There is a short 3-letter Greek preposition eis that occurs more than 1700 times in the New Testament. It is particularly important because it indicates “the point reached or entered, of place, time, purpose, result.” If this word occurs in a sentence, we need to consider what it is telling us about the relationship before we can understand the actual meaning of the sentence; otherwise, we are going to misunderstand the concept.
1519 eis (preposition)
Literally: “motion into which” implying penetration to a particular purpose or result.
Definition: to or into (indicating the point reached or entered, of place, time, purpose, result)
Lexicon: denoting entrance into, or direction and limit: into, to, toward, for, among.
Usage: into, in, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among. –BibleHub
Remember, a preposition is one of the most important parts of grammar. It expresses the relationship of words. It shows direction, location, time, purpose, and function. Consider these examples:
- The jelly beans are in the jar — The prepositional phrase “in the jar” expresses the spatial relationship between the jelly beans and the jar. This is far different than “on the jar” or “beside the jar” so we unconsciously unpack this sentence to build a mental picture with substance and purpose because of the prepositional phrase.
- I dropped the jar onto the floor — The prepositional phrase “onto the floor” expresses the downward direction and final resting place of the jar after it left my hand. This is far different than “into the grocery bag” or “into the hands of screaming children” so we understand the incident more completely because of the prepositional phrase.
- I threw the jar as a weapon at the intruder — This sentence has 3 prepositional phrases: “threw the jar” describes the motion of the jar, “as a weapon” expresses the function of the jar, and “at the intruder” indicates the intended target. This is a completely different sentence with a completely different meaning than the way I described the incident to the judge, “I tossed the jar of jelly beans as a reward to my friend.” In this case, the prepositional phrases are the most important part of the sentence.
Since prepositional phrases are so important, we should never blithely skip over them. Especially prepositions in a foreign language that don’t mean exactly what we think they mean. Especially prepositions that are used to describe important Biblical concepts that pertain to life and godliness.
For example, let’s look at the first passage where this word occurs:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to [1519 eis] Jerusalem, saying “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
Eis indicates the final destination place of the wise men’s journey, which fulfills scripture prophecy.
He sent them to [1519 eis] Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.” (Matthew 2:8)
Eis indicates the strength of the prophecies that told the chief priests and scribes where The Messiah was to be born.
They came into [1519 eis] the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)
Eis describes a picture of the actions and behavior of the wise men coming into the house to worship the young child.
Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to [1519 eis] their own country another way. (Matthew 2:12)
Eis describes a dangerous secret journey away from Herod back to their own country by a different way.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into [1519 eis] Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into [1519 eis] Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of [1537 ek] Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)
Eis gives a much richer understanding of God’s purpose for them to flee undercover from Bethlehem deep into Egypt without taking time to prepare for a long journey or settle affairs first.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into [1519 eis] the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.” He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into [1519 eis] the land of Israel. (Matthew 2:19-21)
Eis gives a much stronger description of the divine purpose of returning finally permanently to Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into [1519 eis] the region of Galilee, and came and lived in [1519 eis] a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:22-23)
Eis provides a much richer understanding of the prophetic reason Joseph returned to his hometown in Nazareth.
Thus we see that the preposition eis is critical to understanding this Bible passage. There are many other passages that contain this preposition. Important doctrinal passages about baptism, salvation, predestination, and eternal life. Difficult passages that have caused thousands of years of fighting and division between Christians.
All of these passages are much easier to understand when the preposition eis is used to unlock the meaning. Since there are about 1705 occurences of eis in 23145 verses, you will encounter this word in every 13 or 14 verses. The featured image shows a few pages out of my old beloved Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance that demonstrates how difficult this kind of research used to be. Modern resources like BibleTools and Bible Hub make this much easier.
The next time you are wondering about the real meaning of a verse, look for the eis to understand “the point reached or entered, of place, time, purpose, result.”