Grammar Analysis: Ephesians 5:22–32¶

Paul's marriage-paraenesis, hinged to the broader "submit-to-one-another" participle of v.21 (ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ), and ending in the declaration that the whole matter — wife-to-husband and husband-to-wife — is a μέγα μυστήριον "into Christ and into the church" (v.32). The passage is built as a paired chiastic exhortation: wives-clause (vv.22–24) / husbands-clause (vv.25–30) / shared Genesis citation (v.31) / apostolic interpretation (v.32). Each clause is bound to the Christ–church analogy by comparative adverbs (ὡς, ὡς καί, καθὼς καί, οὕτως καί) and by the repeated lexical triad κεφαλή / σῶμα / ἐκκλησία. The passage reaches its grammatical climax in v.31's LXX-citation-turned-prophecy, then Paul's own gloss in v.32 — τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.

Text¶

Greek (NA28/THGNT):

v.22 Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ,
v.23 ὅτι ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικὸς ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος.
v.24 ἀλλὰ ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία ὑποτάσσεται τῷ Χριστῷ, οὕτως καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐν παντί.
v.25 Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἑαυτὸν παρέδωκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς,
v.26 ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι,
v.27 ἵνα παραστήσῃ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἔνδοξον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, μὴ ἔχουσαν σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλ' ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος.
v.28 οὕτως ὀφείλουσιν καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἀγαπᾶν τὰς ἑαυτῶν γυναῖκας ὡς τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα. ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷ·
v.29 οὐδεὶς γάρ ποτε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν, ἀλλὰ ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει αὐτήν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν,
v.30 ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ.
v.31 ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν.
v.32 τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.

KJV:

v.22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
v.23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
v.24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.
v.25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
v.26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
v.27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
v.28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
v.29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
v.30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
v.31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
v.32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Word-by-Word Parsing¶

v.22¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	Αἱ	ὁ	G3588	T-NPF
2	γυναῖκες	γυνή	G1135	N-NPF
3	τοῖς	ὁ	G3588	T-DPM
4	ἰδίοις	ἴδιος	G2398	A-DPM
5	ἀνδράσιν	ἀνήρ	G435	N-DPM
6	ὡς	ὡς	G5613	ADV
7	τῷ	ὁ	G3588	T-DSM
8	Κυρίῳ	κύριος	G2962	N-DSM

Note: v.22 has no finite verb in NA28/THGNT. The imperative ὑποτάσσεσθε or the participial form ὑποτασσόμενοι is supplied from v.21. Byzantine-text manuscripts add ὑποτάσσεσθε (V-PPM-2P) explicitly — an early reader's gloss, not original.

v.23¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ὅτι	ὅτι	G3754	CONJ
2	ἀνήρ	ἀνήρ	G435	N-NSM
3	ἐστιν	εἰμί	G1510	V-PAI-3S
4	κεφαλὴ	κεφαλή	G2776	N-NSF
5	τῆς	ὁ	G3588	T-GSF
6	γυναικὸς	γυνή	G1135	N-GSF
7	ὡς	ὡς	G5613	ADV
8	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
9	ὁ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSM
10	Χριστὸς	Χριστός	G5547	N-NSM
11	κεφαλὴ	κεφαλή	G2776	N-NSF
12	τῆς	ὁ	G3588	T-GSF
13	ἐκκλησίας	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-GSF
14	αὐτὸς	αὐτός	G846	P-NSM
15	σωτὴρ	σωτήρ	G4990	N-NSM
16	τοῦ	ὁ	G3588	T-GSN
17	σώματος	σῶμα	G4983	N-GSN

v.24¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ἀλλὰ	ἀλλά	G235	CONJ
2	ὡς	ὡς	G5613	ADV
3	ἡ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSF
4	ἐκκλησία	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-NSF
5	ὑποτάσσεται	ὑποτάσσω	G5293	V-PPI-3S
6	τῷ	ὁ	G3588	T-DSM
7	Χριστῷ	Χριστός	G5547	N-DSM
8	οὕτως	οὕτω	G3779	ADV
9	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
10	αἱ	ὁ	G3588	T-NPF
11	γυναῖκες	γυνή	G1135	N-NPF
12	τοῖς	ὁ	G3588	T-DPM
13	ἀνδράσιν	ἀνήρ	G435	N-DPM
14	ἐν	ἐν	G1722	PREP
15	παντί	πᾶς	G3956	A-DSN

v.25¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	Οἱ	ὁ	G3588	T-NPM
2	ἄνδρες	ἀνήρ	G435	N-NPM
3	ἀγαπᾶτε	ἀγαπάω	G25	V-PAM-2P
4	τὰς	ὁ	G3588	T-APF
5	γυναῖκας	γυνή	G1135	N-APF
6	καθὼς	καθώς	G2531	ADV
7	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
8	ὁ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSM
9	Χριστὸς	Χριστός	G5547	N-NSM
10	ἠγάπησεν	ἀγαπάω	G25	V-AAI-3S
11	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
12	ἐκκλησίαν	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-ASF
13	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
14	ἑαυτὸν	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3ASM
15	παρέδωκεν	παραδίδωμι	G3860	V-AAI-3S
16	ὑπὲρ	ὑπέρ	G5228	PREP
17	αὐτῆς	αὐτός	G846	P-GSF

