Ben Hepburn wrote:What is a good lexicon that will cover that sort of material. I have Vines and Strongs. Neither cover in detail 'oti' . I am assuming from what you said that there are a better more intensive Lexicons out there. So can you recommend some really good ones that I can see if they are available in an Christian Book shops in the city where I live and if not then on line.
Actually it is not really about how long a lexicon entry is but rather how accurate it is. I would say that "οτι" is mainly used to mean:
(1) that (conjunction that takes the succeeding complete clause and returns a noun clause)(1.1) [John 1:34] "καγω εωρακα και μεμαρτυρηκα οτι ουτος εστιν ο υιος του θεου" = "and I have seen and have testified that this [one] is the son of God"
(1.2) [1 John 4:9] "εν τουτω εφανερωθη η αγαπη του θεου εν ημιν οτι τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη απεσταλκεν ο θεος εις τον κοσμον ινα ζησωμεν δι αυτου" = "in this the love of God was manifested: that God has sent forth his only-begotten son into the world so that we might live through him."
(2) that (conjunction that takes the succeeding complete clause and returns a quotation) (it is often not even used in Greek like in John 1:26, and standard English never uses such a construction as "saying that" to introduce a quotation)
(2.1) [John 1:32] "και εμαρτυρησεν ιωαννης λεγων οτι τεθεαμαι το πνευμα καταβαινον ωσει περιστεραν εξ ουρανου και εμεινεν επ αυτον" = "and John testified, saying that, I have beheld the spirit coming down as if [it] [was] [a] dove out of heaven and [it] remained on him."
(3) because (conjunction that connects two complete clauses and returns a complete clause)(3.1) [John 1:16-17] "και εκ του πληρωματος αυτου ημεις παντες ελαβομεν και χαριν αντι χαριτος οτι ο νομος δια μωσεως εδοθη η χαρις και η αληθεια δια ιησου χριστου εγενετο" = "and out of his fullness we all received and grace for grace because: the law was given through Moses; the grace and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ."
(3.2) [Matt 5:34-35] "εγω δε λεγω υμιν μη ομοσαι ολως μητε εν τω ουρανω οτι θρονος εστιν του θεου μητε εν τη γη οτι υποποδιον εστιν των ποδων αυτου μητε εις ιεροσολυμα οτι πολις εστιν του μεγαλου βασιλεως" = "but I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by the heaven, because [it] is [the] throne of God, nor by the earth, because [it] is [the] footstool of his feet, nor to Jerusalem, because [it] is [the] city of the great king"
(4) (indefinite relative pronoun) that which (the case within the relative clause is either nominative or accusative and the case of the whole relative clause depends on the context) (some references will list this as "ο τι" but the original texts have no spacing anyway)
(4.1) [John 14:13] "και οτι αν αιτησητε εν τω ονοματι μου τουτο ποιησω ινα δοξασθη ο πατηρ εν τω υιω" = "and that which you shall ask in my name, this I will do, so that the father might be glorified in the son"