Accusative Case

The main idea of the accusative case is that of being the object of the verb; i.e., it is the end point of which and at which the action portrayed in the verb is aimed.

1. Accusative of Direct Object

   This is the basic meaning and use of the accusative case; i.e., the object of the action of the verb.

   τότε οὖν ἔλαβεν ὁ Πιλᾶτος τὸν (Ἰησοῦν) καὶ ἐμαστίγωσεν

   (Tote oun elaben ho Pilatos ton [Iēsoun] kai emastigōsen)

   "Then, therefore, Pilate took and scourged Jesus" (John 19:1).

   The noun "Jesus" is the accusative of direct object of both the actions of taking and scourging.

2. Adverbial Accusative

   This is a very interesting usage of the acusative case, and it antedates the Koine Greek. In this instance, the noun in the accusative case becomes a sort of indirect object of the verb, and thus came to have an adverbial use. In fact, some nouns came to be used in this way exclusively, and therefore their other case forms disappeared.

   1. Adverbial Accusative of Measure

      περὶ δὲ τὴν (ἑνδεκάτην) ἐξελθὼν εὗρεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας

      (peri de tēn [hendekatēn] exelthōn heuren allous hestōtas)

      "And about the eleventh hour, after he went out and found others standing…" (Matthew 20:6).

      Here, "eleventh" is the adverbial accusative telling when.

   2. Adverbial Accusative of Manner

      εἴτε γλώσσῃ τις λαλεῖ κατὰ δύο ἢ (τὸ πλεῖστον) τρεῖς

      (eite glōssē̢ tis lalei kata duo ē [to pleiston] treis)

      "If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three,…" (1 Corinthians 14:27).

      The phrase, "at the most" is τὸ πλεῖστον, and it tells how.

   3. Adverbial Accusative of Reference

      ἀληθεύοντες δὲ ἐν ἀγάπῃ αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν (τὰ πάντα)

      (alētheuontes de en agapē̢ auxēsōmen eis auton [ta panta])

      "but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him,…" (Ephesians 4:15).

      The phrase, "all aspects" is the adverbial accusative of reference telling how much.

3. Cognate Accusative

   This application occurs when the noun in the accusastive contains the same meaning as the verb; thus, it is cognate (i.e., of the same or similar nature).

   καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν (φόβον) μέγαν

   (kai ephobēthēsan [phobon] megan)

   "And they became very much afraid (literally: "And they feared fear)…" (Mark 4:41).

   The verb, ρϕοβέομαι (phobeomai-to be afraid) is directing its action at the noun, φόβον (phobon-fear); thus, φόβον (phobon) is the cognate accusative.

4. Double Accusative

   This is the occurrence of a double accusative necessitated by the verb itself.

   1. Personal & Impersonal Object

      πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκειν (ὑμᾶς) τινὰ (τὰ στοιχεῖα) τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ

      (palin chreian echete tou didaskein [humas] tina [ta stoicheia] tēs archēs tōn logiōn tou theou)

      "you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God" (Hebrews 5:12).

      In this passage, "you" and "the elementary principles" are the personal and impersonal objects of the verb "to teach."

   2. Direct & Predicate Object

      Ἰησοῦς οὖν γνοὺς ὅτι μέλλουσιν ἔρχεσθαι καὶ ἁρπάζειν (αὐτὸν) ἵνα ποιήσωσιν βασιλέα

      (Iēsous oun gnous hoti mellousin erchesthai kai harpadzein [auton] hina poiēsōsin [basilea])

      "Jesus therefore perceiving that they were planning to come and to take Him by force in order to make king…" (John 6:15).

      In this passage, "Him" is the direct object of the infinitive "to take," and "king" is the predicate object of the verb "to make."

5. Accusative Absolute

   This is the use of the accusative in which it more or less stands alone grammatically from the rest of the sentence.

   (πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας [ὑμῶν]) εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ

   ([pephōtismenous tous ophthalmous tēs kardias humōn] eis to eidenai humas tis estin hē elpis tēs klēseōs autou…)

   "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling,…" (Ephesians 1:18a).

   In this instance, "the eyes may be enlightened" is the accusative absolute, with "of your heart" being a complimentary part of that phrase, so that the whole phrase, "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened," is grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence.

6. Accusative with Oaths

   The Greek verb of exhortation in the New Testament is commonly followed by two accusatives.

   ἐνορκίζω (ὑμᾶς τὸν κύριον) ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς

   (Enorkidzō [humas ton kurion] anagnōsthēnai tēn epistolēn pasin tois adelphois)

   "I adjure you (all) by the Lord to have the letter read to all the brethren" (1 Thessalonians 5:27).

Further Accusative Examples

The word in the parentheses in the Greek and transliteration and underlined in the English is the word in the accusastive that will be identified. The accusastive will be described in the same way that will be found described in an analytical lexicon which may be used later (e.g., acc. sg. masc. = accusastive case, singular noun, masculine gender).

1. ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν (ἀγῶνα) τῆς πίστεως

   (agō nidzou ton kalon [agōna] tēs pisteōs,…)

   "Fight the good fight of faith,…" (1 Timothy 6:12a).

   "fight" is a Cognate Accusative.

2. εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἔτι χρόνον (μικρὸν) μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι καὶ ὑπάγω πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντά με

   (eipen oun ho Iēsous, Eti chronon [mikron] meth humōn eimi kai hupagō pros ton pempsanta me)

   "Jesus therefore said, 'for a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him' who sent Me" (John 7:33).

   ""little … longer" is an Adverbial Accusative of Measure.

3. καὶ κράξας φωνῇ μεγάλῃ λέγει τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί Ἰησοῦ υἱὲ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου ὁρκίζω (σε τὸν θεόν) μή με βασανίσῃς

   (kai kraxas phōnē̢ megalē̢ legei, Ti emoi kai soi, Iēsou whie tou hupsistou? Horkidzō [se ton Theon], mē me basanisē̢s)

   "and crying out with a loud voice, he said, 'What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me"' (Mark 5:7)!

   "You by God" is an Accusative with Oaths.

4. ἀσπάζονται (ὑμᾶς) οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες

   (aspadzontai [humas] hoi adelphoi pantes)

   "All the brethren greet you" (1 Corinthians 16:20a).

   "you" is an Accusative of Direct Object.

5. καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ποιήσω (ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς) ἀνθρώπων

   (kai legei autois, Deute opisō mou, kai poiēsō [humas halieis] anthrōpōn)

   "And He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men"' (Matthew 4:19).

   "you ishers" is a Double Accusative.

6. ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων (τὸ μαρτύριον) καιροῖς ἰδίοις

   (ho dous heauton antilutron huper pantōn, [to marturion] kairois idios)

   "who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time" (1 Timothy 2:6).

   "the testimony" is an Accusative Absolute.