ταῖς

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ταῖς

   tais

   the
2. sentence🔊 ὃς ἐν ταῖς παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς εἴασεν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη πορεύεσθαι ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν

   hos en tais pa-rō-khay-ME-nais ge-ne-AIS EI-a-sen PAN-ta ta E-thnê po-REU-es-thai tais ho-DOIS au-TÔN

   who in the past generations allowed all the nations to go the ways of them

Exegesis

The prepositional phrase en tais paroichemenais geneais {ἐν ταῖς παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς | en taîs parōichēménais geneaîs} “in the generations having passed” functions adverbially, setting the temporal sphere in which the main action occurred and emphasizing long stretches of prior history.

The dative phrase tais hodois auton {ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν | taîs hodoîs autôn} “their ways” specifies the sphere or manner of that walking, conveying the idea of self-directed conduct and autonomous paths. In the formal rendering, the temporal phrase is kept close to the Greek order and eiasen is translated “allowed” to retain the sense of deliberate permission. In the dynamic rendering, “earlier generations” and “let all the nations go their own ways” capture the same permissive nuance in idiomatic contemporary English while preserving the clause relationships and emphasis on God’s forbearance.