v.26¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ἵνα	ἵνα	G2443	CONJ
2	αὐτὴν	αὐτός	G846	P-ASF
3	ἁγιάσῃ	ἁγιάζω	G37	V-AAS-3S
4	καθαρίσας	καθαρίζω	G2511	V-AAP-NSM
5	τῷ	ὁ	G3588	T-DSN
6	λουτρῷ	λουτρόν	G3067	N-DSN
7	τοῦ	ὁ	G3588	T-GSN
8	ὕδατος	ὕδωρ	G5204	N-GSN
9	ἐν	ἐν	G1722	PREP
10	ῥήματι	ῥῆμα	G4487	N-DSN

v.27¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ἵνα	ἵνα	G2443	CONJ
2	παραστήσῃ	παρίστημι	G3936	V-AAS-3S
3	αὐτὸς	αὐτός	G846	P-NSM
4	ἑαυτῷ	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3DSM
5	ἔνδοξον	ἔνδοξος	G1741	A-ASF
6	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
7	ἐκκλησίαν	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-ASF
8	μὴ	μή	G3361	PRT-N
9	ἔχουσαν	ἔχω	G2192	V-PAP-ASF
10	σπίλον	σπίλος	G4696	N-ASM
11	ἢ	ἤ	G2228	PRT
12	ῥυτίδα	ῥυτίς	G4512	N-ASF
13	ἤ	ἤ	G2228	PRT
14	τι	τὶς	G5100	X-ASN
15	τῶν	ὁ	G3588	T-GPN
16	τοιούτων	τοιοῦτος	G5108	D-GPN
17	ἀλλ'	ἀλλά	G235	CONJ
18	ἵνα	ἵνα	G2443	CONJ
19	ᾖ	εἰμί	G1510	V-PAS-3S
20	ἁγία	ἅγιος	G40	A-NSF
21	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
22	ἄμωμος	ἄμωμος	G299	A-NSF

v.28¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	οὕτως	οὕτω	G3779	ADV
2	ὀφείλουσιν	ὀφείλω	G3784	V-PAI-3P
3	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
4	οἱ	ὁ	G3588	T-NPM
5	ἄνδρες	ἀνήρ	G435	N-NPM
6	ἀγαπᾶν	ἀγαπάω	G25	V-PAN
7	τὰς	ὁ	G3588	T-APF
8	ἑαυτῶν	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3GPM
9	γυναῖκας	γυνή	G1135	N-APF
10	ὡς	ὡς	G5613	ADV
11	τὰ	ὁ	G3588	T-APN
12	ἑαυτῶν	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3GPM
13	σώματα	σῶμα	G4983	N-APN
14	ὁ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSM
15	ἀγαπῶν	ἀγαπάω	G25	V-PAP-NSM
16	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
17	ἑαυτοῦ	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3GSM
18	γυναῖκα	γυνή	G1135	N-ASF
19	ἑαυτὸν	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3ASM
20	ἀγαπᾷ	ἀγαπάω	G25	V-PAI-3S

v.29¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	οὐδεὶς	οὐδείς	G3762	A-NSM-N
2	γάρ	γάρ	G1063	CONJ
3	ποτε	ποτέ	G4218	PRT
4	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
5	ἑαυτοῦ	ἑαυτοῦ	G1438	F-3GSM
6	σάρκα	σάρξ	G4561	N-ASF
7	ἐμίσησεν	μισέω	G3404	V-AAI-3S
8	ἀλλὰ	ἀλλά	G235	CONJ
9	ἐκτρέφει	ἐκτρέφω	G1625	V-PAI-3S
10	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
11	θάλπει	θάλπω	G2282	V-PAI-3S
12	αὐτήν	αὐτός	G846	P-ASF
13	καθὼς	καθώς	G2531	ADV
14	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
15	ὁ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSM
16	Χριστὸς	Χριστός	G5547	N-NSM
17	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
18	ἐκκλησίαν	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-ASF

v.30¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ὅτι	ὅτι	G3754	CONJ
2	μέλη	μέλος	G3196	N-NPN
3	ἐσμὲν	εἰμί	G1510	V-PAI-1P
4	τοῦ	ὁ	G3588	T-GSN
5	σώματος	σῶμα	G4983	N-GSN
6	αὐτοῦ	αὐτός	G846	P-GSM

v.31¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	ἀντὶ	ἀντί	G473	PREP
2	τούτου	οὗτος	G3778	D-GSN
3	καταλείψει	καταλείπω	G2641	V-FAI-3S
4	ἄνθρωπος	ἄνθρωπος	G444	N-NSM
5	τὸν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASM
6	πατέρα	πατήρ	G3962	N-ASM
7	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
8	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
9	μητέρα	μήτηρ	G3384	N-ASF
10	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
11	προσκολληθήσεται	προσκολλάω	G4347	V-FPI-3S
12	πρὸς	πρός	G4314	PREP
13	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
14	γυναῖκα	γυνή	G1135	N-ASF
15	αὐτοῦ	αὐτός	G846	P-GSM
16	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
17	ἔσονται	εἰμί	G1510	V-FDI-3P
18	οἱ	ὁ	G3588	T-NPM
19	δύο	δύο	G1417	A-NUI
20	εἰς	εἰς	G1519	PREP
21	σάρκα	σάρξ	G4561	N-ASF
22	μίαν	εἷς	G1520	A-ASF

