Bible Lexicons

δι -ότι ,

conjunct., for διὰ τοῦτο , ὅτι (Lat. propterea quod),

because: Luke 1:13; Luke 2:7; Luke 21:28, Acts 13:35; Acts 18:10; Acts 20:26; Acts 22:18, Romans 1:19; Romans 1:21; Romans 3:20; Romans 8:7; Romans 8:21, 1 Corinthians 15:9, Philippians 2:26, 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:18 (Lft., Notes, 37) 1 Thessalonians 4:6, Hebrews 11:5; Hebrews 11:23, James 4:3, 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Peter 1:24; 1 Peter 2:6. It is usually stronger than ὅτι , but sometimes, as in Luke 1:13, Romans 1:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:18, approximates to MGr. sense, for; cf. Milligan, Th., l.c.†

For διότι with its full causal force, see P Tebt I. 24.34 (B.C. 117) καὶ διότι δι᾽ ἄλλων προσανενηνόχαμεν, ";owing to my giving information through the officials"; (Edd.), P Giss I. 82.22 (A.D. 117), P Lond 243.14 (c. A.D. 346) (= II. p. 300) ἵνα. . . ἀπολύσῃς αὐτοὺς διότι οἶδας καὶ αὐ [τὸς ὃτ ]ι ἑωρτή ἐστι (ν), etc. In the papyri, however, as in the LXX and late Grk generally, the word is often used practically = ὅτι, ";that,"; e.g. P Petr II. 4(9).8 (B.C. 255–4) οἶδας δὲ διότι [ὁ ] τόπος ἐρῆμός ἐστιν, P Tebt I. 12.20 (B.C. 118) ἐπὶ οὐ καὶ σὺ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς ἐν ἧι ἐσμὲν ἀσχολί (l. -ίαι) καὶ δ ̣ι ̣ότι ἐν τῆι τ [ο ]ῦ στρα (τηγοῦ) ἐσμὲν φ (υλακῆι ?), ";for you know how busy I am, and that I am in attendance upon the strategus"; (Edd.), and from the inscrr. OGIS 90.53 (Rosetta Stone—B.C. 196) ὅπως γνώριμον ἦι διότι οἱ ἐν Αἰγύπτωι αὔξουσι καὶ τιμῶσι τὸν θεὸν Ἐπιφανῆ Εὐχάριστον βασιλέα, Syll 654 ter (? ii/B.C..—in Messenian Doric). For the corresponding NT usage, see Blass Gr. p. 274, where Romans 1:19; Romans 1:21; Romans 3:20; Romans 8:7, are quoted for διότι = ";for,"; and add 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Peter 1:24; 1 Peter 2:6 as compared with 1 Peter 3:10. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 and Galatians 2:16 may be quoted as illustrating the ease of the colloquial transition : see Jebb in Vincent and Dickson Mod. Greek.2 App. p. 338. Mayser Gr. p. 161 has shown that the use of of διότι for ὅτι is by no means confined to occurrences after vowels : cf. Thackeray Gr. i. p. 138 f. and Kaelker Quaest. pp. 243 f., 300. It may be added that, according to Meisterhans Gr. p. 252 f., διότι is never used with a causal force in the Attic inscrr. from iii/B.C. onwards.