τῆς

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 τῆς

   tês

   of the
2. sentence🔊 καὶ ἐξελεύσεται πλανῆσαι τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐν ταῖς τέσσαρσι γωνίαις τῆς γῆς τὸν Γὼγ καὶ Μαγώγ συναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ὧν ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης

   KAI ek-se-LEU-se-tai pla-NÊ-sai ta E-thnê ta en tais TEs-sar-si gô-NI-ais tês gês ton GÔG KAI ma-GÔG sy-na-ga-GEIN au-TOUS eis ton PO-le-mon hôn ho a-rith-MOS au-TÔN hôs hê AM-mos tês tha-LAS-sês

   and will go out to deceive the nations the in the four corners of the earth the Gog and Magog to gather them into the war whose the number of them as the sand of the sea

Exegesis

The direct object of this infinitive is ta ethnē {τὰ ἔθνη | tà éth-nē} “the nations,” further specified by the articular prepositional phrase ta en tais tessarsi gōniais tēs gēs {τὰ ἐν ταῖς τέσσαρσι γωνίαις τῆς γῆς | tà en taîs tés-sar-si gō-ní-ais tês gês}, literally “those in the four corners of the earth,” a stereotyped apocalyptic expression for worldwide scope.

The relative clause hōn ho arithmos autōn hōs hē ammos tēs thalassēs {ὧν ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης | hōn ho a-ri-thmós autôn hōs hē ám-mos tês tha-lás-sēs} modifies “the nations,” with hōn referring back to them, and presents a nominal clause in which ho arithmos is the subject and the simile with hōs introduces the comparison “like the sand of the sea.” In translation, the Greek infinitival chain is rendered with clear purpose clauses (“to deceive,” “to gather”) and the appositional Gog and Magog is retained in place to preserve the rhetorical force, while the relative clause is converted into a separate but closely linked clause for readability.