Chapter XII. Particles

§260. Prepositions
Prepositions are simple (e.g. e- ‘to’) or compound (e.g. e.`n- ‘upon’). They can be prefixed to nouns or pronouns. When used before a noun the preposition shows the Construct form (e.g. e.p.rwme ‘To the man’); but if used before a pronoun then the Pronominal form is employed (e.g. ero.3 ‘To him’). The pronoun is represented by the suffix form (§35). The pronominal forms are etymologically interesting in that they preserve weak consonants which have been lost in the Construct forms.
 Simple Prepositions:
§261.  e-, ero=  (2 pl erw.tn) [old r] is used for many purposes. The fundamental meanings are ‘to, for, from, than’.
(1) Dative: ‘to, for, according to, as regards’; e.g. bwk  ng.touo.k  e.p.ouhhb ‘Go, show thyself to the priest’, a.3.r.ou.no2  n.4ops  ero.3 ‘He made a great feast for him’, pet  mmau  na.t.sabe.thutn  e.6wb  nim ‘That one will teach you as regards everything’ (Jn 14:26).
(2) Purpose: ‘in order to’ (§251).
(3) Direction: ‘towards’: e.g. a.3.kot.3  e.m.maqhths ‘He turned himself towards the disciples’, e.k.e.`oou.3  e.p.hi ‘Thou shalt send him to the house’.
(4) In a hostile sense: ‘against’; e.g. a6ro.ou  nai  r.mntre  ero.k ‘Why do these witness against thee?’. Especially in the sense of debt or responsibility (cf §236.2).
(5) ‘from’; e.g. ma  tou`o.i  e.na.`a`e ‘(Give) to save me from my enemies!’
(6) Comparison (§114).
(7) Indicating the object after certain verbs (§331-2).
§262.  n-, mmo=  (2 pl mmw.tn) [old m]. The fundamental meanings are ‘in, from, with’.
(1) Location ‘within, from’; e.g. m.pei.ma ‘In this place’, e.lo  m.pei.ma ‘To withdraw from this place’.
(2) Temporal; e.g. m.pe.6oou ‘On the day’, a.3.ei  n.t.eu4h ‘He came by night’.
(3) Instrument; e.g. a.3.re6t.is  n.ou.aas ‘He smote Jesus with a blow’, nau  n.nou.bal ‘To see with their eyes’.
(4) As a Genitive after the adverbs ebol,  sabol,  n.sabol; e.g. mp.r.sa6w.k  ebol  mmo.i ‘Do not remove thyself from me’, mp.r.kwte  m.pek.6o  n.sabol  mmo.i ‘Do not turn thy face away from me’.
(5) To introduce the Object, when the Construct or Pronominal form of the verb is not used (§328); e.g. 5.`w  mmo.s ‘I say it’, 3.moste  m.p.ouoein ‘He hates the light’.
(6) After the verbs  4wpe  ‘To become’ and  o ‘To be’  (Qual of eire ‘To make, do’), to introduce the qualification of the subject; e.g. pai  enta.3.4wpe  m.p.rodoths ‘This one who became the traitor’, 5.o  n.6m6al  na.3 ‘I am his servant (lit. I am made servant to him)’.
(7) With those verbs which take a Second Object, to introduce the Second Object; e.g. a.u.aa.3  n.rro ‘They made him king’.
§262a. The Pronominal forms mmo= are used: (a) After the particle mmin or mmine to lend emphasis to the notion of possession; e.g. te3.5me  mmin  mmo.3 ‘His own village’, pe3.eoou  mmine  mmo.3 ‘His own glory’; (b) Occasionally in a Genitival sense; e.g. nim  mmo.n ‘Who of us?’
§263.  n-, na=  (2 pl  nh.tn) [old n] ‘to, for’ in dative sense; e.g. 5.`w  mmo.s  na.k ‘I say it to thee (masc.)’, pe`a.3  m.filippos ‘He says to Philip’, a.3.5  na.u  m.mhte  n.mna ‘He gave to them ten minae’.
