ἂν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ἂν

   AN

   then
2. sentence🔊 ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ σου ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς Οὔτε ἐμὲ οἴδατε οὔτε τὸν πατέρα μου εἰ ἐμὲ ᾔδειτε καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου ἂν ᾔδειτε

   E-le-gon oun au-TÔ POU ES-tin ho pa-TÊR sou a-pe-KRI-thê ee-ay-SOOS OU-te e-ME OI-da-te OU-te ton pa-TE-ra mou ei e-ME Ê-dei-te kai ton pa-TE-ra mou AN Ê-dei-te

   they were saying therefore to him where is the father your answered Jesus neither me you know nor the father my if me you knew also the father my then you would know

Exegesis

an ēideite {εἰ … ᾔδειτε … ἂν ᾔδειτε | ei … ēi-dei-te … àn ēi-dei-te}. The protasis with pluperfect ēideite ‘if you had known’ and the apodosis with the same pluperfect plus the modal particle an ‘you would have known’ express an unrealized past condition, implying that true knowledge of Jesus would necessarily entail true knowledge of the Father. The repetition of ton patera mou in both the negative statement and the conditional climax underscores the inseparable relational bond between Son and Father. In the formal reconstruction, this structure is mirrored with “neither … nor” and “if you had known … you would have known,” closely preserving the Greek logical and temporal relations. The dynamic reconstruction maintains the conditional logic and relational emphasis but uses more idiomatic English (“you do not know,” “you would know”) to foreground the present implication of their past failure to recognize Jesus.

Root and etymology

lambanō🔊 λαμβάνωlambda–alpha–mu–beta–alpha–nu–omega

“to take, seize, grasp”

• 🔊 καταλαμβάνωka-ta-lam-bá-nōto overtake, graspJohn 1:5
• 🔊 κατελήφθηka-te-lḗ-phthēwas seizedJohn 8:4