Sunday, July 26, 2026

Matthew 15:26

When the Daily Dose of Greek went over Matthew 15:26, I noticed the verbs λαβεῖν (to take) and βαλεῖν (to throw).

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· οὐκ ἔστιν καλὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυναρίοις.

And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." [ESV]
That the stems of these two verbs are inversions of each other (λαβ- and βαλ-) highlights their opposite meanings to a degree.