Mark 8:34

Although both σύν (syn) and μετά (meta) can be translated as "with" in English, they differ significantly in connotation and syntactic function. The preposition σύν, often used with the dative in Classical Greek, conveys a sense of unified or cooperative action, implying joint participation or mutual agency, especially in compound verbs (e.g., συγγράφω, "to write together"; συμπάσχω, "to suffer with"). By contrast, μετά, when used with the genitive, indicates accompaniment in a more associative or peripheral sense (e.g., μετὰ τῶν φίλων, "with the friends"), and with the accusative, it signals temporal succession (μετὰ ταῦτα, "after these things"). In verbal compounds, μετα- frequently implies change, transition, or movement after (e.g., μεταμορφόω, "to transform"). Thus, while σύν emphasizes active union, μετά is more flexible, often pointing to association, sequence, or transformation rather than coordinated agency.