πότερος G4220
whether (of two alternatives); which of the two
This interrogative particle introduces a question involving two alternatives, asking 'which of the two' or 'whether...or.' In John 7:17, Jesus says anyone willing to do God's will shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether Jesus speaks on His own. The particle frames a binary choice requiring discernment. The grammar signals that doing God's will provides the criterion for evaluating the source of Jesus' teaching.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The 'whether' in John 7:17 that introduces two alternatives about Jesus' teaching's source: from God or self-originated. This particle structures the binary choice Jesus offers His hearers. Multilingual glosses show various approaches ('whether', 'si', 'lequel', 'ob-denn'), reflecting different language strategies for expressing alternatives. Jesus promises that moral obedience provides epistemological clarity—those who do God's will gain ability to discern truth's source. 1×
AR["أَ"]·ben["কি"]·DE["ob-denn"]·EN["whether"]·FR["lequel"]·heb["הַאִם"]·HI["क्या"]·ID["apakah"]·IT["poteron"]·jav["punapa"]·KO["-인지"]·PT["se"]·RU["от"]·ES["si"]·SW["kama"]·TR["acaba"]·urd["کیا"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πότερος, α, ον; Ionic dialect κότερος, η, ον: whether of the two? both in direct and indirect questions; once in Refs 8th c.BC+: sometimes the two objects referred to follow in apposition, ἐρωτώσης τῆς μητρός, π. καλλίων.. δοκεῖ εἶναι, ὁ πατὴρ ἢ οὗτος Refs 5th c.BC+; modified by τις, Refs; repeated in the same sentence, πότερος ποτερου φίλος γίγνετα; Refs __II neuter πότερον and πότερα…