γωνίας

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 γωνίας

   gô-NI-as

   of a corner
2. sentence🔊 ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν Τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

   ho de em-BLE-psas au-TOIS EI-pen TI oun es-TIN to ge-gram-ME-non TOU-to LI-thon hon a-pe-do-KI-ma-san hoi oi-ko-do-MOUN-tes HOU-tos e-ge-NEE-thê eis ke-pha-LÊN gô-NI-as

   the but having looked intently at them he said what then is the written this stone which rejected the builders this became into head of a corner

Exegesis

The second clause, houtos egenethe eis kephalen gonias {οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας | HOU-tos e-ge-NÉ-thē EIS ke-pha-LĒN go-NÍ-as}, introduces the demonstrative houtos as the grammatical subject of egenethe. The passive verb with the preposition eis plus accusative expresses a change-of-status construction: “this one was made, became, into head of a corner.” The relative positioning of houtos after the mention of rejection heightens the paradoxical reversal: the very stone despised by the builders is the one that has been exalted to the chief position. The entire sentence is cast as a question, so Jesus’ use of the quotation functions both as an interpretive challenge and as an indirect self-identification as the rejected-but-exalted cornerstone.