ὑπό G5259
Under, by (agency); with genitive marks the agent performing an action; with accusative indicates position beneath or subordination.
Hypo is a preposition whose two main faces — agency and spatial position — are so distinct that many languages split them entirely. In its genitive usage (171 occurrences), it marks the agent behind a passive verb: prophets spoke 'by' the Holy Spirit, Jesus was baptized 'by' John, and Scripture was fulfilled as spoken 'by' the Lord through the prophet (Matt 1:22). With the accusative (51 occurrences), it shifts to spatial 'under': a lamp placed 'under' a basket, a centurion 'under' authority, chicks gathered 'under' wings. Spanish perfectly illustrates the split — por for agency, bajo/debajo de for position — while French par covers both but with different syntactic framing. The rare temporal sense at Acts 5:21 ('about daybreak') shows the preposition at the edge of its range.
Senses
1. by — Agency marker with the genitive case: 'by' a person, force, or divine actor. At 171 occurrences this is the overwhelmingly dominant sense, appearing in passive constructions throughout the New Testament. Matthew's fulfillment formula 'what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet' (Matt 1:22; 2:15) is paradigmatic. Spanish por, German von, and Korean -에 의해 (-e uihae, 'by means of') all consistently select agentive vocabulary, distinguishing this clearly from the spatial sense. The construction hypo + genitive became the standard Koine marker of personal agency, replacing classical Greek instrumental uses of the dative. 171×
AR["مِن", "مِنَ", "مِنْ"]·ben["-দ্বারা", "দ্বারা"]·DE["von"]·EN["by", "by-"]·FR["par-"]·heb["לָכֶם", "מִ-", "עַל-יְדֵי", "עַל-יְדֵי-", "עַל־יְדֵי"]·HI["-दवर", "-से", "के-द्वारा", "द्वारा", "से"]·ID["oleh", "oleh-"]·IT["da"]·jav["dening", "déning", "saking"]·KO["-에-의해", "~에-의해", "~에게"]·PT["da-parte-de", "pelas", "pelas-", "pelo", "pelo-", "pelos", "pelos-", "por", "por-"]·RU["-", "от"]·ES["por"]·SW["-", "Baba", "Mungu", "chini", "na", "na-"]·TR["-tarafından", "-yla", "tarafından"]·urd["-سے", "سے", "طرف-سے"]
2. under — Spatial position with the accusative case: 'under, beneath, below.' Covering 51 occurrences, this sense denotes physical location under an object or metaphorical subordination under authority. A lamp is not placed 'under' a basket (Matt 5:15); the centurion declares himself a man 'under' authority (Matt 8:9); Jesus longs to gather Jerusalem's children 'under' his wings (Matt 23:37). Spanish bajo/debajo de, German unter, and Korean arae-e (아래에) all select positional-spatial vocabulary, and the accusative case in Greek itself signals directionality or extent rather than agency. 51×
AR["تَحتَ", "تَحتِ", "تَحْتَ"]·ben["-অধীনে", "-নীচে", "অধীনে", "নীচে", "নীচের"]·DE["unter-", "von"]·EN["under", "under-"]·FR["par-"]·heb["תַּחַת", "תַּחַת-"]·HI["आकाश", "के-नीचे", "नीचे", "मनुष्यों"]·ID["di-bawah"]·IT["da", "sotto-"]·jav["ing-sangandhapipun", "ing-sangisore", "ingkang-wonten-sangandhapipun", "sangandhaping", "sangandhép", "wonten-ing-ngandhap", "wonten-ing-sangandhap", "wonten-ing-sangandhaping", "wonten-ing-sangandhapipun", "wonten-ngandhap", "wonten-sangandhap"]·KO["-아래", "-아래에", "~아래", "아니", "아래-에", "아래-의", "아래에", "아래의"]·PT["debaixo", "debaixo-de", "debaixo-de-", "sob", "sob-"]·RU["под", "под-", "подо"]·ES["bajo", "bajo-", "debajo-de"]·SW["-", "chini-ya", "chini-ya-", "chini-yangu"]·TR["-altına", "-altında", "-den", "-e", "-o", "-ın-altımda", "-ın-altına", "-ın-altında", "altına", "altında", "altındaki"]·urd["-کے-نیچے", "تلے", "نیچے", "کے-نیچے", "ہے-کے-نیچے"]
3. at — Temporal approximation: 'about, around (a time).' A single occurrence at Acts 5:21 where the Sanhedrin gathers hypo ton orthron, 'about daybreak.' This temporal-proximity use, while rare in the New Testament, has classical precedent (hypo nykta, 'toward nightfall'). Spanish hacia ('toward') and the contextual rendering in other languages confirm a temporal rather than spatial or agentive reading. A marginal but genuine extension of the preposition's 'under/near' spatial core into the time domain. 1×
AR["عِنْدَ"]·ben["-তে"]·DE["von"]·EN["at"]·FR["par-"]·heb["תַּחַת"]·HI["-मन्दिर-में"]·ID["saat"]·IT["sotto-"]·jav["ing-wekdal"]·KO["들어갔다"]·RU["около-"]·ES["hacia"]·SW["karibu-na"]·TR["-de"]·urd["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
ὑπό [ῠ], preposition with genitive, dative, and accusative: Aeolic dialect ὐπά Refs 7th c.BC+; Boeotian dialect ὑπά Ἀρχ.Δελτ. Refs 5th c.BC+; Ionic dialect ηυπύ only in Refs 5th c.BC+ ὁπύ Refs 4th c.BC+; in Epic dialect ὑπαί (also Refs 5th c.BC+: this is found in Refs 8th c.BC+ only six times as a well-attested reading (ὑ. πόδα Refs 8th c.BC+; elsewhere (before λ ν ρ ϝ) it is weakly attested as…