Greek word · G303

ἀνά

ana

each

In the Greek Old Testament ἀνὰ μέσον usually means 'between' (copying Hebrew bên). With a single noun it means 'in the midst of, in the middle of'.

Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀνά

prep. (the rarest in NT; M, Pr., 98; MM, VGT, see word), prop.,

upwards, up, always with accusative

1. In phrases: ἀ. μέσον, among, between, with genitive, Matthew 13:1-58 25:1-46, Mark 7:31, 1 Corinthians 6:5 (M, Pr., 99), Revelation 7:17 [so in LXX for בְּתוׄך׃]; ἀ. μέρος, in turn, 1 Corinthians 14:27 (both found in Polyb.; cf. MGr. ἀνάμεσα).

2. Distrib., apiece, by: Matthew 20:9-10, Luke 9:3 (WH om.), Luke 9:14 Luke 10:1, John 2:6, Revelation 4:8.

3. Adverbially ("a vulgarism," B1., § 51, 5; cf. Deiss., BS, 139 f.), ἀ. εἷς ἕκαστος, Revelation 21:21.

As prefix, ἀ. signifies

(a) up: ἀναβαίνειν;

(b) to: ἀναγγέλλειν;

(with) anew: ἀναγεννᾶν;

(d) back: ἀνακάμπτειν.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 7:17

Range of meaning

In the Greek Old Testament ἀνὰ μέσον usually means 'between' (copying Hebrew bên). With a single noun it means 'in the midst of, in the middle of'.

Against the English

'In the center of the throne' (BSB, NIV) can make readers picture the Lamb sitting on the seat itself. 'In the midst of the throne' (KJV, ESV) is vaguer. NLT 'on the throne' makes the shared-rule reading explicit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Revelation 5:6 places the Lamb 'in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures'. Revelation 3:21 has Christ sitting with the Father on his throne, and 22:1, 3 speak of 'the throne of God and of the Lamb'.

From the study of Luke 10:1

Range of meaning

A distributive idiom: 'two at a time, pair by pair'. The doubling of the number follows Hebrew style.

Against the English

'Two by two' is a good rendering. What English loses is the legal and social reason behind the pairs.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 7:9, 15 in the Greek Old Testament (the animals 'two by two'). Deuteronomy 19:15 requires two witnesses to establish a matter. Jesus sends the Twelve in pairs in Mark 6:7. Pairs recur in Acts (Peter and John; Barnabas and Saul; Paul and Silas). Jewish sources also record sending envoys in pairs.

From the study of Matthew 13:25

Range of meaning

A set phrase meaning "in the middle of, among, between." Very common in the Septuagint for Hebrew bên ("between") and bětôk ("in the midst of").

Against the English

"Among" (KJV, BSB, NIV, ESV) is fine. YLT's "in the midst of" keeps the sense that the darnel was right inside the crop.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found throughout the Septuagint, e.g. Gen 1:4 ("God separated between the light and the darkness"). In the NT see Mark 7:31 and 1 Cor 6:5.

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 13:25 ἀνὰ in [the]

    But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away.

    Here: Together with μέσον it forms a set phrase, "in the middle of, among."

  2. Matthew 20:9 ἀνὰ each

    The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.

  3. Matthew 20:10 ἀνὰ each

    So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

    Here: Used to share out an amount: 'a denarius apiece'. It is the same phrase as in v. 9, so the two groups' pay is described in identical words.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 7:31 ἀνὰ through

    Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 9:3 ἀνὰ apiece

    “Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic.

    Here: Used here to mean "apiece." The rule applies to each man individually, so nobody among the Twelve is to have two.

  2. Luke 9:14 ἀνὰ in

    (There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

  3. Luke 10:1 ἀνὰ in

    After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.

    Here: Used with numbers it means 'so many at a time': 'in twos'.

John · 1

  1. John 2:6 ἀνὰ for

    Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.

    Here: Distributive: 'each one' held this much. The figure is per jar, not for all six together.

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 6:5 ἀνὰ in

    I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers?

    Here: Together with μέσον it makes the set phrase 'between', familiar from the Greek Old Testament.

  2. 1 Corinthians 14:27 ἀνὰ in

    If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at most three, should speak in turn, and someone must interpret.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 4:8 ἀνὰ respectively

    And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

    Here: Means "apiece" or "each": six wings per creature, not six in total.

  2. Revelation 7:17 ἀνὰ in the

    For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

    Here: Together with μέσον it forms a fixed phrase, 'in the midst of'. It locates the Lamb at the very centre of divine rule.

  3. Revelation 21:21 ἀνὰ each

    And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.

    Here: Used here to mean 'one by one, apiece', not 'up'. Together with the next two words it makes an emphatic 'each and every one'.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.