Ἑλληνιστὶ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 Ἑλληνιστὶ

   hel-lē-nis-TI

   in Greek
2. sentence🔊 Μέλλων τε εἰσάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν ὁ Παῦλος λέγει τῷ χιλιάρχῳ Εἰ ἔξεστίν μοι εἰπεῖν τι πρὸς σέ ὁ δὲ ἔφη Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις

   MEL-lōn te ei-SA-ge-sthai eis tēn pa-rem-bo-LĒN ho PAU-los LE-gei tō khi-li-AR-khō ei EK-se-STIN moi ei-PEIN ti pros SE ho de E-phē hel-lē-nis-TI gi-NŌ-skeis

   being about and to be brought in into the barracks the Paul says to the to the tribune if it is permitted to me to say something to you the but he said in Greek do you know

Exegesis

The transition ho de ephe {ὁ δὲ ἔφη | ho dè é-phē} ‘but he said’ introduces contrast, followed by the fronted adverb Hellenisti ginoskeis {Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις | Hel-lē-nis-tì gi-nṓ-skeis} ‘Do you know Greek?’ to highlight the commander’s concern with language ability. The English rendering converts the Greek participial clause into a temporal clause, shifts the historical present into past for narrative flow, and retains the emphatic adverb placement in the question for clarity.

Root and etymology

Hellēn🔊 Ἕλληνhéllēn | epsilon–lambda–lambda–eta–nu

“Greek-speaking person”

• 🔊 ἙλληνικόςHellēn “Greek” (Romans 1:14), HellēnikosHellenic2 Maccabees 4:10 LXX