι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό be in the same place, together (Gen 29:2 v.l.) Ac 1:15; 2:1, 44; 1 Cor 7:5.—W. κατά w. acc. εἶναι κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν be in Judea Ac 11:1; εἶναι ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ κατὰ τὴν οὖσαν ἐκκλησίαν were at Antioch in the congregation there 13:1.—W. ὑπό w. acc. τι or τινα of place be under someth. J 1:48; 1 Cor 10:1.—W. παρά w. acc. παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν by the sea- (i.e. lake-) shore Mk 5:21; Ac 10:6.—W. πρός τι be close to, facing someth. Mk 4:1.—W. adv. of place ἐγγύς τινι near someth. Ac 9:38; 27:8. μακρὰν (ἀπό) Mk 12:34; J 21:8; Eph 2:13; also πόρρω Lk 14:32. χωρίς τινος without someth. Hb 12:8. ἐνθάδε Ac 16:28. ἔσω J 20:26. ἀπέναντί τινος Ro 3:18 (Ps 35:2). ἐκτός τινος 1 Cor 6:18; ἀντίπερά τινος Lk 8:26; ὁμοῦ J 21:2; οὗ Mt 2:9; ὅπου Mk 2:4; 5:40. ὧδε Mt 17:4; Mk 9:5; Lk 9:33. Also w. fut. mng. (ESchwartz, GGN 1908, 161 n.; on the fut. use of the pres. cp. POxy 531, 22 [II A.D.] ἔστι δὲ τοῦ Τῦβι μηνὸς σοὶ ὸ̔ θέλεις) ὅπου εἰμί J 7:34, 36; 12:26; 14:3; 17:24. As pred., to denote a relatively long stay at a place, stay, reside ἴσθι ἐκεῖ stay there Mt 2:13, cp. vs. 15; ἐπʼ ἐρήμοις τόποις in lonely places Mk 1:45; ἦν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν he stayed by the lakeside 5:21.

ⓑ involving humans or transcendent beings: w. adv. ἔμπροσθέν τινος Lk 14:2. ἔναντί τινος Ac 8:21; ἐνώπιόν τινος Lk 14:10; Ac 4:19; 1 Pt 3:4; Rv 7:15; ἐντός τινος Lk 17:21; ἐγγύς τινος J 11:18; 19:20; Ro 10:8 (Dt 30:14).—W. prep. ἐν τινί equiv. to ἔκ τινος εἶναι be among Mt 27:56; cp. Mk 15:40; Ro 1:6. Of God, who is among his people 1 Cor 14:25 (Is 45:14; Jer 14:9); of the Spirit J 14:17. Of persons under Christ’s direction: ἐν θεῷ 1J 2:5; 5:20 (s. Norden, Agn. Th. 23, 1). ἔν τινι rest upon, arise from someth. (Aristot., Pol. 7, 1, 3 [1323b, 1] ἐν ἀρετῇ; Sir 9:16) Ac 4:12; 1 Cor 2:5; Eph 5:18.—εἴς τινα be directed, inclined toward Ac 23:30; 2 Cor 7:15; 1 Pt 1:21.—κατά w. gen. be against someone (Sir 6:12) Mt 12:30; Mk 9:40 and Lk 9:50 (both opp. ὑπέρ); Gal 5:23.—σύν τινι be with someone (Jos., Ant. 7, 181) Lk 22:56; 24:44; Ac 13:7; accompany, associate w. someone Lk 8:38; Ac 4:13; 22:9; take sides with someone (X., Cyr. 5, 4, 37; 7, 5, 77; Jos., Ant. 11, 259 [of God]) Ac 14:4.—πρός τινα be with someone Mt 13:56; Mk 6:3; J 1:1f. I am to be compared w. IMg 12.—μετά and gen. be with someone (Judg 14:11) Mt 17:17; Mk 3:14; 5:18; J 3:26; 12:17; ἔστω μεθʼ ὑμῶν εἰρήνη AcPlCor 2:40; of God, who is with someone (Gen 21:20; Judg 6:13 al.; Philo, Det. Pot. Ins. 4; Jos., Ant. 6, 181; 15, 138) Lk 1:66; J 3:2; 8:29; Ac 10:38 al.; also be with in the sense be favorable to, in league with (Ex 23:2) Mt 12:30; Lk 11:23; of punishment attending a pers. τὸ πῦρ ἐστι μετʼ αὐτοῦ AcPlCor 2:37.—παρά and gen. come from someone (X., An. 2, 4, 15; Just., D. 8, 4 ἔλεος παρὰ θεοῦ) fr. God J 6:46; 7:29; w. dat. be with, among persons Mt 22:25; Ac 10:6. W. neg. be strange to someone, there is no … in someone Ro 2:11; 9:14; Eph 6:9.—ὑπέρ w. gen. be on one’s side Mk 9:4 and Lk 9:50 (both opp. κατά); w. acc. be superior to (Sir 25:10; 30:16) Lk 6:40.