v.32¶

#	Word	Lemma	Strong's	Parsing
1	τὸ	ὁ	G3588	T-NSN
2	μυστήριον	μυστήριον	G3466	N-NSN
3	τοῦτο	οὗτος	G3778	D-NSN
4	μέγα	μέγας	G3173	A-NSN
5	ἐστίν	εἰμί	G1510	V-PAI-3S
6	ἐγὼ	ἐγώ	G1473	P-1NS
7	δὲ	δέ	G1161	CONJ
8	λέγω	λέγω	G3004	V-PAI-1S
9	εἰς	εἰς	G1519	PREP
10	Χριστὸν	Χριστός	G5547	N-ASM
11	καὶ	καί	G2532	CONJ
12	εἰς	εἰς	G1519	PREP
13	τὴν	ὁ	G3588	T-ASF
14	ἐκκλησίαν	ἐκκλησία	G1577	N-ASF

Key Grammatical Features¶

1. Ellipsis in v.22 — the wives-clause has no verb¶

Form: The NA28/THGNT text of v.22 — Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ — contains no finite verb and no participle. The verb must be supplied from the immediately preceding v.21 ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ (V-PPP-NPM, present middle-passive participle nominative plural masculine of ὑποτάσσω).
Textual variation: Byzantine witnesses read ὑποτάσσεσθε (V-PPM-2P middle imperative); other Byzantine witnesses ὑποτασσέσθωσαν (3P imperative). These are later clarifications of an elliptical original. The KJV's "submit yourselves" reflects that Byzantine supplement. The shortest reading (no verb) is accepted on internal grounds — it is the reading that best explains the rise of the others.
Grammatical consequence: Without a verb of its own, v.22 is grammatically dependent on v.21's participle. This makes the mutual-submission participle of v.21 (ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις "submitting yourselves to one another") the syntactic frame for the entire marriage-discourse. The wives-exhortation is not introduced as a freestanding imperative but as a specification of the already-stated mutual-submission posture of believers in the Spirit (cf. v.18 πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, the whole v.19–22 string hanging from it as participial consequents).
Voice of the supplied ὑποτάσσω: The participial form in v.21 is ὑποτασσόμενοι — middle-passive morphology, but the sense of ὑποτάσσω in NT ethical contexts is regularly middle-voice reflexive: "to order/arrange oneself under." This is not passive "be-subjected-to" (the external-agent passive of Rom 8:20 ὑπετάγη) but self-voluntary "take-rank-under." Same middle sense carries through v.24 ὑποτάσσεται (V-PPI-3S) and the supplied verb of v.22.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical ellipsis-and-verbal-gapping entry; gap flagged for canonical middle-voice-of-hypotassō entry; word study gap flagged for G5293-hypotassō.

2. ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ / ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστός / καθὼς καὶ — the comparative-analogical adverbs¶

Form: Four analogical comparisons are chained through the paraenesis, each using a comparative adverb with a datival or nominal correlate:
v.22 ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ ("as [you would submit] to the Lord")
v.23 ὡς καί ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλή ("just as also Christ [is] head")
v.24 ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία ὑποτάσσεται … οὕτως καί αἱ γυναῖκες ("as the church submits … so also the wives")
v.25 καθὼς καί ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν ("just as also Christ loved")
v.29 καθὼς καί ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ("just as also Christ [does] the church")
Significance:
ὡς (G5613) is a basic comparative adverb ("as, like, just as"), used here to introduce a paradigm-comparison: wife-to-husband is patterned on wife-(and-whole-church)-to-the-Lord. The dative τῷ Κυρίῳ in v.22 is the datival complement of the unstated ὑποτάσσω supplied from v.21 — the dative of the person-to-whom one submits.
καθώς (G2531) intensifies — "in-the-exact-manner-that, according-as." Where ὡς gives simple likeness, καθώς gives conformity: Christ's love is not merely compared to husbandly love; husbandly love is commanded to conform itself to Christ's pattern.
The paired ὡς … οὕτως καί construction of v.24 is a classical correlative pair (protasis-apodosis), typical in legislative/ethical discourse: as X behaves, so-also Y must behave. The οὕτως καί is the logical bridge that turns the indicative (the church submits) into the normative pattern for the addressees (so the wives).
The repeated καί after each comparative ("just-as also") does not add a second item; it is adverbial-ascensive καί ("just as indeed, just as truly"), intensifying the comparison by asserting the reality of the compared term.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical ὡς-καθώς-comparative-adverbs entry; gap flagged for canonical ὡς-οὕτως-correlative-pair entry.

3. ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικός (v.23) — anarthrous predicate nominative¶

Form: ἀνήρ (N-NSM, anarthrous) is the subject; ἐστιν (V-PAI-3S) is the copula; κεφαλή (N-NSF, anarthrous) is the predicate nominative. The genitive τῆς γυναικός modifies κεφαλή as a relational genitive ("head of the wife"). The parallel clause Χριστὸς [ἐστιν] κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας has identical structure: articular subject (ὁ Χριστός) + [elided copula] + anarthrous predicate κεφαλή + relational genitive.
Significance:
Both κεφαλή instances are anarthrous in predicate position. This is standard for qualitative/class-assigning predicate nominatives (Colwell's rule context, BDF §273): the predicate describes the kind of thing the subject is, not uniquely identifies it. "A husband is head-of-wife" describes the relational role; it does not assign definite-article identity "the head."
The two κεφαλή-clauses are syntactically parallel: ἀνήρ : γυνή :: Χριστός : ἐκκλησία. The analogy is structural, not lexical equivalence — the genitive relation is identical (kephalē + genitive-of-reference), but the analogy asserts similarity of relational role, not identity of metaphysical rank. Husbands are not divine; the analogy is about the shape of the relationship.
αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος closes v.23: αὐτός (P-NSM emphatic pronoun) + anarthrous predicate σωτήρ + relational genitive τοῦ σώματος. The emphatic αὐτός restricts "saviour of the body" to Christ alone — he and no other. This is the only element of the analogy that breaks symmetry: the husband-wife clause does not get a parallel "αὐτὸς σωτὴρ" line. Paul deliberately stops short of applying σωτήρ to husbands.
Word study: G2776-kephale; G4983-soma (gap flagged if absent).
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical anarthrous-predicate-nominative entry.

4. ἀγαπᾶτε (v.25) — present imperative grounded in aorist indicative¶

Form: ἀγαπᾶτε is V-PAM-2P (present active imperative 2nd plural of ἀγαπάω). The grounding καθώς-clause uses two aorist indicatives: ἠγάπησεν (V-AAI-3S, aorist active indicative 3rd sg. of ἀγαπάω) and παρέδωκεν (V-AAI-3S, aorist active indicative 3rd sg. of παραδίδωμι, "handed over, delivered up").
Significance:
The present imperative commands durative / continuous / habitual action: not "love [at some moment]" but "be-loving, keep-loving, make-loving-your-ongoing-mode." Same force as John 15:12 ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους and 1 Cor 16:14 ἐν ἀγάπῃ γινέσθω. Contrast the aorist imperative (ἀγαπήσατε) which would command a single decisive act.
The aorist indicatives of the καθώς-clause refer to the historical act of the cross: Christ's loving-the-church and giving-himself-up-for-her are viewed as a single completed whole. The aorist is the aspect proper for the cross-event — a definite, once-for-all act in redemptive history (cf. Rom 5:8 Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν; Gal 2:20 τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ — same word-pair).
The aspectual contrast is doctrinally weighted: the aorist indicative of the cross grounds the present imperative of the life. The unrepeatable once-for-all act of Christ (ἠγάπησεν … παρέδωκεν) becomes the ongoing norm of the husband (ἀγαπᾶτε). The grammar itself says: the definite-past act is the continuing-present pattern.
παραδίδωμι ("hand over, deliver up") is the standard word for the handing-over of Jesus to death (Matt 17:22; 20:18; Rom 4:25; 8:32 τὸν ἰδίον υἱὸν οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάντων παρέδωκεν αὐτόν; Gal 2:20). Its object here is ἑαυτόν — Christ handed over himself, active voluntary self-offering (against any adoptionist or passive-victim reading).
Word study: G25-agapao; G26-agape; gap flagged for G3860-paradidōmi.
Cross-reference: mood-aorist-imperative (for the aorist-vs-present imperative contrast); gap flagged for canonical present-imperative-continuing-command entry.

5. The ἵνα-chain of vv. 26–27 — telescoped purposive subordination¶

Form: Three ἵνα-clauses, each introducing an aorist subjunctive (or final present subjunctive), chained in nested purpose:
v.26 ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ (V-AAS-3S, aorist active subjunctive of ἁγιάζω) — purpose of παρέδωκεν (v.25)
v.27 ἵνα παραστήσῃ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἔνδοξον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν (V-AAS-3S aorist active subjunctive of παρίστημι) — purpose advanced to its further stage
v.27c ἀλλ' ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος (V-PAS-3S present active subjunctive of εἰμί) — result/purpose of παραστήσῃ
Significance:
The three ἵνα-clauses form a telescoping purpose-chain: [Christ loved and gave himself] → (in-order-that-he-might-sanctify) → (in-order-that-he-might-present) → (in-order-that-she-might-be holy-and-blameless). Each ἵνα moves the purpose one step further along — the cross aims at sanctification; sanctification aims at presentation; presentation aims at a state of holiness-and-blamelessness.
The first two ἵνα use aorist subjunctive (single decisive acts of sanctifying / presenting); the third uses present subjunctive ᾖ (continuous state: "in-order-that-she-might-be holy"). The aspect shift from aorist (acts) to present (state) is deliberate: the acts produce a standing state.
The two aorist subjunctives after ἵνα both show purpose. Paul's normal syntax — ἵνα + aorist subjunctive is the default purpose/final construction in Koine (Wallace 471–474; BDF §369). No other interpretation is grammatically available.
παραστήσῃ ἑαυτῷ ("he might present to himself") uses the reflexive dative ἑαυτῷ — Christ is both the presenter and the one-to-whom-the-church-is-presented. The imagery is bridal (cf. 2 Cor 11:2 παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ; Rev 19:7 ὁ γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου) — the bridegroom presenting the bride to himself. The reflexive ἑαυτῷ is the grammatical marker of the closed-circle: Christ is not presenting the church to the Father but to himself.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical hina-purpose-chain / telescoped-purpose-subjunctives entry; gap flagged for canonical aorist-to-present-subjunctive-aspect-shift entry.