§264.  mn-, nmma=  ‘with’:
(1) With the meaning ‘together with’; e.g. a.u.ra4e  nmma.s ‘They rejoiced with her’, ou.kim  pe  mn  ou.anapausis ‘It is movement with repose’ (Thomas 50; see §086).
(2) In lieu of the conjunction ‘and’; e.g. petros  mn.iw6annhs  mn.iakwbos ‘Peter and John and James’, pek.eiwt  mn.anok ‘Thy father and I’, p.5ou  n.oeik  mn.p.tbt  snau ‘The five loaves and the two fishes’. Nouns thus linked together are usually, but not invariably, defined (§268.5).
(3) After 4a`e ‘To speak’; e.g., anok  pe  pet.4a`e  nmm.e ‘I Am he who speaks with thee (fem.)’ (Jn 4:26).
§265.  oube-, oubh=  ‘opposite, toward, against’; e.g. pet`ia6ap  oubhk ‘He who receives judgment against thee’. Note the idioms: 5  oube- ‘To fight against’, ouw6m  oube- ‘To contradict’, moute  oube- ‘To call someone something’.
§266.  oute-, outw=  ‘between, among’; e.g. oute.pe.rpe  mn.pe.qusiasthrion ‘Between the temple and the altar’, oute.net.moout ‘Among the dead’.
§267.  4a-, 4aro=  ‘towards’:
(1) Of persons; e.g. a.3.ei  4aro.3 ‘He came to him’.
(2) Of location; e.g. 4a.ne.krwou  n.t.oikoumenh ‘Unto the limits of the inhabited (world)’.
(3) Temporal: 4a.ene6 ‘Forever (lit. Until ever)’, 4a.pe.ouoei4  m.p.w6s ‘Until the time of harvest’.
§268.  6i-, 6iw(w)=  ‘upon, from upon, out of’; the pronominal form is a compound of 6i+ww= (from the old ’i3t ‘back’):
(1) ‘upon’; e.g. 6i.te.6ih ‘Upon the road’, a.u.5  6iww.3  n.ou.xlamus ‘They put a robe upon him’.
(2) ‘from upon, out of’; e.g. 6i.p.`oi ‘Out of the ship’, 6i.te.6ih  et.mmau ‘From that road’.
(3) Temporal ‘in the time of’; e.g. 6i.p.pwwne  ebol  n.t.babulwn ‘In the time of the carrying away to Babylon’.
(4) ‘with’; e.g. ou.hrp ... e.3.th6  6i.si4e ‘Wine ... mingled with gall’.
(5) In lieu of the conjunction ‘and’, especially when nouns are undefined; e.g. 6a6  m.profhths  6i.rrwou ‘Many prophets and kings’, ponhros  6i.agaqos ‘Evil and good’.
§269.  6a-, 6aro=  ‘under’:
(1) Location: ‘under, in, at’; e.g. 6a.ou.4i ‘Beneath a measured (load)’, so frequently used after verbs of carrying or bearing when the bearer is thought of as being beneath the burden; e.g. tet.na.3i  6a  ouhr ‘How much will you support?’ (Th 84).
(2) ‘from under, from’; e.g. e.k.na.twoun  de  6a.p.6inhb  tnau ‘When wilt thou rise up from sleep?’
(3) ‘in respect of, on behalf of’; e.g. et.ou.na.taa.3  6arw.tn ‘Which will they give on your behalf’, raste  gar  na.3.roou4  6aro.3 ‘For tomorrow will take care of itself’.
(4) ‘for’, of price; e.g. 6a.4mt.4e  n.sateere ‘For 300 staters’, ou.bal  6a.ou.bal ‘An eye for an eye’.
§270.  6ht=  Pronominal form only (rarely n.6ht=) ‘before, against’ (lit. In front of); e.g. r.6ote  6ht.3  m.p.noute ‘To fear before God’, stwt  6ht.3 ‘To tremble before him’.
