and confessedly great is the mystery of godliness:
who was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the spirit,
appeared to angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
taken up to glory.
The rhythmic patterns of this text are obvious: six
lines of parallel passive verbs, followed by parallel (ejn
+) dat. constructions. These features, coupled with an
introductory o{ß, are signatures of poetry. To seek
outside the hymn for an antecedent to o{ß, as some
have done, is an unnecessary expedient, which, in
fact, misreads the genre and misunderstands the force
of to© thçßeujsebeivaß musthvrion.
13
[b] Adverbial/Conjunctive Uses ExSyn 342–43
The RP is often used after a preposition. Frequently, such prepo-
sitional phrases have an adverbial or conjunctive force. In such
instances, the RP either has no antecedent or else its antecedent is con-
ceptual, not grammatical.
14
Luke 12:3
aajjnnqq∆∆ ww||nn
o{sa ejnth/ç skotiva/ ei[pate ejntw/ç fwti©
ajkousqhvsetai
therefore, whatever you said in the dark will be
heard in the light
Acts 26:12
eejjnn ooii||ßß
poreuovmenoß eijßth©n Damasko©n
meanwhile/therefore, when I traveled to Damascus
The prepositional expression could either point back
to the preceding clause in a general way (=“there-
fore,” “because of these things”), or it could be tem-
poral (“meanwhile,” “in the meantime”). Cf. also
Luke 12:1 (where ejnoi|ß is clearly temporal).
Rom 5:12 eijßpavntaß ajnqrwvpouß oJ qavnatoß dihçlqen,
eejjff∆∆ ww//||
pavnteß h{marton
death passed to all people, because all sinned
The prepositional phrase here is often debated. It is
possible that w/| refers back to “one man” (eJno©ßajn-
qrwvpou) mentioned earlier in the verse. If so, the
idea is either “all sinned in one man,” or “all sinned
because of one man.” But if ejf∆ w/| functions as a con-
junction, it does not look back at any antecedent, but
explains how death passed to all.
15
The Basics of New Testament Syntax152
13
For more discussion of this text, see ExSyn 341–42.
14
For a discussion of the antecedent of ejnw/| in 1 Pet 3:19, see ExSyn 343–44.
15
For more discussion of this passage, see ExSyn 342–43.