Grammar serving theology: 'Elç' and the Markan Baptism narrative

Certain grammatical and syntactical elements of the Greek language employed by the Gospel writers have been characterized as "improper" or "demotic". This is especially true of their treatment of prepositions. However, our analysis shows that the evangelists used extraordinary grammatical constructs quite purposefully in order to convey complex ideas. We examine the use of the preposition elç in the baptism of Jesus in the gospel of Mark (Mark 1:9-10) and the narrative and grammatical synkriseis surrounding it, and suggest that its choice was not as a mere synonym for ϵv, but was calculated: being driven by literary and theological concerns.