6. καθαρίσας (v.26) — aorist participle of attendant circumstance or means¶

Form: καθαρίσας is V-AAP-NSM, aorist active participle nominative singular masculine of καθαρίζω ("cleanse"). It agrees with the subject of the aorist subjunctive ἁγιάσῃ (Christ). Tense: aorist, both participle and main verb. Dative τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος is dative of instrument/means ("by the washing-of-water"); the following ἐν ῥήματι is ἐν of instrument/accompaniment ("with/in [connection with] the word").
Significance:
Aorist participle + aorist main verb: the standard rule (Wallace 614–615, 622–630) is that an aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb expresses antecedent action ("having cleansed, he might sanctify") or coincident action / means ("he might sanctify by cleansing"). Both readings are grammatically available; the specific reading depends on context and on the logical relation of cleansing and sanctifying in Paul's theological vocabulary.
Antecedent reading: cleansing is the logically prior event; sanctification follows. Order: cleansing-at-the-washing-of-water → subsequent sanctification.
Means reading: cleansing is the means by which sanctification is accomplished. "That he might sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of water in the word."
Double instrumental: the two instrumental phrases stack — τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος (dative-instrument, the washing-of-water) and ἐν ῥήματι (ἐν-instrument, the word). Grammatically both are instruments of the participle καθαρίσας; semantically "washing" and "word" are the paired means, not sequential.
τοῦ ὕδατος is a genitive of content/material: "the washing consisting of water" — the washing whose substance is water. This is distinct from an objective genitive (washing of-the-water) which would be odd here.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical aorist-participle-coincident-vs-antecedent entry; word study gap flagged for G2511-katharizo (exists: G2511-katharizo); gap flagged for G3067-loutron word study.

7. ὀφείλουσιν … ἀγαπᾶν (v.28) — obligation verb + complementary infinitive¶

Form: ὀφείλουσιν is V-PAI-3P (present active indicative 3rd plural of ὀφείλω, "owe, ought, be obligated"); ἀγαπᾶν is V-PAN (present active infinitive of ἀγαπάω) functioning as the complementary infinitive to ὀφείλουσιν.
Significance:
ὀφείλω + complementary infinitive is the standard Koine construction for moral obligation ("ought, owe, are-duty-bound to…"). It is stronger than δεῖ (impersonal "it-is-necessary"): ὀφείλω imports a debt-metaphor — the husband owes love to his wife as a standing obligation, not merely is-obliged-to in some general moral sense. Same debt-sense in Rom 13:8 μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν.
The present infinitive ἀγαπᾶν (rather than aorist ἀγαπῆσαι) preserves the same durative aspect as v.25's ἀγαπᾶτε — ongoing, habitual loving, not a single decisive act.
The οὕτως ("so, thus") at the head of v.28 resumes the pattern of Christ's love just described (vv. 25b–27) and applies it to "the husbands also" (καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες), with the ascensive καί again marking comparative conformity.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical opheilō-complementary-infinitive entry.

8. ὁ ἀγαπῶν (v.28) — articular present participle as substantival class-subject¶

Form: ὁ ἀγαπῶν is T-NSM + V-PAP-NSM (definite article + present active participle nominative singular masculine of ἀγαπάω), functioning substantivally — "the-one-who-loves." The main verb of the clause is ἀγαπᾷ (V-PAI-3S): "the-one-who-loves his own wife loves himself."
Significance:
Articular participle = substantival (Wallace 619–621). The article converts the participle from a verbal modifier into a noun-equivalent naming a class or type. Same construction as John 3:16 ὁ πιστεύων, Rom 1:17 ὁ … δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται, 1 John 4:7 πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.
The present participle gives durative / characterizing aspect: not "the-one-who-has-loved-[once]" but "the-one-who-is-continually-loving" — a settled, ongoing orientation. The grammatical force is generic class: any man whose orientation-toward-his-wife is love is (by the principle of v.28) loving himself.
The clause ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷ is a gnomic / sententious present indicative, expressing a standing principle rather than a report of an event. This feeds into the gnomic pattern that continues through vv. 29–31.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical articular-participle-substantival entry.

9. οὐδεὶς … ἐμίσησεν, ἀλλὰ ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει (v.29) — gnomic aorist vs. habitual present¶

Form: ἐμίσησεν is V-AAI-3S (aorist active indicative 3rd sg. of μισέω); ἐκτρέφει (V-PAI-3S of ἐκτρέφω, "nourish, bring-up") and θάλπει (V-PAI-3S of θάλπω, "cherish, warm, keep-warm") are both present actives. ποτε ("ever") modifies ἐμίσησεν.
Significance:
Gnomic aorist: ἐμίσησεν + οὐδεὶς … ποτε ("no-one-ever-hated") is a gnomic aorist of universal negation — a timeless generalization expressed in the aorist because the principle is viewed as a single complete truth about human nature. Standard Koine idiom (Wallace 562; BDF §333).
Habitual/iterative presents ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει describe the ongoing pattern that replaces the hated alternative. Aspectual contrast: aorist for the rejected timeless generalization; present for the positive ongoing habit. The same aspectual contrast recurs in Paul's ethical argumentation (Rom 6:14; 1 Cor 13).
The two verbs ἐκτρέφω + θάλπω form a hendiadys — "nourish and cherish" = "lovingly-sustain." θάλπω is the rarer word ("keep-warm, foster like a mother-bird," cf. 1 Thess 2:7 ὡς ἐὰν τροφὸς θάλπῃ τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα — maternal imagery). Paul selects the pair to import the nurturing-domestic register into the Christ-church analogy.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical gnomic-aorist entry.