§271.  6n-, n.6ht=  ‘within’:
(1) Location; e.g.  6n.t.pe ‘In the heaven’, 6m.p.hi ‘In the house’, n.6ht.3 ‘In him’.
(2) Temporal; e.g. 6n.t.arxh ‘In the beginning’, 6n.ne.6oou  et.mmau ‘In those days’ (§54).
(3) Instrument; ‘by, with’; e.g. 6n.t.sh3e ‘By the sword’.
(4) ‘From out of, from among’ following the adverbs ebol, (e)6rai; e.g. oua  ebol  n.6ht.thutn ‘One of you’ (lit. One out of you), a.3.ei  e6rai  6m.p.iordanhs ‘He came up from the Jordan’.
§272.  Compound Prepositions
By means of the Simple Prepositions prefixed to the nouns describing parts of the body which could take the possessive suffix (§38), Coptic was able to form a wide range of Compound Prepositions. The most important of these are:
§273.  Compounds with e-
(1)  ern- (eron-), erw= ‘to, upon’ (lit. To the mouth of), mostly with verbs of motion; e.g. a.3.6wn  e6oun  ern.n.ro ‘He has approached to the doors’.
(2)  erat= ‘to’ (lit. To the foot of) mostly of persons; e.g. e.n.na.kton  nmm.e  erat.3  m.pou.laos ‘With thee we shall return to thy people’.
(3)  etn-, etoot= (2 pl etn.thutn, etoot.thutn, ete[t].thutn) ‘to’ (lit. To the hand of); e.g. ou  penta.mwushs  6on.3  etoot.thutn ‘What is it which Moses commanded to you?’
(4)  etoun-, etouw= ‘beside, with’ (lit. To the bosom); e.g. a.n.s2hr  etoun.kupros ‘We sailed beside Cyprus’.
(5)  e6rn-, e6ra= ‘to, among’ (lit. To the face of); e.g. a.u.pe4  ne3.6oite  e6ra.u ‘They divided his garments among them’.
(6)  e`n-, e`w= (lit. To the head of): (a) ‘upon, over’, e.g. e`m.p.ma ‘over the place’, e`n.tei.genea ‘upon this generation’; (b) ‘for, on account of’, e.g. a.3.4n.6th.3  e`w.ou ‘He had compassion for them’, a.u.r.6ote  e`n.neu.erhu ‘They feared on account of their fellows’; (c) ‘against, to’, e.g. a.u.samariths ... ei  e`w.3 ‘A Samaritan ... came to him’; (d) ‘in addition to, after’, e.g. nai  e.3.e.oua  e`w.i ‘These things may he add in addition to me’.
§274.  etbe-, etbhht= (old r db3 ‘for the payment of’) ‘because of, concerning’; e.g. etbe.pai ‘Because of this’, etbhh.t ‘Concerning me’, r.mntre  etbe.p.rwme ‘To bear witness concerning the man’.
§275.  Compounds with n-
(1)  nsa-, nsw= ‘behind, after’ (lit. In the back); e.g. a.3.nau  ero.ou  e.u.ouh6  nsw.3 ‘He saw them following after him’, a.u.ka  n.ka  nim  nsw.ou ‘They left all things behind them’.
(2)  ntn-, ntoot= (2 pl nte.thutn) ‘in, by, beside, from’ (lit. In the hand of); e.g. mp.ei.6e  e.pistis  n.tei.2ot  ntn.laau ‘I have not found faith of this degree in anyone’, mmn.laau  na.3i  petn.ra4e  nte.thutn  ‘No one will take your joy from you’.
(3)  (n)na6rn-,  na6ra= ‘in the presence of, before’; e.g. p.4a`e  ne.3.4oop  nna6rm.p.noute ‘The Logos was in the presence of God’, kathgorei  mmw.tn  nna6rm.p.eiwt ‘To accuse you before the Father’.
