THE GENITIVE ABSOLUTE

! It is a phrase which is not connected syntactically with the rest of its sentence.

! Its subject is a NOUN or PRONOUN, and its verb is a CIRCUMSTANTIAL PARTICIPLE. Both of these are in the
GENITIVE CASE:
Mt 26:21 -at .cte|| au| .t :.| a | . , ut | et .t ; . u | :aae c.t ..
And while they were eating, he said, "Amen I say to you, that one of you will betray me."

! The rest of the genitive absolute phrase may include other elements and modifiers:
prepositional phrase
Mk 5:18 Kat .at|e|e; aueu .t ; e :et e| :a.-a .t au e | e eate|tc.t; t|a .` au eu .
And as he was embarking into the boat, the one who had been possessed begged him that he might be with him

dative of respect
2 Pt 4:1 Xtceu eu | :ae |e; ca-t -at u .t; | au | .||eta| e :tcac.
Since, therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention


direct object indirect object
Mt 9:18 Tau a au eu aeu |e; au et ;, teeu a,| .t ; .| :ec.-u|.t au . ,| e t
u,a eu at ...uc.| aa .| .:t .; | ,.ta ceu .:` au |, -at ,c.at.
While he was saying these things to them, behold, one leader came and reverenced him, saying,
"My daughter just died; but come lay your hand on her, and she will live."

object infinitive
Acts 19:30 Eaueu e. eue.|eu .t c..t| .t ; e | e e| eu - .t | au e | et aat
Now, although Paul was wishing to enter into the populace, the disciples were not allowing him

! The verb functions like any other participle with respect to aspect and time (e.g., a present participle has a
progressive/repeated aspect and usually indicates action simultaneous with the main verb of the sentence).

! The genitive absolute phrase can be used to indicate any of the 8 circumstances associated with all
circumstantial participles. Context will indicate which circumstance is the most appropriate. For example,
the temporal use makes the most sense in Mt 26:21 (above), but theoretically, it could be translated in any of
the following ways:










! Both Zerwick (#49) and Blass-Debrunner-Funk (#423) point out that the Semitic way of thinking favors
juxtaposing ideas against one another, while the Greek mind-set prefers to specificy how individual
elements are linked or subordinated to one another. Thus, in many instances where NT authors coming
from a Semitic context would tend to use the genitive absolute (in juxtaposition to the rest of the sentence),
Classical or Hellenistic writers would normally use a circumstantial participle agreeing in case, gender
and number with its antecedent, as in this example of good, literary Hellenistic prose:

accusative case
First Apology 10:2 Kat :a|a | a,| a,ae| e|a eteu, cat au e | e.etea ,.a
(Justin Martyr) And we have been taught that in the beginning, he created all things because (he) is good
Temporal: "And when/while/as/after they were eating, he said"
Causal: "And because/since/as/inasmuch as they were eating, he said"
Purpose: "And for/in order for them to eat, he said" (more common with future participle)
Means: "And by/through/by means of their eating, he said"
Manner: "And with them eating, he said"
Condition: "And if/ as long as they were eating, he said"
Concessive: "And though/although they were eating, he said"
Attendant Circumstance: "They were eating, and he said"