εἰ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 εἰ

   ei

   if
2. sentence🔊 οὐχ εὑρέθησαν ὑποστρέψαντες δοῦναι δόξαν τῷ θεῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀλλογενὴς οὗτος;

   oukh heu-RE-thê-san hy-po-STRE-psan-tes DOU-nai DO-ksan tôi the-Ô ei mê ho al-lo-ge-NÊS HOU-tos

   Were {there} not found returning to give glory to the God if not the foreigner this {one}?

Exegesis

The combination ei mē {εἰ μὴ | ei mē} introduces an exceptive clause, effectively meaning ‘except,’ and sets off the phrase ho allogenēs houtos {ὁ ἀλλογενής οὗτος | ho allogenḗs hoû-tos} ‘this foreigner,’ where the demonstrative houtos adds deictic emphasis to the one surprising individual who did return. The syntactic arrangement, with the negative and the passive verb fronted and the exceptive clause reserved for the end, creates a strong rhetorical contrast between the many who did not return and the single foreigner who did, underscoring the ironic gratitude of an outsider over against the apparent ingratitude of others.

Root and etymology

aphiēmi🔊 ἀφίημιalpha–phi–iota–eta–mu–iota

“to let go, to release, to forgive”

• 🔊 ἄφεσιςá-phe-sisforgiveness, releaseMatthew 6:12
• 🔊 ἀφίημιa-phí-ē-mito forgive, leaveLuke 11:4