θεῷ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 θεῷ

   the-ÔI

   God
2. sentence🔊 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς Τοίνυν ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ θεῷ

   ho de EI-pen pros au-TOUS TOI-nyn a-PO-do-te ta KAI-sa-ros KAI-sa-ri kai ta tou the-OU tôi the-ÔI

   the and he said to them therefore give back the things of Caesar to Caesar and the things of the God to the God

Exegesis

The two coordinated accusative phrases ta Kaisaros Kaisari {τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι | tà Kaísar-os Kaísar-i} and ta tou theou tō theō {τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ θεῷ | tà toû the-oû tôi the-ō} form a balanced, parallel structure: each begins with the neuter plural article ta functioning substantivally (‘the things’), followed by a genitive of possession (Kaisaros, theou) and then a corresponding dative (Kaisari, theō) indicating the rightful recipient. This parallelism sharply distinguishes responsibilities toward imperial authority from those owed directly to God, while the shared syntax suggests that both obligations are real, though not equal. In translation, the possessive nuance of the genitives is rendered with “the things that are Caesar’s” and “the things that are God’s” or “what belongs to,” preserving both the structure and the emphasis on proper ownership and due return.