Dative Case

1. Dative of Indirect Object

   This is the basic usage of the dative in which it indicates the person to whom, or in whose benefit a deed is conducted or carried out.

   ἴδετε πηλίκοις (ὑμῖν) γράμμασιν ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί

   (idete pēlikois [humin] grammasin egrapsa tē̜ emē̜ cheiri)

   "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand" (Galatians 6:11)

   Here, "to you" is the dative of indirect object.

2. Dative of Advantage or Disadvantage

   Here the dative is used to emphasize personal advantage or disadvantage.

   δοὺς δὲ αὐτῇ χεῖρα ἀνέστησεν αὐτήν

   Dous de [autē] cheira, anestēsen autēn;

   "And after he gave her his hand, he raised her up" (Acts 9:41a).

   In this passage, αὐτῇ (autē) is the dative of advantage in that it was to the advantage of "Tabatha" that Peter gave "to her" his hand and to no one else's advantage.

3. Dative of Possession

   In this usage, the focus of interest is that of ownership by the person or persons who are indicated in the dative.

   ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἦν (τοῖς πατράσιν) ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

   (Hē skēnē tou marturiou ēn [tois patrasin] hēmōn en tē̜ erēmǭ)

   "Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness" (Acts 7:44).

   Here in this passage, the phrase, "Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony" is literally, "The tabernacle of testimony was to the fathers of us," and "to the fathers" is in the dative; thus, the dative of possession.

4. Dative of Reference

   In this instance, the dative is viewed more in the sense of indirect reference rather than focus of interest, although there may indeed be some overlap. For example, if in English I say, "I am giving a test to him concerning/with reference to syntax," the last phrase in italics is the dative of reference, whereas "to him" would be the dative of indirect object emphasizing focus of interest.

   οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς λογίζεσθε ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι νεκροὺς μὲν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ζῶντας δὲ τῷ θεῷ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

   (houtōs kai humeis logidzesthe heautous [einai] nekrous men [tē̜ hamartią] zōntas de [tǭ theǭ en Christǭ] Iēsou)

   "In this way you all also consider yourselves [to be] dead with reference to sin, but alive with reference to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11).

   The words in italics are the syntactic emphases modifying the datives of reference which are "to sin" and "to God in Christ"; i.e., we are to view ourselves to be dead "with reference to sin, but alive with reference to God in Christ Jesus."

Further Dative Examples

The word in the parentheses in the Greek and transliteration and underlined in the English is the word in the dative that will be identified. The dative will be described in the same way that will be found described in an analytical lexicon which may be used later (e.g., dat. sg. masc. = dative case, singular noun, masculine gender).

1. τοῦτο γὰρ [ὑμῖν] λέγομεν ἐν λόγῳ κυρίου ὅτι ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ κυρίου οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν τοὺς κοιμηθέντας

   (Touto gar [humin] legomen en logǭ kuriou, hoti hēmeis hoi zōntes hoi perileipomenoi eis tēn parousian tou kuriou ou mē phthasōmen tous koimēthentas)

   "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep." (1 Thessalonians 4:15).

   "to you" is a Dative of Indirect Object.

2. ὅτι Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν (τῷ θεῷ) ἐν τοῖς σῳζομένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις

   (Hoti Christou euōdia esmen [tǭ Theǭ] en tois sǭdzomenois kai en tois apollumenois)

   "For we are a fragrance of Christ with reference to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15).

   "with reference to God" is a Dative of Reference.

3. οὐχὶ μένον (σοὶ) ἔμενεν καὶ πραθὲν ἐν (τῇ σῇ ἐξουσίᾳ) ὑπῆρχεν

   (ouchi menon [soi] emenen kai prathen en [tē̜ sē̜ exousią] hupērchen?)

   "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?" (Acts 5:4)

   "your" and "your control" are a Dative of Possession.

4. ταῦτα αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος (αὐτοῖς) ἰδοὺ ἄρχων εἷς ἐλθὼν προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων

   (Tauta autou lalountos [autois] idou archōn eis elthōn prosekunei autǭ legōn)

   "While He was saying these things to them, behold a synagogue official came, and bowed before Him saying…" (Matthew 9:18).

   "to them" is a Dative of Advantage or Disadvantage.