ἀντί G0473
Instead of, in place of, in exchange for; because of; upon (accumulation)
The preposition ἀντί with the genitive carries the root image of one thing facing or standing opposite another, yielding its primary sense of substitution and exchange. When Archelaus reigns 'instead of' his father Herod (Matt 2:22) or when Jesus gives his life as a ransom 'for' many (Matt 20:28), ἀντί marks one entity replacing another. In the idiomatic construction ἀνθ᾽ ὧν it shifts to causal reasoning — 'because' — as when Zechariah is struck mute 'because' he did not believe (Luke 1:20). A single memorable occurrence in John 1:16 speaks of 'grace upon grace,' where ἀντί expresses wave-upon-wave accumulation rather than replacement.
Senses
1. instead of / in exchange for — The primary substitutionary and exchange sense, accounting for 16 of 22 occurrences. In Matt 5:38 the lex talionis is stated with ἀντί: 'eye for eye, tooth for tooth,' where each penalty mirrors and replaces the injury. Matt 17:27 uses it for monetary exchange — the coin 'for' Jesus and Peter. Spanish 'en lugar de' and German 'anstatt' confirm the replacement reading. The theological weight of this sense is immense: Matt 20:28 and Mark 10:45 both declare Christ gave his life ἀντὶ πολλῶν, 'in place of many.' 16×
AR["بَدَلَ","بَدَلَ-مِن","بَدَلْ","بِ-","عَن","عَنْ","عِوَضًا-عَن"]·ben["-এর-বদলে","-বদলে","জন্য","পরিবর্তে","পরিবর্তে,","বদলে"]·DE["anstatt","anstatt-"]·EN["because","for","for-","instead-of","instead-of-"]·FR["au-lieu-de","au-lieu-de-"]·heb["בְּעַד","בִּמְקוֹם","כִּ-","תַּחַת"]·HI["-की-जगह","-के-बदले","-के-बदले-में","के-बदले","बजाय","बदले-में"]·ID["dengan","ganti","menggantikan","oleh-karena-itu","sebagai-ganti","untuk"]·IT["al-posto-di-","in-cambio-di"]·jav["gantos","kangge","kangge-nggantosi","kanggé","males","mila","minangka-","nggentosi","tinimbang"]·KO["-대신에","-을-위하여","~대신에","~에-대해","대신-에","대신에","대신해서"]·PT["em-lugar","em-lugar-de","em-lugar-de,","em-lugar-de-","em-vez","em-vez-de","por"]·RU["вместо","вместо-","вместо-чего","за","за-"]·ES["en-lugar-de","por","por-lo-cual"]·SW["Na","badala-ya","badala-ya,","badala-ya-","kwa","kwa-","kwa-ajili-yangu","kwa-hiyo"]·TR["-den-dolayı","-için","-karşılığında","karşılığı","karşılığında","karşılığında-","yerine","yerine-"]·urd["-کے-بدلے","اِس-لیے","بجائے","بدلے","بدلے-میں","جگہ","کے-بدلے"]
Matt 2:22, Matt 5:38, Matt 5:38, Matt 17:27, Matt 20:28, Mark 10:45, Luke 11:11, Luke 12:3, Rom 12:17, 1 Cor 11:15, 1 Thess 5:15, Heb 12:2 (+4 more)
2. because / for the reason that — The causal use, almost always in the frozen construction ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ('for which reason,' 'because'), appearing 5 times. Luke 1:20 is paradigmatic: Zechariah will be mute ἀνθ᾽ ὧν he did not believe. Luke 19:44 and Acts 12:23 similarly introduce divine judgment with this causal formula. The Spanish 'por' and English 'because' in the glosses mark a clear departure from the substitution-replacement pattern, showing that the facing-opposite metaphor has been extended to facing-the-cause. 5×
AR["بَدَلَ","بِدَلَا-مِنْ","مِن-أَجلِ"]·ben["-জন্য","-বদলে","কারণে","বদলে"]·DE["anstatt","anstatt-"]·EN["because","because-of-which","for-this-reason"]·FR["au-lieu-de","au-lieu-de-"]·heb["יַעַן","עַל-כֵּן","תַּחַת","תַּחַת-אֲשֶׁר"]·HI["-के-बदले","इस-लिये","के-बदले","क्योंकि"]·ID["Sebab","karena"]·IT["al-posto-di-","in-cambio-di"]·jav["Amargi","amargi","gantinipun"]·KO["-때문에","-을-대신하여","대신-에","대신에","대신하여"]·PT["Por-isso","em-lugar-de","porque"]·RU["Ради-","вместо-того","за","за-","за-то-"]·ES["Por","en-lugar-de","en-lugar-de-","por-cuanto","porque"]·SW["kwa-sababu","kwa-sababu-hii","kwa-sababu-ya"]·TR["-den-dolayı","-nin-icin","-çünkü","karşılığında"]·urd["-کے-بدلے","بجائے-اِس-کے","بدلے-میں","کے-بدلے"]
3. upon / added to (accumulation) — A unique accumulative or successive sense found only in John 1:16: χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος, 'grace upon grace.' Here ἀντί does not mean 'instead of' but rather 'added to' or 'in succession to,' describing grace piling upon grace like waves from Christ's fullness. The Spanish 'en lugar de' and German 'anstatt' attempt the standard translation, but the context demands the rarer classical reading of accumulation — one grace received and immediately succeeded by another. 1×
AR["عَلَى"]·ben["-উপর"]·DE["anstatt-"]·EN["upon"]·FR["au-lieu-de"]·heb["עַל"]·HI["पर"]·ID["demi"]·IT["in-cambio-di"]·jav["gantos"]·KO["-위에"]·PT["sobre"]·RU["за-"]·ES["en-lugar-de"]·SW["juu-ya"]·TR["-üzerine"]·urd["بدلے"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀντί, preposition governing genitive:—originally sense, over against. (Cf. Sanskrit ánti 'opposite', 'facing', Latin ante, etc.) __A USAGE: __A.I of Place, opposite, over against, formerly quoted from several places of Refs 8th c.BC+; so ἄντ᾽ Αἴαντος (i.e. ἄντα)Refs 8th c.BC+; but ἀντί is so used in Refs 5th c.BC+c-l68; αἱ ὀπαὶ αἱ γιγνόμεναι ἀ. τόρμων mortises facing tenons, Refs 2nd c.BC+; ἀντὶ…