Matthew 15:3:6Matt.15.3.W6TAB
Διὰ
dia
“because of”
- Transliteration
- di-A
- Extended
- dih-AH
- IPA
- /diˈa/
Meaning by language
- English
- because of
Greek · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Delta | th — as in this | |
| Iota | i — as in machine | |
| Alpha | ah — as in father |
Tap any key to hear its pronunciation
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
di-A
- sentence
ho de a-po-kri-THEIS EI-pen au-TOIS di-A TI KAI hy-MEIS pa-ra-BAI-ne-te tên en-to-LÊN tou the-OU di-A tên pa-RA-do-sin hy-MÔN
Exegesis
The interrogative expression Dia ti {Διὰ τί | Diá tí} literally “through what?” operates idiomatically as “why?”, and its fronted position marks the sentence as an emphatic challenge.
The prepositional phrase dia ten paradosin hymon {διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν | diá tḕn pa-rá-do-sin hy-môn} expresses cause or motive, “because of your tradition,” placing human tradition in structural opposition to divine command. The Greek word order moves from the act of answering, to the probing “why,” to the emphatic “you also,” and finally to the contrast between God’s commandment and human tradition, a progression that was mirrored in translation to preserve the rhetorical force.
Root and etymology
kardiakappa–alpha–rho–delta–iota–alpha
“heart, inner self”
In context — Matthew 15:3
But He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”
About this coordinate
Matthew 15:3:6 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 6 of Matthew 15:3, so the Greek word Διὰ (dia) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Matt.15.3.W6, which extends further down to each syllable (Matt.15.3.W6.S1) and character.