ⓒ of condition or circumstance: κατά w. acc. live in accordance with (Sir 28:10; 43:8; 2 Macc 9:20) κατὰ σάκρα, πνεῦμα Ro 8:5. οὐκ ἔστιν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον not human (in origin) Gal 1:11.—Fig. ὑπό w. acc. be under (the power of) someth. Ro 3:9; 6:14f; Gal 3:10, 25.—W. ἐν of existing ἐν τῷ θεῷ εἶναι of humankind: have its basis of existence in God Ac 17:28. Of states of being: ἐν δόξῃ 2 Cor 3:8; ἐν εἰρήνῃ Lk 11:21; ἐν ἔχθρᾳ at enmity 23:12; ἐν κρίματι under condemnation vs. 40. ἐν ῥύσει αἵματος suffer from hemorrhages Mk 5:25; Lk 8:43 (cp. Soph., Aj. 271 ἦν ἐν τῇ νόσῳ; cp. TestJob 35:1 ἐν πληγαῖς πολλαῖς). Periphrastically for an adj. ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ authoritative Lk 4:32. ἐν βάρει important 1 Th 2:7. ἐν τῇ πίστει true believers, believing 2 Cor 13:5. Be involved in someth. ἐν ἑορτῇ be at the festival=take part in it J 2:23. ἐν τούτοις ἴσθι devote yourself to these things 1 Ti 4:15 (cp. X., Hell. 4, 8, 7 ἐν τοιούτοις ὄντες=occupied w. such things; Jos., Ant. 2, 346 ἐν ὕμνοις ἦσαν=they occupied themselves w. the singing of hymns).—Fig., live in the light 1J 2:9; cp. vs. 11; 1 Th 5:4; in the flesh Ro 7:5; 8:8; AcPlCor 1:6. ἐν οἷς εἰμι in the situation in which I find myself Phil 4:11 (X., Hell. 4, 2, 1; Diod S 12, 63, 5; 12, 66, 4; Appian, Hann. 55 §228 ἐν τούτοις ἦν=he was in this situation; Jos., Ant. 7, 232 ἐν τούτοις ἦσαν=found themselves in this sit.; TestJob 35:6 ἐν τίνι ἐστίν; s. ZPE VIII 170). ἐν πολλοῖς ὢν ἀστοχήμασι AcPlCor 2:1. Of characteristics, emotions, etc. ἔν τινί ἐστιν, e.g. ἀδικία J 7:18; ἄγνοια Eph 4:18; ἀλήθεια J 8:44; 2 Cor 11:10 (cp. 1 Macc 7:18); ἁμαρτία 1J 3:5.

ⓓ of time ἐγγύς of καιρός be near Mt 26:18; Mk 13:28. πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἐστίν it is toward evening Lk 24:29 (Just., D. 137, 4 πρὸς δυσμὰς … ὁ ἥλιός ἐστι).

④ to be alive in a period of time, live, denoting temporal existence (Hom., Trag., Thu. et al.; Sir 42:21; En 102:5 Philo, De Jos. 17; Jos., Ant. 7, 254) εἰ ἤμεθα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν if we had lived in the days of our fathers Mt 23:30. ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν because they were no more 2:18 (Jer 38:15). ἦσαν ἐπὶ χρόνον ἱκανόν (those who were healed and raised by Christ) remained alive for quite some time Qua.

⑤ to be the time at which someth. takes place w. indications of specific moments or occasions, be (X., Hell. 4, 5, 1, An. 4, 3, 8; Sus 13 Theod.; 1 Macc 6:49; 2 Macc 8:26; Jos., Ant. 6, 235 νουμηνία δʼ ἦν; 11, 251): ἦν ὥρα ἕκτη it was the sixth hour (=noon acc. to Jewish reckoning) Lk 23:44; J 4:6; 19:14.—Mk 15:25; J 1:39. ἦν ἑσπέρα ἤδη it was already evening Ac 4:3. πρωί̈ J 18:28. ἦν παρασκευή Mk 15:42. ἦν ἑορτὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων J 5:1. σάββατόν ἐστιν vs. 10 et al. Short clauses (as Polyaenus 4, 9, 2 νὺξ ἦν; 7, 44, 2 πόλεμος ἦν; exc. 36, 8 ἦν ἀρίστου ὥρα; Jos., Ant. 19, 248 ἔτι δὲ νὺξ ἦν) χειμὼν ἦν J 10:22; ἦν δὲ νύξ (sim. Jos., Bell. 4, 64) 13:30; ψύχος it was cold 18:18; καύσων ἔσται it will be hot Lk 12:55.