(4)  mma6- (old m-bzh [h dotted]) ‘before’, of sacrifice offered a deity; e.g. mma6.p.`oeis ‘Before the Lord’.
(5)  mpemto (from m-to ‘presence’), preceded by the article or possessive adjective and followed by ebol  (n-), has the meaning ‘in the face of, before’; e.g. mpemto  ebol  m.p.noute ‘Before God’, pai  et.na.sobte  n.tek.6ih  mpekmto  ebol ‘This one who will prepare thy way before thee’.
§276.  Compounds with 6a-
(1)  6arn-, 6arw= ‘beneath, before’ (lit. Beneath the mouth); e.g. `e  e.u.e.kaa.u  6arw.ou ‘In order that they should place them before them’.
(2)  6arat= ‘beneath, under’ (lit. Beneath the foot); e.g. ere.6en.matoi  4oop  6arat ‘There are soldiers under me’ (§39).
(3)  6atn- (varies with 6a6.tn-, see 4), 6atoot= ‘beside, with’ (lit. Under the hand); e.g. 3.na.2w  6atn.thutn ‘He will remain with you’.
(4)  6a6tn- (often confused with 6atn-, see 3), 6a(6)th= ‘with, beside’ (lit. Beneath the heart); e.g. a.u.sepswp.3  e2w  6ath.u ‘They besought him to remain with them’, et.6moos  6a6th.3 ‘Who were sitting beside him’.
(5)  6a+poss.adj.+6h ‘in front of someone/something’ (lit. Beneath-its-forepart); e.g. t.dikaiosunh  na.moo4e  6a.te3.6h ‘Righteousness shall walk before him’, a.3.mestw.i  6a.tetn.6h ‘It hated me before you’.
§277.  Compounds with 6i-
(1)  6irn- (6iron-), 6irw= ‘at, upon’ (lit. At the mouth); e.g. e.re.ou.wne  6irw.3 ‘There was a stone upon it’.
(2)  6irat= ‘toward’ (lit. At the foot); e.g. pwt  ebol  6irat.ou ‘Run out toward them’.
(3)  6itn-, 6itoot= ‘thru, by, from’ (lit. At the hand; cf §259, agent); e.g. 6itn.t.ouatbe  n.ou.6amntwn ‘Thru the eye of a needle’, n.ka  nim  a.u.4wpe  ebol  6itoot.3 ‘All things happened through him’.
(4)  6itoun-, 6itouw= ‘beside, next’ (lit. Upon the bosom); e.g. 6itoun.p.hi ‘Beside the house’. Note the relative substantive formed from this Compound Preposition: pet.6itouw.k ‘He who is beside thee’, i.e. ‘Thy neighbor’.
(5)  6i6ra= ‘on the face of’; e.g. 6i6ra.u  m.p.moou ‘On the face of the water’.
(6)  6i`n, 6i`w= ‘upon, over’ (lit. On the head); e.g. 6i`n.ou.pinac ‘Upon a dish’, nh`  6i`n.ou.2lo2 ‘Laying upon a bed’, t.mnt.ero  m.p.eiwt  e.s.por4  ebol  6i`m  p.ka6  ‘The Sovereignty of the Father is spread upon the earth’ (Th 113). Note the Relative Substantive formed by the Compound pet.6i`n- ‘He who is over, in command’; e.g. pet.6i`n.net.w6s ‘The one in command of the reapers’.
§278.  a`n- (e`n-), a`nt= (e`nt=)  ‘without’; e.g. a`nt.3  mpe.laau  4wpe ‘Without him did not anything come into being’, a`m.parabolh  mp.3.`e laau ‘Without parable he did not say anything’.
§279.  `in-  ‘from, since’; e.g. `in.p.ma  n.6wtp  m.p.rh ‘From the place of the setting of the sun’ (Josh 1:4), `in.t.eunou  et.mmau ‘From that hour’, `in.t.arxh  m.p.swnt ‘Since the beginning of creation’.
§280. Greek Prepositions used in Coptic
The commonest of these are: