Bible Lexicons

(1) For ὅτι, ";that,"; introducing an objective clause after verbs of knowing, saying, etc., cf. P Tebt II. 409.8 (A.D. 5) εἰδὼ [ς ὅ ]τι ἐξ íι ýουσίαν αὐτῶν ἔχει καὶ Λυσίμαχος καὶ σύ, ";I knew that both you and Lysimachus had plenty of them"; (Edd.), P Fay 109.5 (early i/A.D.) νομίσας ὅτι (cf.Mt 5.17) κιχρᾷς μοι αὐτούς. ";consider that you are lending them (sc. staters) to me"; (Edd.), BGU III. 846.4 f. (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 93) γεινώσκειν σαι θέλω, ὅτι ̣ οὐχ [ἥλπ ]ιζον, ὅτι ἀναβένις (l. ἀναβαίνεις) εἰς τὴν μητρόπολιν, ";I wish you to know that I had no hope that you were coming up to the metropolis,"; ib..9 αἴγραψά σοι, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμει, ";I wrote you that I am naked,"; and P Tebt II. 420.4 (iii/A.D.) οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπὸ ζημίας ἠμί, ";You know that I am blameless."; Ὅτι, however, is frequently omitted, e.g. BGU III. 815.3 (ii/A.D.) γεινόσκιν σε θέγω [τὴ ]ν ἐπιστολήν σου ἔλαβε (corrected by another hand into ἔλαβα) : similarly in the NT. The periphrasis with ὅτι has superseded acc. c. inf. in nearly all NT writers, but the two constructions have been mixed in P Oxy II. 237v. 8 (A.D. 186) δηλῶν ὅτι εἰ τὰ ἀληθῆ φανείη μηδὲ κρίσεως δεῖσθαι τὸ πρᾶγμα : cf. Acts 27:10 and Aristeas 125. In Mark 9:11; Mark 9:28 the AV rightly takes ὅτι = τί, ";why"; : for this use of ὅτι in indirect interrogation, see the exx. in Field Notes, p. 33.

(2) Ὅτι recitativum, when it is practically equivalent to our quotation-marks, is seen, as in Matthew 7:23 al., in P Oxy IV. 744.11 (B.C. 1) (= Selections, p. 33) εἴρηκας δὲ Ἀφροδισιᾶτι ὅτι μή με ἐπιλάθῃς, ";you told Aphrodisias ‘Do not forget me,’ "; P Oxy I. 119.10 (ii/iii A.D.) ( =Selections, p. 103) ἡ μήτηρ μου εἶπε Ἀρχελάῳ, ὅτι ἀναστατοῖ με, ";my mother said to Archelaus, ‘He upsets me,’ "; and ib. VII. 1064.5 (iii/A.D.) γενόμενος πρὸς Ἀχιλλᾶν πυνθανόμενος περὶ σοῦ ἔφη ὅτι ἐν τῇ Ψώβθει ἐστίν, ";I went to Achillas and inquired about you and he said ‘He is at Psobthis.’ "; Cf. the construction in such passages as P Oxy III. 533.15 (ii/iii A.D.) εἴπατε Ζωίλῳ τῷ ἀπὸ Σεντὼ γ íεωργῷ ὅτ [ι ] κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας φρόντισον τοῦ χαλκοῦ, ";tell Zoilus the cultivator from Sento that in accordance with the agreements he must look after the money"; (Edd.), and P Tebt II. 416.17 (iii/A.D.) μετάδε ̣(= ο)ς καὶ Ἀκουτᾶτι τῷ ἀδελφῷ ὅτι ἐὰν χρίαν τινὸς ἔχῃ ἡ γυνή μου ποίησον αὐτῆς ̣ τὴν χρίαν ἕως ἔλθω, ";tell my brother Akoutas also to do anything that my wife requires until I come"; (Edd.). For the redundant ὅτι, cf. further P Oxy XIV. 1668.6 (iii/A.D.) πρότερον μὲν ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἢ δός μο ̣ι ̣ (ἀρτάβας) ι ̄β ̄, ἢ λαβὲ (ἀρτ.) ι ̣β ̄, ";formerly he said ‘ Either give me 12 artabae or take 12 art’"; (Edd.), ib. 1682.9 (iv/A.D.) ἀναγκαίως δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖν ἐπίστειλον ὅτι εἰ ἦς ἐπιδημήσασα, ";do you by all means send word to us whether you have arrived"; (Edd.).

