εἶχεν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 εἶχεν

   EI-khen

   had
2. sentence🔊 καὶ τὰ κτήματα καὶ τὰς ὑπάρξεις ἐπίπρασκον καὶ διεμέριζον αὐτὰ πᾶσιν καθότι ἄν τις χρείαν εἶχεν

   kai ta KTÊ-ma-ta kai tas hy-PAR-kseis e-PI-pras-kon kai di-e-ME-ri-zon au-TA PÂ-sin ka-THO-ti AN tis KHREI-an EI-khen

   and the properties and the possessions they were selling and they were distributing them to all as if anyone need had

Exegesis

The clause kathoti an tis chreian eichen {καθότι ἄν τις χρείαν εἶχεν | kathóti án tis chreían eîchen} functions as a conditional-proportional construction, “to the extent that anyone might be having a need,” where kathoti introduces the standard of distribution, an marks contingency, tis generalizes to “anyone,” and the imperfect eichen depicts ongoing states of need. In translation, the continuous imperfects are rendered as “were selling” and “were distributing” in the formal reconstruction to preserve process, while the dynamic reconstruction uses simple past “sold” and “shared” for narrative flow, both maintaining the sense that distribution matched each individual’s level of need rather than enforcing absolute equality.