Grammar Analysis: Revelation's Prophetic Time-Markers (Rev 11:2, 11:3, 12:6, 12:14, 13:5)¶
Scope¶
A cross-passage grammatical comparison of the five occurrences in Revelation 11–13 that share a single prophetic duration expressed in three equivalent units:
- 42 months (μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο) — Rev 11:2; Rev 13:5
- 1260 days (ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα) — Rev 11:3; Rev 12:6
- time, times, and half a time (καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ) — Rev 12:14
Cross-referenced with the Aramaic/Hebrew parents of the "time, times, and half" formula in Daniel 7:25 (Aramaic) and Daniel 12:7 (Hebrew).
All Greek parses produced by D:/bible/tools/greek/greek_parser.py. Aramaic/Hebrew parses produced by D:/bible/tools/hebrew/hebrew_parser.py.
Texts and Word-by-Word Parses¶
Revelation 11:2 — 42 months¶
Greek: καὶ τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ναοῦ ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν καὶ μὴ αὐτὴν μετρήσῃς, ὅτι ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσιν μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο.
| Word | Lemma | Strong | Parsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἔκβαλε | ἐκβάλλω | G1544 | V-2AAM-2S — Aor Act Impv 2sg ("cast out") |
| μετρήσῃς | μετρέω | G3354 | V-AAS-2S — Aor Act Subj 2sg (prohibition with μὴ) |
| ἐδόθη | δίδωμι | G1325 | V-API-3S — Aor Pass Ind 3sg ("was given") |
| πατήσουσιν | πατέω | G3961 | V-FAI-3P — Fut Act Ind 3pl ("they shall tread") |
| μῆνας | μήν | G3376 | N-APM ("months") |
| τεσσεράκοντα | τεσσεράκοντα | G5062 | A-NUI (forty) |
| δύο | δύο | G1417 | A-NUI (two) |
Clause of interest: τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσιν μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο — "the holy city they shall tread for forty-two months." The accusative μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο is an accusative of extent of time ("throughout forty-two months"), not a point-in-time accusative.
Revelation 11:3 — 1260 days¶
Greek: καὶ δώσω τοῖς δυσὶν μάρτυσίν μου, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα περιβεβλημένοι σάκκους.
| Word | Lemma | Strong | Parsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| δώσω | δίδωμι | G1325 | V-FAI-1S — Fut Act Ind 1sg ("I will give") |
| προφητεύσουσιν | προφητεύω | G4395 | V-FAI-3P — Fut Act Ind 3pl ("they shall prophesy") |
| ἡμέρας | ἡμέρα | G2250 | N-APF ("days") |
| χιλίας | χίλιοι | G5507 | A-APF (thousand) |
| διακοσίας | διακόσιοι | G1250 | A-APF (two hundred) |
| ἑξήκοντα | ἑξήκοντα | G1835 | A-NUI (sixty) |
| περιβεβλημένοι | περιβάλλω | G4016 | V-RPP-NPM — Perf Pass Ptcp Nom Pl M ("clothed") |
Clause of interest: προφητεύσουσιν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα — "they shall prophesy for 1,260 days." Again an accusative of extent of time modifying the future-indicative verb. The perfect-passive participle περιβεβλημένοι describes the state in which the witnesses prophesy across that span (see participle-perfect-passive-state for the state-describing function of perfect-passive participles).
Revelation 12:6 — 1260 days¶
Greek: καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἔφυγεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ὅπου ἔχει ἐκεῖ τόπον ἡτοιμασμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα ἐκεῖ τρέφωσιν αὐτὴν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα.
| Word | Lemma | Strong | Parsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἔφυγεν | φεύγω | G5343 | V-2AAI-3S — Aor Act Ind 3sg ("she fled") |
| ἔχει | ἔχω | G2192 | V-PAI-3S — Pres Act Ind 3sg ("she has") |
| ἡτοιμασμένον | ἑτοιμάζω | G2090 | V-RPP-ASM — Perf Pass Ptcp ("prepared") |
| τρέφωσιν | τρέφω | G5142 | V-PAS-3P — Pres Act Subj 3pl ("they may nourish") |
| ἡμέρας | ἡμέρα | G2250 | N-APF ("days") |
Clause of interest: ἵνα ἐκεῖ τρέφωσιν αὐτὴν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα — "so that there they may nourish her for 1,260 days." A ἵνα + present subjunctive purpose clause; the accusative is again extent of time over which the nourishing continues. The present aspect signals an ongoing, iterated/durative action through the span.
