Bible Lexicons

ἐπεί,

Conj., both temporal and causal; also ἐπειδή, ἐπείτε.

OF TIME (ἐπειδή is more freq. in this sense in Prose), after that, since, when, from Hom. downwds.:

I with Ind.,

1 of a definite occurrence in past time, mostly c. aor., ἐπεί π' εὔξαντο after they had prayed, Il. 1.458; ἐπειδὴ ἐτελεύτησε Δαρεῖος καὶ κατέστη Ἀρταξέρξης after D. had died and A. had succeeded, X. An. 1.1.3: rarely c. impf., ἐπειδὴ εἱστιώμεθ' Ar. Nu. 1354; ἐ. πόντον εἰσεβάλλομεν E. IT 260; ἐ. ἠσθένει Δαρεῖος X. An. 1.1.1: c. plpf., ἐπειδὴ ἐξηπάτησθε.. after you had been deceived.., D. 18.42; but generally the aor. is found, the plpf. being used only for special emphasis: c. impf. to express an action not yet complete, ἐπεὶ ὑπηντίαζεν ἡ φάλαγξ καὶ ἡ σάλπιγξ ἐφθέγξατο after the phalanx began to advance and the trumpet had sounded, X. An. 6.5.27.

2. with implied reference to some later time, ἐ. or ἐπειδή, = ἐξ οὗ, from the time when, since, mostly c. aor., πολλὰ πλάγχθη, ἐ. ἔπερσε Od. 1.2; ἐπείτε παρέλαβον τὸν θρόνον, τοῦτο ἐφρόντιζον ever since I came to the throne, I had this in mind, Hdt. 7.8. ά; ἐπειδήπερ ὑπέστη Th. 8.68; δέκατον μὲν ἔτος τόδ' ἐ... ἦραν A. Ag. 40: sts. c. pres. (used in pf. sense) and pf., ἐ. δὲ φροῦδός ἐστι στρατός since the army is gone, S. Ant. 15; ἐπείτε ὑπὸ τῷ Πέρσῃ εἰσί, πεπόνθασι τοιόνδε ever since they have been, now that they are.., Hdt. 3.117.

II with Subj., ἄν being always added in Att. Prose, and ἄν or κε generally in Poetry: ἐπεί with ἄν becomes ἐπήν (so in Com., Ar. Lys. 1175, Av. 983), later ἐπάν (q.v.), Ion. ἐπεάν Schwyzer 800 (vi B.C.), Hdt. 3.153, al., ἐπήν Hp. Fract. 6, al., and ἐπειδή with ἄν ἐπειδάν (q.v.); Hom. has ἐπεί κε, ἐπήν (once ἐπεὶ ἄν Il. 6.412):

1. referring to future time with fut. apodosis, τέκνα ἄξομεν.. ἐπὴν πτολίεθρον ἕλωμεν when we shall have taken the city, Il. 4.238; ἐ. κ' ἀπὸ λαὸς ὄληται 11.764. cf. Od. 17.23; ἐπεάν περ ἡμίονοι τέκωσι, τότε τὸ τεῖχος ἁλώσεσθαι Hdt. 3.153; ταῦτ', ἐπειδὰν περὶ τοῦ γένους εἴπω, τότ' ἐρῶ I will speak of this, when I have spoken.., D. 57.16, cf. X. An. 2.3.29; ἐ. ἂν σύ γε πότ μον ἐπίσπῃς Il. 6.412; χρὴ δέ, ὅταν μὲν τιθῆσθε τοὺς νόμους,.. σκοπεῖν, ἐπειδὰν δὲ θῆσθε, φυλάττειν whenever you are enacting your laws,.. and after you have enacted them.., D. 21.34.

2. of repeated action, with a pres. apodosis, whenever, when once, δαμνᾷ, ἐ. κε λίπῃ ὀστέα θυμός Od. 11.221, cf. Il. 9.409; ἐπειδὰν ἡ ἐκφορὰ ᾖ.. ἄγουσι whenever the burial takes place they bring, Th. 2.34; ἐπειδὰν κρύψωσι γῇ.. λέγει when they have covered them with earth, ibid.: sts. without ἄν or κε in Poets, ἐ. ἂρ βλέφαρ' ἀμφικαλύψῃ Od. 20.86; ἐ. δὴ τόν γε δαμάσσεται.. ὀϊστός Il. 11.478, cf. S. OC 1225 (lyr.), Ant. 1025.