(3) ὅτι, as a causal particle, ";because,"; may be illustrated by P Par 48.19 (B.C. 153) καλῶς οὖν ποιήσεις παραγίνεσθαι ἡμῖν εἰς Ποεί, ο ̣[τι καταπλεῖν μέλλομεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, BGU II. 423.16 (a soldier to his father—ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 91) ἵνα σου προσκυνήσω τὴν χεραν, ὅτι με ἐπαίδευσας καλῶς, ";that I may kiss your hand, because you have brought me up well,"; and ib. III. 846.9 (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 94) α ̣ἰδ [υ ]σ ̣οπο [ύ ]μην (l. ἐδυσωπούμην) δὲ ἐλθεῖν εἰς Καρανίδαν ὅτι σαπρῶς παι ̣ρ ̣ι ̣πατῶ (l. περιπατῶ), ";but I was ashamed to come to Karanis, because I am going about in rags.";

(4) A few miscellaneous exx. may be added. P Oxy I. 37i. 12 (report of a lawsuit—A.D. 49) (= Selections, p. 49) ὅτι δὲ ταῦτα ἀληθῆι λέγωι, ἔστιν γράμματα αὐτῆς δι᾽ ὧν ὁμολογεῖ εἰληφέναι, ";and in proof that I am telling the truth, there are the documents in which she admits that she has received them (wages)."; For the consecutive ὅτι in John 7:35 Bauer (HZNT ad l.) cites Pelagia-Legenden, p. 20, τί διδοῖς τοῖς ἀμνοῖς σου, ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχουσιν; A similar ex. is cited by Radermacher (Gr. p. 160) from the Acta Christophori, ed. Usener 68, 18 : τοιοῦτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ θεοὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι ὑπὸ γυναικὸς ἐκινήθησαν. With the NT οὐχ ὅτι (2 Thessalonians 3:9 al.) cf. μὴ ὅτι in P Lond 42.23 (B.C. 168) (= I. p. 30, Selections, p. 10), μὴ ὅτι γε τοσούτου χρόνου ἐπιγεγονότος, ";not to speak of so much time having gone by."; In the difficult 1 Timothy 6:7 Parry reads οὐδ᾽ ὅτι (= nedum) with a similar meaning : see his note ad l., and for a different view Field Notes, pp. 212, 243. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 al. ὡς ὅτι is taken by Blass Gr..2 p. 321 f. as = Attic ὡς c. gen. abs. (Vg quasi), but in papyri of late date ὡς ὅτι often means merely ";that,"; e.g. CPR I. 19.3 (A.D. 330) πρώην βίβλια ἐπιδέδωκα τῇ σῇ ἐπιμελείᾳ ὡς ὅτι ἐβουλήθην τινὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου ἀποδόσθαι, where Wessely (p. 58) notes ";ὡς ὅτι seem combined, where the single word would be adequate,"; and cites as a further ex. Papyrus No. 6085 ὡς ὅτι χρεοστεῖται ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὁ κύρις Ἰανός.

A superfluous ὅτι in ὡς ὅτι c. superlat. is seen in Roberts-Gardner 65.17 (B.C. 101–100 or 100–99) (β)οῦν ὡς ὅτι κάλλιστον παρήγαγον. The editors compare CIA ii. 482.48 (B.C. 41–30) παραστήσαντες ὡ ]ς ὅτι κάλλιστα θύματα.

[Supplemental from 1930 edition]

For ὅτι recitativum, see H. J. Cadbury, JBL xlviii. (1929), p. 412 ff.