Revelation 12:14 — time, times, and half a time¶
Greek: καὶ ἐδόθησαν τῇ γυναικὶ αἱ δύο πτέρυγες τοῦ ἀετοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου, ἵνα πέτηται εἰς τὴν ἔρημον εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς, ὅπου τρέφεται ἐκεῖ καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ ὄφεως.
| Word | Lemma | Strong | Parsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἐδόθησαν | δίδωμι | G1325 | V-API-3P — Aor Pass Ind 3pl ("were given") |
| πέτηται | πέτομαι | G4072 | V-PNS-3S — Pres Mid/Pass Subj 3sg ("she might fly") |
| τρέφεται | τρέφω | G5142 | V-PPI-3S — Pres Pass Ind 3sg ("she is nourished") |
| καιρὸν | καιρός | G2540 | N-ASM ("time" — sg) |
| καιροὺς | καιρός | G2540 | N-APM ("times" — pl) |
| ἥμισυ | ἥμισυς | G2255 | A-ASN ("half") |
| καιροῦ | καιρός | G2540 | N-GSM ("of a time") |
Clause of interest: ὅπου τρέφεται ἐκεῖ καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ — "where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time." Present passive indicative (ongoing state of being nourished) with three accusatives of extent coordinated by καί. Note that καιροὺς is plural — the formula is literally "a time + times (pl.) + half a time," matching the Aramaic of Dan 7:25 (עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן).
Revelation 13:5 — 42 months¶
Greek: καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα καὶ βλασφημίας, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο.
| Word | Lemma | Strong | Parsing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἐδόθη | δίδωμι | G1325 | V-API-3S — Aor Pass Ind 3sg ("was given") |
| λαλοῦν | λαλέω | G2980 | V-PAP-NSN — Pres Act Ptcp Nom Sg N ("speaking") |
| ἐδόθη | δίδωμι | G1325 | V-API-3S — Aor Pass Ind 3sg ("was given") |
| ποιῆσαι | ποιέω | G4160 | V-AAN — Aor Act Infinitive ("to act / to do / to continue") |
| μῆνας | μήν | G3376 | N-APM ("months") |
Clause of interest: ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο — "authority was given to him to act/continue for forty-two months." The governing verbal form for the duration is the aorist infinitive ποιῆσαι, complementing ἐξουσία. The accusative μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο is an accusative of extent of time modifying ποιῆσαι. The aorist infinitive here is constative — it views the whole span of activity as a single bounded block — not a pointed/punctiliar sense.
Cross-Reference: Daniel¶
Daniel 7:25 (Aramaic)¶
עַד־עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן — "until a time, and times, and half a time."
| Word | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| עַד | עד | Prep | "until" |
| עִדָּן | עדן | Noun.ms.Abs | "time" (sg) |
| וְעִדָּנִין | עדן | Noun.mp.Abs | "and times" (plural) |
| וּפְלַג | פלג | Noun.ms.Cst | "and half of" |
| עִדָּן | עדן | Noun.ms.Abs | "time" |
Governing predicate: יִתְיַהֲבוּן (Hithpeel Impf 3mp, "they shall be given") — the saints/holy ones are given into his hand (בִּידֵהּ) for this duration. Same durational accusative/prepositional pattern (עַד + time-span), same structure: sg + pl + half.
Daniel 12:7 (Hebrew)¶
לְמוֹעֵד מוֹעֲדִים וָחֵצִי — "for an appointed-time, appointed-times, and a half."
| Word | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| לְמוֹעֵד | מועד | Noun.ms.Abs | "for an appointed time" |
| מוֹעֲדִים | מועד | Noun.mp.Abs | "appointed times" (plural) |
| וָחֵצִי | חצי | Noun.ms.Abs | "and a half" |
Governing predicate: the oath (וַיִּשָּׁבַע, Niphal wayyiqtol of שבע) states that when this span is complete (וּכְכַלּוֹת), "all these things shall be finished" (תִּכְלֶינָה כָל־אֵלֶּה). Again: sg + pl + half. Both Daniel texts supply the pattern that John's καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ renders word-for-word.
