ἄν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ἄν

   AN

   would
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν ⸂μου ἀπέθανεν⸃ ὁ ἀδελφός.

   ei ÊS HÔ-de ouk AN mou a-PE-tha-nen ho a-del-PHOS

   if had been here my {∅} brother would not have died
3. clause🔊 Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν ⸂μου ἀπέθανεν⸃ ὁ ἀδελφός.

   KY-ree-e ei ÊS HÔ-de ouk AN mou a-PE-tha-nen ho a-del-PHOS

   Lord if had been here my {∅} brother would not have died
4. sentence🔊 ἡ οὖν ⸀Μαριὰμ ὡς ἦλθεν ὅπου ⸀ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἰδοῦσα αὐτὸν ἔπεσεν αὐτοῦ ⸀πρὸς τοὺς πόδας, λέγουσα αὐτῷ· Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν ⸂μου ἀπέθανεν⸃ ὁ ἀδελφός.

   hê OON ma-ri-AM hôs ÊL-then HO-pou ÊN ee-ay-SOOS i-DOU-sa au-TON E-pe-sen au-TOU PROS TOUS PO-das LE-gou-sa au-TÔ KY-ree-e ei ÊS HÔ-de ouk AN mou a-PE-tha-nen ho a-del-PHOS

   then {the} Mary when {she} came where Jesus {he} was having seen him {she} fell at his {∅} feet saying to him Lord if had been here my {∅} brother would not have died

Exegesis

The apodosis combines the negative particle ouk {οὐκ | ouk} with the modal particle an {ἄν | án} and the aorist apethanen {ἀπέθανεν | apéthanen} to yield an unreal result: ‘would not have died’. English rendering reshapes this into a standard second-class conditional (“if You had been here, my brother would not have died”), while preserving the Greek order that foregrounds Mary’s grief-filled address and emphasizes the unrealized hope.

Root and etymology

apostello🔊 ἀποστέλλωalpha pi omicron sigma tau epsilon lambda lambda omicron omega

“to send out, dispatch”

• 🔊 ἀπόστολοςapostolossent one, apostleActs 1:2