Meaning and Translation of the Word ὑπάρχειν

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Bernd Strauss
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Joined: May 20th, 2017, 11:23 am

Meaning and Translation of the Word ὑπάρχειν

Post by Bernd Strauss »

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke attributed to Eusebius, extract from section “Take care that your hearts are not weighed down in drunkenness” (Lu 21:34): “Νήφειν τε καὶ ἐγρηγορέναι παρακελεύεται, καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖν διὰ πάσης τῆς τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου νυκτὸς, διὰ τὸ μηδενὶ γνώριμον τὸν καιρὸν τῆς συντελείας ὑπάρχειν.”

Alex Poulos’s translation: “Since no one knows the time of the end of the age, he bids us to be sober, vigilant, and watchful throughout the entirety of the night that is this mortal life.”

With what meaning is the word ὑπάρχειν used in the sentence? Is it rendered as “age”? The LSJ lexicon gives other definitions.
Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Meaning and Translation of the Word ὑπάρχειν

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Bernd Strauss wrote: May 28th, 2018, 8:59 am Commentary on the Gospel of Luke attributed to Eusebius, extract from section “Take care that your hearts are not weighed down in drunkenness” (Lu 21:34): “Νήφειν τε καὶ ἐγρηγορέναι παρακελεύεται, καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖν διὰ πάσης τῆς τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου νυκτὸς, διὰ τὸ μηδενὶ γνώριμον τὸν καιρὸν τῆς συντελείας ὑπάρχειν.”

Alex Poulos’s translation: “Since no one knows the time of the end of the age, he bids us to be sober, vigilant, and watchful throughout the entirety of the night that is this mortal life.”

With what meaning is the word ὑπάρχειν used in the sentence? Is it rendered as “age”? The LSJ lexicon gives other definitions.
No. "End of the age" is a somewhat free rendering of τὸν καιρὸν τῆς συντελείας. Poulos's translation actually leaves it out altogether, since the English construction he uses doesn't require it to make sense out of the clause. What you have is an articular infinitive, with the infinitive verb being ὑπάρχειν, τὸν καιρὸν the accusative subject of the infinitive, γνώριμον a predicate adjective, and μηδενὶ a complementary dative with the adjective. Woodenly, "on account of the fact that the time of the end is known to no one."

ὑπάρχω is occasionally used as a practical synonym for εἰμί:

