EK -EX

l. j. swain x99swain at wmich.edu
Wed May 3 00:44:00 EDT 2000




Suedaleg at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Hello -
> 
> I have another question.  This comes from working through Galatians 3.  Paul
> uses the phrases  EX ERGWN NOMOU and EK PISTEWS  frequently, apparently as a
> contrast.  My understanding of the difference between EX and EK ( as well as
> EIS and EN) is progression (movement) and position.  Is this always so, or
> might they be use sometimes interchangably?  What impact does Paul's use of
> these two prepositions make in this section?  Are there other places where I
> may examine the uses of these as contrast or as complementary?
> 

Dale, 
EX and EK are the same word, the hard K "palatalizes", i. e. its
pronunciation moves forward in the mouth, before front vowels.  Thus, in
your example, the initial E of ERGWN pulls the K forward and it becomes
x, but they are the same word.  This is in contrast to your other
example of EIS and EN which are different words and take different
cases, and you have understood them correctly:  EIS + accusative
signifies motion towards, EN + Dative basically conveys Location.  

Regards, 

Larry Swain



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