Paul,
You wrote:
When the answer to “why?” is a single thing (such as a noun), use:
διά – because (literally “through”)
Matthew 6:25 Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν• μὴ μεριμνᾶτε Because of this I tell you, do not worry…
ἐπί – because (literally “on”)
I am a little surprised at your designations:
literally
Can you explain to me what you mean by "
literally" in these definitions? It appears to me that you are saying something like, διά literally means X, but it can also "mean" Y or Z. I am just looking for clarification since in my recent studies I have somewhat come across this issue/debate. Would you say that διά means X, such as it would if found in a vacuum (with no usage/context)? Do cases change their
literal meaning? I think these are helpful questions for the composition of this
Koine Phrasebook.