ὁ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ὁ

   ho

   the
2. sentence🔊 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός

   EI-pen de au-TOI ho ee-ay-SOOS TI me LE-geis a-ga-THON ou-DEIS a-ga-THOS ei mê heis ho the-OS

   said and to him the Jesus why me do you call good no one good if except one the God

Exegesis

The subject is expressed by the articular proper name ho Iēsous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho Iē-soûs}, a typical way in narrative to mark a known character.

The construction ei mē heis ho theos {εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός | ei mē heîs ho the-ós} is an exceptive clause: the conditional particle ei with the negative mē forms an “except” structure, with heis ho theos functioning appositionally as “one, namely God.” English is best served by rendering this as “except one, God” in a more literal register and “except God alone” in a more idiomatic register, both preserving the exclusivity of divine goodness that the Greek syntax emphasizes.

Root and etymology

agathos🔊 ἀγαθόςalpha–gamma–alpha–theta–omicron–sigma

“good, beneficial”

• 🔊 ἀγαθοποιέωa-ga-tho-poi-éōto do good1 Peter 2:15
• 🔊 ἀγαθωσύνηa-ga-thō-sy-nēgoodnessGalatians 5:22