3. like A. 1.2, δέκα ἡμερῶν ἐπειδὰν δόξῃ within ten days from the passing of the resolution, IG 12.88.7.

III with Opt. (without ἄν):

1. referring to future time, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς τὸ φῶς ἔλθοι, ὁρᾶν οὐδ' ἂν ἓν δύνασθαι (sc. οὐκ οἴει); after he had come into the light.., Pl. R. 516a: Hom. sts. uses ἐπήν with opt. in same sense as ἐπεί, Il. 24.227, Od. 2.105 (codd.), etc.

2. more freq. of repeated action, with a past apodosis, ἐ. ζεύξειεν.., δησάσκετο Il. 24.14; ἐπειδὴ δέ τι ἐμφάγοιεν, ἀνίσταντο X. An. 4.5.9; ἐ. πύθοιτο, ἐπῄνει Id. Cyr. 5.3.55, cf. Th. 8.38, Pl. Phd. 59d, Prt. 315b.

3. in orat. oἐπιγιìνομαιbliq. after past tenses, representing a subj. in orat. rect., αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπεὶ διαβαίης, ἀπιέναι ἔφησθα (the direct form being ἐπὴν διαβῶ) X. An. 7.2.27, cf. 3.5.18, Cyr. 1.4.21; after opt. in a final clause, ἐπορεύοντο, ὅπως ἐπειδὴ γένοιντο ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ.. ἴοιεν Th. 7.80.

4. by assimilation to opt. in principal clause, ἦ τ' ἂν.. νῦν μὲν ἀνώγοιμι πτολεμίζειν.. ἐπὴν τεισαίμεθα λώβην Il. 19.208; ὃς τὸ καταβρόξειεν ἐπεὶ κρητῆρι μιγείη Od. 4.222.

5. ἐπειδάν c. opt. is f.l. in some passages of early authors, as X. Cyr. 1.3.11, D. 30.6 (c. ind., Plb. 13.7.8): found in later Gr., Agath. 2.5, al., Zos. 5.18.10. with Inf., only in orat. obliq., ἐπειδὴ δὲ κατὰ σχολὴν σκέψασθαι, κόπτεσθαι (sc. ἔφη) Pl. R. 619c, cf. Smp. 174d, Hdt. 4.10, 7.150. with other words:

1 ἐ. τάχιστα as soon as, freq. separated by a word, ἐ. ἦλθε τάχιστα,.. ἀπέδοτο X. An. 7.2.6; ἐ. δὲ τάχιστα διέβη Id. Cyr. 3.3.22; ἐ. θᾶττον Arist. Pol. 1284a40; ἐ. εὐθέως X. HG 3.2.4; ἐ... αὐτίκα Pi. N. 1.35; ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα Pl. Prt. 310c, D. 27.16; ἐπειδὰν τάχιστα Hdt. 8.144, X. An. 3.1.9; rarely ἐπειδὴ θᾶττον D. 37.41; ἐπειδὰν θᾶττον Pl. Prt. 325c. ἐ. τὰ πρῶτα Il. 12.420; ἐ. τὸ πρῶτον A. Ag. 1287.

2. with emphatic Particles, ἐπεὶ ἄρα when then, in continuing a narrative, Il. 6.426; ἐπεὶ οὖν when then, in resuming a narrative, 1.57, 3.4; ἐπεὶ ὦν Hdt. 3.9; ἐπεὶ γὰρ δή Id. 9.90, etc.

CAUSAL (ἐπεί more freq. in this sense in early Prose: ἐπειδή whereas is used in preambles of decrees, IG 22.103, etc.; ἐπειδήπερ inasmuch as, Luke 1:1), since, seeing that, freq. from Hom. downwards:

