μέν G3303
Indeed, on the one hand — a discourse particle expressing affirmation or marking the first element of a correlative pair
Greek men is a subtle discourse particle that operates on two levels. Used absolutely, it affirms with the force of 'indeed' or 'truly.' More commonly, it sets up a correlative contrast: men...de ('on the one hand...on the other'). English often leaves it untranslated, while French d'une part and German zwar capture the contrastive nuance more explicitly. In Acts 1:5, for instance, men marks John's water baptism as the first clause awaiting its de-counterpart about Spirit baptism — a structural rhythm that pervades Luke's careful prose and Paul's theological argumentation.
Senses
1. indeed — A discourse particle serving dual functions: (a) affirmative emphasis ('indeed, truly') when standing alone, and (b) correlative marker introducing the first member of a men...de contrast ('on the one hand...but on the other'). French d'une part and German zwar reveal the contrastive structure more transparently than English, where the particle is often absorbed into word order. Pervasive in Acts and the Pauline epistles. 182×
AR["-مِن-جِهَةٍ", "أَمَّا", "إِذَنْ", "إِذْ", "حَقًّا", "مِنْ-جِهَةٍ"]·ben["-অবশ্যই", "-প্রকৃতপক্ষে", "-যখন", "জলে", "তখন", "প্রকৃতই", "প্রথম", "সত্যই"]·DE["zwar"]·EN["indeed-"]·FR["d'une-part-"]·heb["אָכֵן", "אָמְנָם"]·HI["कि", "ग्रहण-करना", "तो", "निर्णय-किया-था"]·ID["Memang", "memang"]·IT["da-un-lato-"]·jav["mila", "mila,", "pancèn", "sanès"]·KO["-은", "그-", "그러므로", "앞에서", "참으로", "첫번째", "한편"]·PT["certamente", "de-fato", "de-fato,", "na-verdade", "portanto", "realmente"]·RU["Же-", "же", "же-", "итак", "итак-", "с-одной-стороны-"]·ES["*", "*-ciertamente"]·SW["hakika", "kwa-kweli", "kwa-kweli-", "kweli-"]·TR["-bir-yandan", "-gerçekten", "-öyleyse", "gerçekten", "ilk", "kabul-etmesini", "vaftiz-etti", "çünkü", "önünde"]·urd["تو", "حقیقت-میں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)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×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μέν, Particle, used partly to express certainty on the part of the speaker or writer; partly, and more commonly, to point out that the word or clause with which it stands is correlative to another word or clause that is to follow, the latter word or clause being introduced by δέ. __A __A.I μέν used absolutely to express certainty, not followed by correlative δέ, indeed, of a truth, synonymous…