⑥ to take place as a phenomenon or event, take place, occur, become, be, be in (Hom., Thu. et al.; LXX; En 104:5; 106:6.—Cp. Just., D. 82, 2 of Christ’s predictions ὅπερ καὶ ἔστι ‘which is in fact the case’.) ἔσται θόρυβος τοῦ λαοῦ a popular uprising Mk 14:2. γογγυσμὸς ἦν there was (much) muttering J 7:12. σχίσμα there was a division 9:16; 1 Cor 1:10; 12:25. ἔριδες … εἰσίν quarrels are going on 1:11. δεῖ αἱρέσεις εἶναι 11:19. θάνατος, πένθος, κραυγή, πόνος ἔσται Rv 21:4. ἔσονται λιμοὶ κ. σεισμοί Mt 24:7. Hence τὸ ἐσόμενον what was going to happen (Sir 48:25) Lk 22:49. πότε ταῦτα ἔσται; when will this happen? Mt 24:3. πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο; how can this be? Lk 1:34. Hebraistically (הָיָה; s. KBeyer, Semitische Syntax im NT, ’62, 63–65) καὶ ἔσται w. fut. of another verb foll. and it will come about that Ac 2:17 (Jo 3:1); 3:23 (w. δέ); Ro 9:26 (Hos 2:1).—W. dat. ἐστί τινι happen, be granted, come, to someone (X., An. 2, 1, 10; Jos., Ant. 11, 255; Just., D. 8, 4 σοὶ … ἔλεος ἔσται παρὰ θεοῦ) Mt 16:22; Mk 11:24; Lk 2:10; GJs 1:1; 4:3; 8:3; τί ἐστίν σοι τοῦτο, ὅτι what is the matter with you, that GJs 17:2.—Of becoming or turning into someth. become someth. εἰς χολὴν πικρίας εἶναι become bitter gall Ac 8:23. εἰς σάρκα μίαν Mt 19:5; Mk 10:8; 1 Cor 6:16; Eph 5:31 (all Gen 2:24. Cp. Syntipas p. 42, 24 οὐκ ἔτι ἔσομαι μετὰ σοῦ εἰς γυναῖκα); τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθείας Lk 3:5 (Is 40:4); εἰς πατέρα 2 Cor 6:18; Hb 1:5 (2 Km 7:14; 1 Ch 22:10; 28:6); εἰς τὸ ἕν 1J 5:8.— Serve as someth. (IPriene 50, 39 [c. II B.C.] εἶναι εἰς φυλακὴν τ. πόλεως; Aesop., Fab. 28 H.=18 P.; 26 Ch.; 18 H-H. εἰς ὠφέλειαν; Gen 9:13; s. also εἰς 4d) 1 Cor 14:22; Col 2:22; Js 5:3.—Of something being ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται it will be more tolerable τινί for someone Lk 10:12, 14.

⑦ to exist as possibility ἔστιν w. inf. foll. it is possible, one can (Περὶ ὕψους 6; Diog. L. 1, 110 ἔστιν εὑρεῖν=one can find; Just., A I, 59, 10 ἔστι ταῦτα ἀκοῦσαι καὶ μαθεῖν; D. 42, 3 ἰδεῖν al.; Mel., P. 19, 127); neg. οὐκ ἔστιν νῦν λέγειν it is not possible to speak at this time Hb 9:5. οὐκ ἔστιν φαγεῖν it is impossible to eat 1 Cor 11:20 (so Hom. et al.; UPZ 70, 23 [152/151 B.C.] οὐκ ἔστι ἀνακύψαι με πώποτε … ὑπὸ τῆς αἰσχύνης; 4 Macc 13:5; Wsd 5:10; Sir 14:16; 18:6; EpJer 49 al.; EpArist 163; Jos., Ant. 2, 335; Ath. 22, 3 ἔστιν εἰπεῖν).

