“ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου”: Divine Passive and Relative Clause in Acts 9:17

Introduction: The One Who Appeared

Ananias says to Saul:
ὁ κύριος ἀπέσταλκέ με, ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου —
“the Lord has sent me, the one who appeared to you on the road where you were going.”

This relative clause identifies who sent Ananias. The clause is deeply theological—it ties Ananias’s mission directly to the risen Christ, who appeared to Saul on the Damascus road. The key verb is a divine passive (ὀφθείς) and the clause includes a locative relative construction (ᾗ ἤρχου).

Σαοὺλ ἀδελφέ, ὁ κύριος ἀπέσταλκέ με, ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου, ὅπως ἀναβλέψῃς, καὶ πλησθῇς Πνεύματος ἁγίου.

Let’s now turn to the embedded clause just before the purpose clause in Acts 9:17:

ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου —
“the one who appeared to you on the road where you were going”

This phrase uses two key grammatical features:

1. The divine passive participle ὁ ὀφθείς (“the one who was seen / who appeared”), and

2. A relative clause with ᾗ ἤρχου (“where you were going”) that modifies ὁδῷ (“road”).

Morphological Breakdown

1. ὁ ὀφθείς {o ofthís} –
   Root: ὁράω {oráō};
   Form: aorist passive participle, nominative masculine singular;
   Voice: passive (divine passive);
   Translation: “the one who was seen” or “who appeared”;
   Notes: Used frequently to describe theophanies or divine appearances. Jesus is the one who appeared—not seen by his own initiative, but revealed himself.
2. σοι {soí} –
   Form: dative second person singular pronoun;
   Translation: “to you”;
   Function: indirect object of ὀφθείς: “who appeared to you.”
3. ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ {en ti odhó} –
   Translation: “on the road”;
   Form: preposition ἐν with dative feminine singular noun ὁδῷ {odhó} (from ὁδός {odhós});
   Function: locative phrase specifying where the appearance happened.
4. ᾗ {i} –
   Root: relative pronoun ὅς {ós};
   Form: dative feminine singular;
   Meaning: “in which,” “where”;
   Usage: modifies ὁδῷ; the antecedent of ᾗ is ὁδῷ.
5. ἤρχου {írchou} –
   Root: ἔρχομαι {érchomai};
   Form: imperfect middle indicative, 2nd person singular;
   Translation: “you were going”;
   Notes: The imperfect tense implies ongoing past action—you were on the journey at the time of the appearance.

Syntactical Analysis: Appositional Participial Clause with Relative Expansion

This structure identifies who sent Ananias:
– ὁ ὀφθείς σοι = “the one who appeared to you” (Jesus)
– ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου = “on the road where you were going”

The participial phrase ὁ ὀφθείς is in apposition to ὁ κύριος, and the relative clause ᾗ ἤρχου restrictively modifies ὁδῷ. It tells us not just that Jesus appeared, but when and where.

Semantic and Theological Implications

The divine passive ὁ ὀφθείς reflects that Jesus revealed himself—Saul didn’t initiate the encounter. This fits the conversion pattern:
– God acts first.
– Human beings are confronted.

The phrase also grounds the authority of Ananias:
– He is not acting on his own.
– He is sent by the one who already appeared to Saul.

Literary and Narrative Significance

This clause creates cohesion between:
– The vision on the road (Acts 9:3–6), and
– The encounter with Ananias (Acts 9:17).

It provides a narrative confirmation:
– Ananias’ words match what Saul experienced.
– There’s no contradiction—the same Jesus is speaking through Ananias.

The One Who Appeared to You on the Road

The clause ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου is grammatically precise and theologically pregnant.

– He appeared,
– To you,
– On that road,
– Where you were heading—
not just toward Damascus,
but toward your divine reversal.