1 with Ind. (after both present and past tenses), ἐ. οὐδὲ ἔοικε Il. 1.119, cf. 153, 278, Pi. O. 4.16, X. Mem. 2.3.4; ἐπειδή Th. 8.80; ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐθέλεις Pl. Prt. 335c; νίκη δ' ἐπείπερ ἕσπετ', ἐμπέδως μένοι A. Ag. 854; freq. with past tenses with ἄν, ἐπεὶ οὔποτ' ἂν στόλον ἐπλεύσατ' ἄν S. Ph. 1037; ἐπεὶ οὔ κεν ἀνιδρωτί γ' ἐτελέσθη Il. 15.228, cf. D. 18.49; οὐ γὰρ ἂν σθένοντά γε εἷλέν μ'· ἐπεὶ οὐδ' ἂν ὧδ' ἔχοντ' (sc. εἷλεν) S. Ph. 948: esp. in the sense, for otherwise.., Pi. O. 9.29, S. OT 433, X. Mem. 2.7.14, Herod. 2.72, etc.: so c. fut., ἐξέστω δὲ μηδενὶ.. τεθῆναι.., ἐ. ἀποδώσει.. otherwise he shall pay.., REt.Anc. 4.261 (near Smyrna): c. imper., ἐ. δίδαξον for teach me, S. El. 352, OC 969, cf. OT 390, Ar. V. 73, Pl. Grg. 473e: with an interrog., ἐ. πῶς ἂν καλέσειας; for how would you call him? Ar. Nu. 688, cf. Pi. P. 7.5, A. Ch. 214, S. Tr. 139 (lyr.); ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, ἐπειδὴ περὶ τίνος Ἀθηναῖοι διανοοῦνται βουλεύεσθαι, ἀνίστασαι συμβουλεύσων; Pl. Alc. 1.106c.

2. c. Opt., ἐ. ἂν μάλα τοι σχεδὸν ἔλθοι Il. 9.304, cf. S. Aj. 916; so after past tenses on the principle of orat. obliq., ἐπείπερ ἡγήσαιντο since (as they said) they believed, X. Mem. 1.4.19.

3. c. Inf. in orat. obliq., ἐ. γιγνώσκειν γε αὐτά Pl. Prt. 353a, cf. Hdt. 8.111, Th. 2.93.

4. in elliptical expressions, ἀδύνατός [εἰμι], ἐ. ἐβουλόμην ἂν οἷός τ' εἶναι I am unable (and yet I am sorry), for I should like to have the power, Pl. Prt. 335c; so εἶμι· ἐ. καὶ ταῦτ' ἂν ἴσως οὐκ ἀηδῶς σου ἤκουον ibid. (here the sense may be given by and yet, although, cf. ib. 333c, 317a, Revelation 19:1-21 e, Smp. 187a, Arist. EN 1121a19); ἐ. ὅ γε ἀποθανὼν πελάτης τις ἦν ἐμός and yet (moreover) the murdered man was my own hired man, Pl. Euthphr. 4c. sts. after a voc., where 'listen' may be supplied, Ἕκτορ, ἐ. με κατ' αἶσαν ἐνείκεσας Il. 3.59, cf. 13.68, Od. 3.103, 211.

5. with other Particles, ἐ. ἄρα, ἐ. ἂρ δή since then, Od. 17.185; ἐ. γε (ἐπεί.. γε Il. 1.352, Hes. Th. 171), more emphatic than ἐ., since indeed, E. Cyc. 181, Hipp. 955; ἐπειδή γε ib. 946, Pl. Phd. 77d, D. 54.29; sts. separated, ἐπειδή.. γε S. El. 631, Pl. Phd. 87c; ἐ. γε δή Hdt. 3.9, S. Ant. 923, ἐπειδή γε καί Th. 6.18; ἐ. ἦ since in truth, ἐ. ἦ πολὺ φέρτερόν ἐστι Il. 1.169, cf. 156, Od. 9.276; ἐπείπερ (ἐ... περ Il. 13.447, Od. 20.181) in Trag. and Prose, A. Ag. 822, S. OC 75, Pl. Phd. 114d; ἐπειδήπερ in Com. and Prose, Ar. Ach. 437, 495, Nu. 1412, Th. 6.18, Pl. R. 350e; ἐ. τοι since surely, S. OC 433; ἐ. νύ τοι Il. 1.416; ἐ. τοι καί E. Med. 677, Pl. R. 567e. [ ἐ. sts. begins a verse in Hom., Il. 22.379, Od. 4.13, 8.452, 21.25; sts. coalesces by synizesis with οὐ, οὐδέ, etc., S. Ph. 446, 948, etc.]