εἰμί

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 εἰμί

   ei-MI

   I am
2. sentence🔊 καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἐστέ ἐγὼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω εἰμί ὑμεῖς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἐστέ ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου

   kai E-le-gen au-TOIS hy-MEIS ek tôn KA-tô es-TE e-GÔ ek tôn A-nô ei-MI hy-MEIS ek TOU-tou tou KOS-mou es-TE e-GÔ ouk ei-MI ek tou KOS-mou TOU-tou

   and he was saying to them you from the below you are I from the above I am you from this the world you are I not am from the world this

Exegesis

The following clause, ego ek ton ano eimi {ἐγὼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω εἰμί | e-gṓ ek tôn á-nō ei-mí}, mirrors this structure with egō fronted for contrastive emphasis, reinforcing the antithesis between human hearers and Jesus.

The second pair of clauses, humeis ek toutou tou kosmou este {ὑμεῖς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἐστέ | hu-meîs ek toú-tou toû kós-mou es-té} and egō ouk eimi ek tou kosmou toutou {ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου | e-gṓ ouk ei-mí ek toû kós-mou toú-tou}, extends the contrast from spatial (below/above) to relational and moral (of this world / not of this world). The genitive toutou “this” specifies the present world-order in opposition to the “above.” The negative ouk directly precedes eimi, sharpening the denial of belonging. English renderings preserve the parallelism and antithetical structure with repeated “you are / I am” and “this world,” retaining the theological contrast between earthly origin and Jesus’ heavenly source.

Root and etymology

es🔊 epsilon sigma

“to be, exist”