Master Comparison Table¶
| Location | Greek phrase | Unit | Governing verb (form) | Voice | Subject of the duration | Direction of the span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rev 11:2 | μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο | 42 months | πατήσουσιν — Fut Act Ind 3pl (πατέω) | Active | The nations / Gentiles tread the holy city | Durational accusative of extent; a span over which the trampling continues. Future tense is prophetic-predictive of the span, not of a repetition. |
| Rev 11:3 | ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα | 1260 days | προφητεύσουσιν — Fut Act Ind 3pl (προφητεύω) | Active | The two witnesses prophesy (clothed in sackcloth) | Durational accusative of extent; the witnesses' prophetic activity continues throughout the span. |
| Rev 12:6 | ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα | 1260 days | τρέφωσιν — Pres Act Subj 3pl (τρέφω), ἵνα-clause | Active (subject indefinite "they") | The woman is (to be) nourished in the wilderness | Durational accusative; present aspect = ongoing/iterative nourishment throughout the span. |
| Rev 12:14 | καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ | time + times + half | τρέφεται — Pres Pass Ind 3sg (τρέφω) | Passive | The woman is nourished in the wilderness, away from the serpent | Durational accusatives in series; present aspect = ongoing state of being nourished. |
| Rev 13:5 | μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο | 42 months | ποιῆσαι — Aor Act Infinitive (ποιέω), complementing ἐξουσία | Active | The beast acts / exercises the granted authority | Durational accusative modifying the infinitive; constative aorist views the whole span as a bounded block of activity. |
| Dan 7:25 | עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן (Aramaic) | time + times + half | יִתְיַהֲבוּן (Hithpe. Impf 3mp, "given") | Passive | The saints are given into the little horn's hand | Durational prep-phrase (עַד + time-span); parent formula. |
| Dan 12:7 | מוֹעֵד מוֹעֲדִים וָחֵצִי (Hebrew) | time + times + half | oath clause; completion predicate תִּכְלֶינָה | — | Completion of "these things" / shattering of the holy people's power | Durational (לְ + span); marks the span after which events complete. |
Central Finding: All Five Occurrences Are Durational¶
Every one of the five Revelation uses of this unit is grammatically durational — it describes an event extended across the span, not a future-literal repetition beyond it.
Evidence from the parser:
-
All five duration words are in the accusative — μῆνας (Rev 11:2, 13:5), ἡμέρας (Rev 11:3, 12:6), καιρὸν / καιροὺς / καιροῦ (Rev 12:14). In Koine Greek, an anarthrous accusative of time with no preposition is the canonical accusative of extent of time ("for / throughout / during X time"), not a point-accusative.
-
All five governing verbs are imperfective-in-span or prospective-in-span, never punctiliar-beyond-the-span:
- Rev 11:2 πατήσουσιν — future active indicative (progressive/iterative: "will be treading")
- Rev 11:3 προφητεύσουσιν — future active indicative (progressive: "will be prophesying")
- Rev 12:6 τρέφωσιν — present active subjunctive (purpose + ongoing)
- Rev 12:14 τρέφεται — present passive indicative (ongoing state)
-
Rev 13:5 ποιῆσαι — aorist infinitive complementing ἐξουσία; constative (whole-span) aorist, not punctiliar. The authority covers the span.
-
None of the five forms is an ingressive aorist or a future punctiliar pointing beyond the span. There is no grammatical marker ("after X months," "at the end of X days," μετά + acc., ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ + ordinal, etc.) that would redirect the unit into a point-event at the far end.
-
Rev 13:5 fits the same pattern as the other four, not a separate pattern. The governing verbal is an aorist infinitive with an accusative of extent — the same extent-accusative morphology that governs πατήσουσιν (Rev 11:2), προφητεύσουσιν (Rev 11:3), τρέφωσιν (Rev 12:6), and τρέφεται (Rev 12:14). The shared morphology (μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο, identical to Rev 11:2 down to the form) and shared syntactic slot (extent-accusative after a verb of ongoing action) place Rev 13:5 squarely inside the set.
Grammatically, the five forms say: "for this span, X happens." They do not say: "after this span, X happens," nor "when this span recurs, X happens."
Cross-Reference: Rev 12:6 + 12:14 with Rev 13:5–7¶
Beyond the shared duration, the parser output shows a striking overlap of actors and actions between the woman-in-wilderness scenes (Rev 12:6; 12:14) and the beast-warring scene (Rev 13:5–7).
Shared protagonist/antagonist structure¶
| Element | Rev 12:6 | Rev 12:14 | Rev 13:5–7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protagonist pursued | ἡ γυνή (the woman) | τῇ γυναικί (the woman) | τοὺς ἁγίους / οἱ ἅγιοι (the saints) — Rev 13:7 |
| Antagonist | (implicit — the dragon of 12:3–4) | ὁ ὄφις (the serpent = dragon, 12:9) | τὸ θηρίον (the beast), but 13:2 — ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ δράκων τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ("the dragon gave him his power") |
| Divine passive ἐδόθη / ἐδόθησαν | τόπον ἡτοιμασμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ (place prepared by God) | ἐδόθησαν τῇ γυναικὶ αἱ δύο πτέρυγες (two wings were given to the woman) | ἐδόθη αὐτῷ στόμα … ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία (mouth/authority were given to the beast) |
| Verb of action over span | τρέφωσιν (Pres Act Subj) — nourished | τρέφεται (Pres Pass Ind) — nourished | ποιῆσαι (Aor Inf) — to act; πολεμῆσαι (Rev 13:7, aor inf) — to make war |
| Duration | ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα | καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ | μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο |
Structural parallels the parser surfaces¶
-
Same divine-passive idiom (ἐδόθη / ἐδόθησαν). Rev 11:2 (ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), Rev 12:14 (ἐδόθησαν τῇ γυναικί), Rev 13:5 (ἐδόθη αὐτῷ … ἐδόθη αὐτῷ) all use aorist passive of δίδωμι to introduce what occurs over the span. The grammar frames the entire span as a permitted/granted period on both sides of the conflict: the woman is granted refuge, the nations/beast are granted reach.