10. v.31 — the LXX-citation as legislative-prophetic future¶

Form: v.31 is Paul's near-verbatim quotation of Gen 2:24 LXX:
LXX: ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν.
Paul: ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν.
Differences: (1) ἀντὶ τούτου (G473 ἀντί) for LXX ἕνεκεν τούτου — Paul's ἀντί ("for this reason, in exchange/return for this") is a less common rendering of the Hebrew עַל־כֵּן ("therefore") than ἕνεκεν, but its preposition-type ("in-return-for, because-of") fits; (2) Paul drops both instances of αὐτοῦ after πατέρα and μητέρα, keeping only the third αὐτοῦ (after γυναῖκα).
Verbs: Three futures:
καταλείψει (V-FAI-3S of καταλείπω, "leave-behind")
προσκολληθήσεται (V-FPI-3S of προσκολλάω, "be-glued-to"; future passive with middle/reflexive sense, "shall-cleave-to")
ἔσονται (V-FDI-3P of εἰμί, "they-shall-be")
Significance:
The LXX futures render the Hebrew imperfect / prefix-conjugation of Gen 2:24 (יַעֲזָב … וְדָבַק … וְהָיוּ) as gnomic / legislative futures in Greek — a futurum legis, expressing a standing rule rather than a prediction of a specific event. This is the Koine Greek equivalent of the modal Hebrew imperfect ("a man shall leave…" = "a man is-to-leave, a man does-leave as-a-matter-of-principle").
προσκολληθήσεται is future passive in form, reflexive/middle in sense — "shall-glue-himself-to, shall-cleave-to." This is a deponent-like use of the future passive, a frequent Koine pattern where certain verbs of union, motion, and affect take passive morphology with active/middle semantics (compare ἀποκριθήσεται "he-shall-answer," φανήσεται "he-shall-appear"). The Hebrew is Qal וְדָבַק — active; the LXX renders the active Hebrew by the morphologically-passive future that carries reflexive force.
ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν — ἔσονται is future middle/deponent of εἰμί; εἰς + accusative σάρκα μίαν is the predicate εἰς construction — a Semitism imported from the Hebrew לְבָשָׂר אֶחָד (lamed-of-product), where the preposition marks transformation/result, not direction. The idiom "X shall-be-into Y" = "X shall-become Y" / "X shall-turn-into Y." Same εἰς-of-result in Matt 21:42 (ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας), Acts 4:11, 1 Cor 4:13, 6:16 (same Gen 2:24 citation applied to porneia).
The number-concord οἱ δύο … εἰς σάρκα μίαν is pointed: two → one. The numeral δύο is not treated as a distributive ("each of the two…") but as a collective subject becoming a single entity.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical legislative-future / futurum-legis entry; gap flagged for canonical predicate-εἰς-Semitic entry; gap flagged for canonical future-passive-reflexive-sense entry; word study gap flagged for G4347-proskollaō and G2641-kataleipō.

11. τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν (v.32) — near-demonstrative framing and anaphoric reference¶

Form: τὸ μυστήριον (T-NSN + N-NSN) is the articular subject; τοῦτο (D-NSN, near demonstrative) is predicate-attributive to μυστήριον, pointing back to the immediately preceding Gen 2:24 citation. μέγα (A-NSN) is the predicate adjective ("great"); ἐστίν is the copula. Word order: article-noun-demonstrative is second-attributive position for the demonstrative.
Significance:
τοῦτο is anaphoric — it points backward, not forward. Its antecedent is the Gen 2:24 citation of v.31. Grammatically, near-demonstratives (οὗτος / αὕτη / τοῦτο) point to the nearer (usually immediately preceding) referent; far-demonstratives (ἐκεῖνος) point to the more remote. The phrase is therefore "this mystery" = "this [just-cited Gen 2:24 word] is a great mystery."
μέγα is anarthrous predicate adjective — qualitative/class-assigning ("is great [in magnitude/significance]"), not "the great [mystery]" (which would require the article). The greatness is predicated, not assumed.
The δέ of the next clause (ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω) is contrastive/clarifying: "but I — I am speaking [i.e., applying it] with reference to Christ and the church." The δέ does not deny the plain sense of Gen 2:24 as applied to human marriage; it signals that Paul's own apostolic application (λέγω, first-person emphatic) is to a second referent — the Christ-church union.
ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω with emphatic ἐγώ (P-1NS) is a formula of apostolic interpretation — the first-person-emphatic plus λέγω with εἰς + accusative marks Paul's own reading of the scriptural text. Compare Rom 10:18–20 where Paul cites OT texts and marks his own commentary with ἀλλὰ λέγω / ἐγὼ λέγω formulas. The emphatic ἐγώ is not self-referential vanity; it is apostolic-exegetical warrant — Paul naming himself as the authoritative interpreter of the cited text.
εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν — λέγω + εἰς + accusative = "I speak with reference to / with application to / pointing toward." This εἰς is the εἰς of reference or direction-of-application, not goal-εἰς (as in v.31's σάρκα μίαν, where εἰς is transformative). Paul double-names the referent (εἰς Χριστόν … εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν) — one εἰς per member of the analogical pair. The double εἰς grammatically preserves both halves of the Christ-church union as distinct referents of the citation.
Word study: G3466-mysterion; G1577-ekklesia; G2776-kephale; G4561-sarx.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical anaphoric-near-demonstrative entry; gap flagged for canonical legō-eis-apostolic-interpretation-formula entry; gap flagged for canonical emphatic-nominative-pronoun-egō entry.

12. μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ (v.30) — predicate noun with partitive genitive¶

Form: μέλη (N-NPN, "members") is the anarthrous predicate-nominative plural of ἐσμέν (V-PAI-1P, present active indicative 1st plural of εἰμί). τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ is partitive genitive ("members of his body"). ὅτι (G3754) is causal — "because we are members of his body."
Significance:
Partitive genitive (Wallace 84–86): σώματος is the whole; μέλη are the parts. "We are parts-of-the-whole-that-is-his-body." Same idiom as 1 Cor 6:15 μέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστιν, 1 Cor 12:27 ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους. The partitive-genitive here anchors the analogy: husbands loving their own bodies (v.28 ὡς τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα) is right because the church (which the husband's love mirrors) is Christ's body (whole) of which we are members (parts).
The ὅτι (v.30) is the second ὅτι-grounding in the passage (first at v.23). Both ground the analogy-claims in Christ-church ontology:
- v.23 ὅτι ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλή … ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστός (grounding the wives' submission)
- v.30 ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ (grounding the husbands' self-love / church-love)
The 1st-person ἐσμέν shifts the referent — Paul stops saying "Christ … the church" (third-person) and drops into "we are members." This is a register shift from didactic third-person analogy to confessional first-person inclusion — the author-and-audience as the members in question. The shift prepares the reader for the universal-bride imagery of v.32.
Word study: G4983-soma (gap flagged if absent); gap flagged for G3196-melos.
Cross-reference: gap flagged for canonical partitive-genitive entry (also relevant to Col 1:15 πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως discussion).

Structural / Clause Analysis¶

Chiastic-analogical architecture¶

  v.21   ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ          [frame: mutual submission]
         |
  v.22   Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ     [wives → husbands → Lord]
         ↕ ὅτι
  v.23     ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικός                [GROUND: husband = head]
           ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας          [ANALOGY: Christ = head]
           αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος                        [ONLY-OF-CHRIST predicate]
  v.24   ἀλλὰ ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία ὑποτάσσεται τῷ Χριστῷ         [correlative ὡς]
         οὕτως καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἀνδράσιν              [→ οὕτως καί]
         ———————————————————————————————————————————————
  v.25   Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας                 [husbands → wives → Christ]
         καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν       [past aorist pattern]
         καὶ ἑαυτὸν παρέδωκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς                  [double-aorist act]
  v.26       ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ                             [ἵνα₁: sanctify]
              καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ … ἐν ῥήματι            [means/antecedent participle]
  v.27       ἵνα παραστήσῃ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἔνδοξον            [ἵνα₂: present-to-himself]
                μὴ ἔχουσαν σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα …             [negative: no blemish]
              ἀλλ' ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος                  [ἵνα₃: be-holy-and-blameless]
  v.28   οὕτως ὀφείλουσιν καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἀγαπᾶν            [οὕτως καί resumes analogy]
         ὡς τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα                             [one-flesh foreshadow]
         ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷ         [gnomic subst. participle]
  v.29   οὐδεὶς γάρ ποτε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν        [gnomic aorist]
         ἀλλὰ ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει αὐτήν                   [habitual presents]
         καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν                [4th καθὼς-comparison]
  v.30   ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ                [ONTOLOGICAL GROUND 2]
         ———————————————————————————————————————————————
  v.31   ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος                 [GEN 2:24 LXX CITATION]
         καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ
         καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν
  v.32   τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν                   [APOSTOLIC VERDICT]
         ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν    [DOUBLE-εἰς INTERPRETATION]

Repeated lexical and syntactic features binding the analogy¶

The triad κεφαλή / σῶμα / ἐκκλησία appears across vv. 23, 24, 29, 30 — the same triad as Col 1:18 αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος, τῆς ἐκκλησίας and Eph 1:22–23.
ἐκκλησία (G1577) occurs six times (vv. 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32) — the highest local density in Ephesians.
σῶμα / σάρξ doublet: σῶμα (v.23 σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος; v.28 τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα; v.30 τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ) pairs with σάρξ (v.29 τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα; v.31 εἰς σάρκα μίαν). The σῶμα-σάρξ alternation is deliberate: σῶμα in the Christ-church analogy (ecclesial organism), σάρξ in the Genesis-citation register (the "one flesh" of creation order). Paul thereby binds the two frames: the σάρξ-union of Gen 2:24 = the σῶμα-union of Christ-and-church.
ἑαυτοῦ / ἑαυτῶν cluster (vv. 25, 27, 28×3, 29, 31): the reflexive pronoun recurs as the structural marker of the self-referential loop that the analogy turns on — loving-the-wife is loving-oneself because she and he are one, as Christ-and-church are one.
Four comparative-adverb hinges (ὡς v.22, 23, 24, 28; καθώς v.25, 29; οὕτως καί v.24, 28) structurally fasten every exhortation to the Christ-church referent.