⑧ to have a point of derivation or origin, be,/come from somewhere ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας Ἡρῴδου from Herod’s jurisdiction Lk 23:7; ἐκ Ναζαρέτ (as an insignificant place) J 1:46; ἐκ τῆς γῆς 3:31; ἐκ γυναικός 1 Cor 11:8 al. ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων be of heavenly (divine), human descent Mt 21:25; Mk 11:30; Lk 20:4. Be generated by (cp. Sb 8141, 21f [ins I B.C.] οὐδʼ ἐκ βροτοῦ ἤεν ἄνακτος, ἀλλὰ θεοῦ μεγάλου ἔκγονος; En 106:6) Mt 1:20. Esp. in Johannine usage ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου εἶναι originate from the devil J 8:44; 1J 3:8. ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ 3:12; ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου J 15:19; 17:14, 16; 1J 4:5. ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας εἶναι 2:21; J 18:37 etc. Cp. 9 end.

⑨ to belong to someone or someth. through association or genetic affiliation, be, belong w. simple gen. (X., Hell. 2, 4, 36; Iambl., Vi. Pyth. 33, 230 τῶν Πυθαγορείων) οἱ τῆς ὁδοῦ ὄντες those who belong to the Way Ac 9:2. εἰμὶ Παύλου I belong to Paul 1 Cor 1:12; 3:4; cp. Ro 8:9; 2 Cor 10:7; 1 Ti 1:20; Ac 23:6. ἡμέρας εἶναι belong to the day 1 Th 5:8, cp. vs. 5. W. ἔκ τινος 1 Cor 12:15f; Mt 26:73; Mk 14:69f; Lk 22:58 al. (cp. X., Mem. 3, 6, 17; oft LXX). ἐκ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν δώδεκα belong to the twelve 22:3. ὅς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν who is a fellow-countryman of yours Col 4:9.—To belong through origin 2 Cor 4:7. Of Mary: ἦν τῆς φυλῆς τοῦ Δαυίδ was of David’s line GJs 10:1. Cp. 8 above.

⑩ to have someth. to do with someth. or someone, be. To denote a close relationship ἐξ ἔργων νόμου εἶναι rely on legal performance Gal 3:10. ὁ νόμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ πίστεως the law has nothing to do with faith vs. 12.—To denote a possessor Mt 5:3, 10; l9:14; Mk 12:7; Lk 18:16; 1 Cor 6:19. Esp. of God who owns the Christian Ac 27:23; 1 Cor 3:23; 2 Ti 2:19 (Num 16:5). οὐδʼ εἶναι τὸν κόσμον θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἀγγέλων AcPlCor 1:15 (cp. Just., A II, 13, 4 ὅσα … καλῶς εἴρηται, ἡμῶν τῶν χριστιανῶν ἐστι).—W. possess. pron. ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία Lk 6:20. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι Mk 10:40 (cp. Just., A I, 4, 2 ὑμέτερον ἀγωνιᾶσαί ἐστι ‘it is a matter for your concern’).—To denote function (X., An. 2, 1, 4) οὐχ ὑμῶν ἐστιν it is no concern of yours Ac 1:7—Of quality παιδεία οὐ δοκεῖ χαρᾶς εἶναι discipline does not seem to be (partake of) joy Hb 12:11.—10:39.

⑪ as an auxiliary: very commonly the simple tense forms are replaced by the periphrasis εἶναι and the ptc. (B-D-F §352–55; Mlt. 225–27, 249; Mlt-H. 451f; Rdm.² 102, 105, 205; Kühner-G. I 38ff; Rob. 374–76, 1119f; CTurner, Marcan Usage: JTS 28, 1927 349–51; GKilpatrick, BT 7, ’56, 7f; very oft. LXX).

ⓐ (as in Hom et al.) w. the pf. ptc. to express the pf., plpf. and fut. pf. act. and pass. (s. Mayser 329; 377) ἦσαν ἐληλυθότες they had come Lk 5:17. ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη their hearts were hardened Mk 6:52. ἠλπικότες ἐσμέν we have set our hope 1 Cor 15:19. ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν the time has become short 7:29. ἦν ἑστώς (En 12:3) he was standing (more exactly he took his stand) Lk 5:1.

ⓑ w. pres. ptc. (B-D-F §353).

α. to express the pres. ἐστὶν προσαναπληροῦσα τὰ ὑστερήματα supplies the wants 2 Cor 9:12 (Just., A I, 26, 5 Μαρκίων … καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἐστὶ διδάσκων; Mel., P. 61, 441 ἐστὶν … κηρυσσόμενον).