-
Same dragon behind the beast. Rev 12:14 names the pursuer ὁ ὄφις (serpent), identified at 12:9 as ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας / ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος. Rev 13:2 makes the beast the dragon's delegate (ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ δράκων τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ). The parser shows the same lexical δίδωμι chain tying the dragon's giving (13:2) to the beast's receiving (13:5 ἐδόθη). So grammatically, the "beast acting 42 months" is the outward face of the dragon's activity — the same adversary John has been tracking since chapter 12.
-
Same duration, three units. The number 1260 (Rev 12:6) and the phrase "time, times, and half a time" (Rev 12:14) are standardly equivalent (1260 days = 3½ years = 42 months = time+times+half, on a 360-day prophetic year). The parser confirms the Aramaic/Hebrew parent of the "time, times, and half" formula in Dan 7:25 / 12:7. The same 42 months appears at Rev 11:2 and 13:5.
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Coextensive description, different angles. Rev 12:6 / 12:14 describe the span from the pursued party's vantage ("she is nourished / kept"); Rev 11:2 / 13:5 describe the same span from the pursuing party's vantage ("they tread / he acts"); Rev 11:3 describes it from the witnesses' vantage ("they prophesy"). Every vantage uses the same duration, the same ἐδόθη idiom, and the same durational accusative syntax. That is what a single span looks like when five scenes frame it.
No grammatical feature in these five passages signals sequential, non-overlapping spans. The accusatives of extent, the imperfective-in-span verbs, and the shared δίδωμι vocabulary cooperate to present a single coextensive duration viewed from multiple angles.
Key Grammatical Concepts Referenced¶
- Accusative of extent of time — Anarthrous accusative (no preposition) expressing duration; the standard Koine construction for "for X time." Operative in all five Revelation passages on the duration unit itself.
- Aorist infinitive + accusative of duration (ποιέω idiom) — At Rev 13:5 (ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο) the construction is the ποιέω + accusative-of-time idiom meaning "spend / continue / act throughout" a span (BDAG ποιέω §4.2; cf. Acts 15:33; 18:23; 20:3; 2 Cor 11:25; Jas 4:13). See aorist-infinitive-accusative-of-duration. This entry is directly relevant to the central finding: the aorist-infinitive + extent-accusative construction is inherently bounded-span/durational, not punctiliar-beyond-the-span.
- Future active indicative (V-FAI) — Predictive-progressive in prophecy; here describes the span of action, not its start/end point. Used at Rev 11:2 (πατήσουσιν) and 11:3 (προφητεύσουσιν).
- Present subjunctive in ἵνα clause (V-PAS) — Ongoing/iterative purpose; used at Rev 12:6 (τρέφωσιν).
- Present passive indicative (V-PPI) — State of ongoing reception of action; used at Rev 12:14 (τρέφεται).
- Constative aorist infinitive (V-AAN) — Views an action as a whole over a bounded span when complementing a noun like ἐξουσία; used at Rev 13:5 (ποιῆσαι). See also mood-aorist-imperative for related aorist-aspect discussion.
- Aorist passive indicative (V-API) — Perfective/external view of a past event undergone; at Rev 11:2, 12:14, 13:5 framing the grant of the span. See aorist-passive-indicative.
- Perfect passive participle (V-RPP) — State resulting from completed action; περιβεβλημένοι (Rev 11:3), ἡτοιμασμένον (Rev 12:6). See participle-perfect-passive-state.
- Divine passive (ἐδόθη / ἐδόθησαν) — Aorist passive of δίδωμι (G1325) with unexpressed agent, idiomatically signaling divine permission; appears at Rev 11:2, 12:14, 13:5 (twice), and 13:7. See divine-passive.
- Apocalyptic narrative prolepsis / visionary recursion — Genre convention in which the same span is viewed from multiple angles across separate καὶ εἶδον tableaux. See apocalyptic-narrative-prolepsis. Directly relevant to the Rev 12 ↔ Rev 13 coextension observed here.
Tools Used¶
D:/bible/tools/greek/greek_parser.py --verse "REV 11:2"/REV 11:3/REV 12:6/REV 12:14/REV 13:5D:/bible/tools/hebrew/hebrew_parser.py --verse "Dan 7:25"/Dan 12:7
All morphological tags (V-FAI-3P, V-PAS-3P, V-PPI-3S, V-AAN, N-APM, etc.) are taken directly from parser output, not from training-data memory.