The final-position position of the citation¶

Paul does not begin with Gen 2:24 and derive the analogy; he begins with the analogy and ends with the citation. The Genesis quotation is the conclusion to which the paraenesis has been building. This placement makes v.32's τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο grammatically and rhetorically anaphoric to v.31's citation — "this [Gen 2:24 word] is a great mystery." The near-demonstrative τοῦτο cannot grammatically reach back past the citation to some more remote referent; the antecedent of τοῦτο is the Genesis word itself.

Cross-References¶

Grammar library:
mood-aorist-imperative — aspectual contrast with the present imperative ἀγαπᾶτε of v.25
aorist-passive-indicative — general aspect frame for the aorist indicatives ἠγάπησεν, παρέδωκεν, ἐμίσησεν
Gaps flagged for canonical entries on: ellipsis-and-verbal-gapping (v.22), middle-voice-of-hypotassō (vv.21, 24), ὡς-καθώς-comparative-adverbs, ὡς-οὕτως-correlative-pair, anarthrous-predicate-nominative (v.23 κεφαλή), present-imperative-continuing-command (ἀγαπᾶτε), hina-purpose-chain / telescoped-purpose-subjunctives (vv.26–27), aorist-participle-coincident-vs-antecedent (καθαρίσας), opheilō-complementary-infinitive (v.28), articular-participle-substantival (ὁ ἀγαπῶν), gnomic-aorist (ἐμίσησεν), legislative-future / futurum-legis (v.31), predicate-εἰς-Semitic (εἰς σάρκα μίαν), future-passive-reflexive-sense (προσκολληθήσεται), anaphoric-near-demonstrative (τοῦτο v.32), legō-eis-apostolic-interpretation-formula (v.32), emphatic-nominative-pronoun-egō, partitive-genitive (v.30).
Word studies:
G25-agapao — Christ's love and the husband's love
G26-agape — noun counterpart
G1577-ekklesia — the church, sixfold in this passage
G2511-katharizo — cleansing at the washing of water
G2776-kephale — head (husband / Christ)
G3466-mysterion — the great mystery of v.32
G4561-sarx — flesh (v.29, 31)
G444-anthropos — the "man" of the Gen 2:24 citation
Gaps flagged for canonical studies on: G435-anēr (husband/man, central term), G1135-gynē (wife/woman, central term), G5293-hypotassō (v.21, 24, implied v.22), G3860-paradidōmi (v.25, cross-idiom with Gal 2:20), G37-hagiazō (v.26), G3067-loutron (rare NT word, v.26 + Tit 3:5), G4487-rhēma (v.26), G3936-paristēmi (v.27), G299-amōmos (v.27), G3784-opheilō (v.28), G1625-ektrephō (v.29), G2282-thalpō (v.29, maternal-nurture word), G3196-melos (v.30), G2641-kataleipō (v.31), G4347-proskollaō (v.31), G4983-soma (vv.23, 28, 30).
Related passages in the library:
col-1-15-20 — the parallel Christ-hymn whose κεφαλή … τοῦ σώματος, τῆς ἐκκλησίας (Col 1:18) uses the identical lexical triad deployed here; Eph 5:23 and Col 1:18 read as cross-mirroring formulations of the same head-body ecclesiology.
Flagged for future passage entries: 1 Cor 6:15–17 (same Gen 2:24 citation applied to a different analogical case — union with Christ vs. union with a pornē); Gen 2:18–24 (the source text of v.31, for a Hebrew-grammar passage entry); 2 Cor 11:2 (the bridal παραστῆσαι parallel); Rev 19:7–9 / 21:2, 9 (the bridal eschatological fulfillment).

Textual Notes¶

v.22 — NA28/THGNT print the shortest reading (no verb). The verb ὑποτάσσεσθε is absent from ℙ⁴⁶, B, and the earliest witnesses; it is present in Byzantine witnesses and in early translations. The shorter reading is the critical text's choice because (a) it is the reading that explains the rise of the other readings (copyists supplying a verb), and (b) it is attested in the earliest and most diverse witnesses. The KJV's "submit yourselves" reflects the Byzantine gloss.
v.30 — some Byzantine witnesses add ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ ("of his flesh and of his bones," KJV "of his flesh, and of his bones"). NA28/THGNT omit the addition on early-manuscript grounds (ℙ⁴⁶, א*, A, B, etc.). The addition is a scribal assimilation to Gen 2:23 LXX ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου. The shorter reading leaves v.30's μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ more clearly grounded in ecclesial body-language (Paul's standard) rather than in a second Genesis-allusion.
v.31 — Paul's ἀντὶ τούτου for LXX ἕνεκεν τούτου is either an independent rendering of the Hebrew עַל־כֵּן ("therefore, on-account-of-this") or Paul's own paraphrase. Both ἀντί and ἕνεκεν can render the same Hebrew in different LXX traditions; the variation is not substantive.

Related: the paraenesis of Eph 5:22–32 is inseparable from Eph 1:22–23 (the Father "gave him [Christ] as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him-who-fills all-in-all") and Col 1:18. The three passages triangulate the same κεφαλή / σῶμα / ἐκκλησία ecclesiology in three register-variants: cosmic (Eph 1), Christological-hymnic (Col 1), and paraenetic-marital (Eph 5).