Matthew 18:1:15Matt.18.1.W15TAB
ἐν
en
“in”
- Transliteration
- en
- Extended
- ehn
- IPA
- /en/
Meaning by language
- English
- in
Alphabet Analysis
| Epsilon | e — as in met (short) | |
| Nu | n — as in new |
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The word
Word in context
- word
en
- clause
TIS A-ra MEI-zôn es-TIN en TÊI ba-si-LEI-ai TÔN oo-ra-NÔN
- sentence
en e-KEI-nêi TÊI HÔ-rai pro-SÊL-thon HOI ma-thê-TAI TÔI ee-ay-SOO LE-gon-tes TIS A-ra MEI-zôn es-TIN en TÊI ba-si-LEI-ai TÔN oo-ra-NÔN
Exegesis
The verse opens with the temporal prepositional phrase en keinei te hora {ἐν κείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ | en keínē tē hṓra} ‘at that hour’, which foregrounds a specific moment and links this scene to the preceding context.
The sphere of comparison is defined by the prepositional phrase en te basileia ton ouranon {ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν | en tē basileía tōn ouranōn} ‘in the kingdom of the heavens’, a characteristically Matthean expression that points to God’s reign rather than a purely spatial heaven. In translation, the initial temporal phrase is kept at the front to maintain narrative focus, the participle legontes is rendered with a finite verb (‘saying/asked’) for clarity in English, and the comparative structure ‘who then is greater’ is preserved to reflect the disciples’ hierarchical concern within the context of God’s rule.
Root and etymology
histēmihístēmi
“to cause to stand, set in place”
In context — Matthew 18:1
At that hour the disciples came to Jesus , saying, “Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens?”
About this coordinate
Matthew 18:1:15 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 15 of Matthew 18:1, so the Greek word ἐν (en) 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.18.1.W15, which extends further down to each syllable (Matt.18.1.W15.S1) and character.