ὑπάρχω impf. ὑπῆρχον; fut. ὑπάρξω LXX; 1 aor. 3 sg. ὑπῆρξεν (Hom.+) the basic idea: come into being fr. an originating point and so take place; gener. ‘inhere, be there’.
① to really be there, exist, be present, be at one’s disposal (Pind., Aeschyl., Hdt.+) μηδενὸς αἰτίου ὑπάρχοντος since there is no good reason Ac 19:40. Cp. 27:21; 28:18; be somewhere 4:34; 10:12; 17:27; Phil 3:20; 1 Cl 61:2; EpilMosq 3 (TestAbr A p. 5, 23 [Stone p. 12] ἐν τῆ σκηνῇ; Just., A I, 29, 1 ἐν σώματι). ἀκούω σχίσματα ἐν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχειν I hear that there are actually divisions among you 1 Co 11:18. εἷς Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἄλλος οὐκ ὑπάρχει there is only one Christ Jesus and no other AcPl Ha 1, 18. σιγῆς ὑπαρχούσης 7, 25 (s. σιγή). W. dat. of pers. ὑπάρχει μοί τι someth. is at my disposal, I have someth. (X., An. 2, 2, 11; PMagd 9, 2 [III B.C.] ὑπάρχει ἐμοὶ Ἰσιεῖον; Sir 20:16; Jos., Ant. 7, 148) χρυσίον οὐχ ὑπάρχει μοι Ac 3:6. Cp. 4:37; 28:7; 2 Pt 1:8. τὰ ὑπάρχοντά τινι what belongs to someone, someone’s property, possessions, means (SIG 646, 25 [170 B.C.]; very oft. in pap since PHib 94, 2; 15; 95, 12 [III B.C.]; Tob 4:7; TestAbr A 8 p. 86, 7 [Stone p. 20]; Jos., Ant. 4, 261) Lk 8:3; 12:15; Ac 4:32. Subst. in the same sense τὰ ὑπάρχοντά τινος (SIG 611, 14; very oft. in pap since PHib 32, 5; 84, 9; PEleph 2, 3 [III B.C.]; Gen 31:18; Sir 41:1; Tob 1:20 BA; TestAbr A 4 p. 81, 28 [Stone p. 10]) Mt 19:21; 24:47; 25:14; Lk 11:21; 12:33, 44; 14:33; 16:1; 19:8; 1 Cor 13:3; Hb 10:34.
② to be in a state or circumstance, be as a widely used substitute in H. Gk. for εἶναι, but in some of the foll. pass. the sense ‘be inherently (so)’ or ‘be really’ cannot be excluded (s. 1; cp. IG XIV, 2014, 3 ἄνθρωπος ὑπάρχων=‘being mortal’) (B-D-F §414, 1; s. Rob. 1121) w. a predicate noun (OGI 383, 48 [I B.C.] ὅπως οὗτος … ὑπάρχῃ καθιδρυμένος; TestAbr A 4 p. 80, 26 [Stone p. 8] ἐνδοξότερος ὑπάρχει βασιλέων; ibid. B 2 p. 105, 9 [St. p. 58] ὑπῆρχεν … γηραλέος πάνυ τῇ ἰδέᾳ; JosAs 7:11 cod. A [p. 48, 12 Bat.] εἰ θυγάτηρ ὑμῶν ἐστι καὶ παρθένος ὑπάρχει … ; SibOr 3, 267, Fgm. 1, 28; Ar. 13, 6; Just., A I, 4, 1; Tat. 60, 2) οὗτος ἄρχων τῆς συναγωγῆς ὑπῆρχεν Lk 8:41. ἐγὼ λειτουργὸς ὑπάρχω τοῦ θεοῦ I am a minister of God GJs 23:1. Cp. Lk 9:48; Ac 7:55; 8:16; 16:3; 19:31 D (w. φίλος and dat., the standard form, s. ins Larfeld I 500); 36; 21:20; 1 Cor 7:26; 12:22; Js 2:15; 2 Pt 3:11; 1 Cl 19:3 and oft.; MPol 6:2. Very freq. in the ptc. w. a predicate noun who is, since he is, etc. (TestSim 4:4 ἐλεήμων ὑπάρχων; Just., A II, 2, 10; Tat. 2, 2; Mel., P. 54, 396) οἱ Φαρισαῖοι φιλάργυροι ὑπάρχοντες Lk 16:14. Cp. 11:13 (v.l. ὄντες); 23:50; Ac 2:30; 3:2; 16:20, 37; 17:24, 29; 22:3; 27:12; Ro 4:19; 1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 8:17; 12:16; Gal 1:14; 2:14; 2 Pt 2:19; 1 Cl 1:1; 11:1, 2; 25:2; B 5:10.—ὑπ. w. a prep.: ἐν (Jer 4:14; Philo, Leg. All. 1, 62; Jos., Ant. 7, 391; Just., D. 69, 7 ἐν λώβῃ τινὶ σώματος ὑπάρχων): οἱ ἐν ἱματισμῷ ἐνδόξῳ ὑπάρχοντες Lk 7:25; cp. 16:23; Ac 5:4; 14:9 D; Phil 2:6; 1 Cl 1:3; 32:2; 56:1. τοῦτο πρὸς τῆς ὑμετέρας σωτηρίας ὑπάρχει Ac 27:34 (s. πρός 1).—Schmidt, Syn. II 538–41. DELG s.v. ἄρχω p. 121. M-M. Sv.


Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., pp. 1029–1030). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Bernd Strauss
Posts: 111
Joined: May 20th, 2017, 11:23 am

Re: Meaning and Translation of the Word ὑπάρχειν

Post by Bernd Strauss »

Thank you for the explanation. I had thought that the phrase καιρὸν τῆς συντελείας ὑπάρχειν may correspond word-for-word to the English phrase “time of the end of the age.” But the word “age” apparently does not appear in the original text but has been added by the English translator. This is how the single word συντελεία is rendered in some other texts also.
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