β. impf. or aor. ἦν καθεύδων he was sleeping Mk 4:38. ἦσαν ἀναβαίνοντες … ἦν προάγων 10:32; cp. Lk 1:22; 5:17; 11:14 al. (JosAs 1:3 ἦν συνάγων τὸν σίτον; Mel., P. 80, 580 ἦσθα εὐφραινόμενος). ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀλήθινόν … ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον the true light entered the world J 1:9, w. ἦν introducing a statement in dramatic contrast to the initial phrase of vs. 8.—To denote age (Demetr.: 722 Fgm. 1, 2 al. Jac.; POxy 275, 9 [66 A.D.] οὐδέπω ὄντα τῶν ἐτῶν; Tob 14:11) Mk 5:42; Lk 3:23; Ac 4:22; GJs 12:3.—Mussies 304–6.

γ. fut. ἔσῃ σιωπῶν you will be silent Lk 1:20; cp. 5:10; Mt 24:9; Mk 13:13; Lk 21:17, 24 al.; 2 Cl 17:7 Bihlm. (the child) shall serve him (God).

ⓒ w. aor. ptc. as plpf. (Aelian, NA 7, 11; Hippiatr. 34, 14, vol. I p. 185, 3 ἦν σκευάσας; ISyriaW 2070b ἦν κτίσας; AcThom 16; 27 [Aa II/2 p. 123, 2f; p. 142, 10]; B-D-F §355 m.—JVogeser, Z. Sprache d. griech. Heiligenlegenden, diss. Munich 1907, 14; JWittmann, Sprachl. Untersuchungen zu Cosmas Indicopleustes, diss. Munich 1913, 20; SPsaltes, Gramm. d. byzant. Chroniken 1913, 230; Björck [διδάσκω end] 75; B-D-F §355). ἦν βληθείς had been thrown Lk 23:19; J 18:30 v.l.—GPt 6:23; 12:51. (Cp. Just., A II, 10, 2 διʼ εὑρέσεως … ἐστὶ πονηθέντα αὐτοῖς ‘they achieved through investigation’).

ⓓ Notice esp. the impersonals δέον ἐστίν it is necessary (Pla. et al.; POxy 727, 19; Sir praef. ln. 3; 1 Macc 12:11 δέον ἐστὶν καὶ πρέπον) Ac 19:36; εἰ δέον ἐστίν if it must be 1 Pt 1:6 (s. δεῖ 2a); 1 Cl 34:2; πρέπον ἐστίν it is appropriate (Pla. et al.; POxy 120, 24; 3 Macc 7:13) Mt 3:15; 1 Cor 11:13.

ⓔ In many cases the usage w. the ptc. serves to emphasize the duration of an action or condition (BGU 183, 25 ἐφʼ ὸ̔ν χρόνον ζῶσα ᾖ Σαταβούς); JosAs 2:1 ἦν … ἐξουθενοῦσα καὶ καταπτύουσα πάντα ἄνδρα). ἦν διδάσκων he customarily taught Mk 1:22; Lk 4:31; 19:47. ἦν θέλων he cherished the wish 23:8. ἦσαν νηστεύοντες they were keeping the fast Mk 2:18. ἦσαν συλλαλοῦντες they were conversing for a while 9:4. ἦν προσδεχόμενος he was waiting for (the kgdm.) 15:43. ἦν συγκύπτουσα she was bent over Lk 13:11.

ⓕ to emphasize the adjectival idea inherent in the ptc. rather than the concept of action expressed by the finite verb ζῶν εἰμι I am alive Rv 1:18. ἦν ὑποτασσόμενος he was obedient Lk 2:51. ἦν ἔχων κτήματα πολλά he was very rich Mt 19:22; Mk 10:22. ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων you shall have authority Lk 19:17 (Lucian, Tim. 35 ἴσθι εὐδαιμονῶν). ἦν καταλλάσσων (God) was reconciling 2 Cor 5:19 (cp. Mel., P. 83, 622 οὗτος ἦν ὁ ἐκλεξάμενός σε; Ath. 15, 2 οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ … καρπούμενος).—LMcGaughy, Toward a Descriptive Analysis of ΕΙΝΑΙ as a Linking Verb in the Gk. NT, diss. Vanderbilt, ’70 (s. esp. critique of treatment of εἰμί in previous edd. of this lexicon pp. 12–15).—Mlt. 228. B. 635. DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.