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Polyptoton

Many Inflections

Polyptoton is a figure of speech in which the same word or root appears twice (or more) in close succession, but in different grammatical forms: as a verb alongside a cognate noun, in different cases of the same noun, or as an infinitive combined with a finite form. Bullinger classifies it among the figures of addition because the repeated root-form adds emphasis — not through repetition of identical words, but through repetition of the same stem in an altered grammatical guise.

Etymology

Greek πολύπτωτον (polyptōton), compounded from πολύς (“many”) and πτῶσις (“fall”, “case”). The name refers to the variation in grammatical case or inflection of one and the same root. The Latin equivalent is figura etymologica — the “etymological figure” that makes the kinship of two forms visible within a single construction. Bullinger’s English designation is POLYPTOTON; or, Many Inflections.

Definition

The figure works because the reader or hearer encounters the same root twice, each time in a different grammatical form. That repetition conveys inevitability or absolute certainty: “in dying thou shalt die” is more final than “thou shalt die”. Bullinger identifies two main types: (1) the Hebrew infinitive absolute combined with a finite form of the same verb — the most frequent biblical occurrence — and (2) the combination of a verb with a cognate accusative noun (Greek and Latin). In both cases, intensification is the primary effect: the repeated root renders the statement absolute.

Bible Examples

Hebrew: infinitive absolute (verbal root in two forms):

• Gen. 2:17 — “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (מוֹת תָּמוּת, lit. “dying thou shalt die”). The absolute certainty of death lies in the doubled root, not merely in the verb. No uncertainty, no escape — polyptoton closes every exit.
• Gen. 37:8 — “Shalt thou indeed reign over us?” (מָלֹךְ תִּמְלֹךְ, “reigning shalt thou reign”). The brothers recognise the intensification as confirmation of Joseph’s dream — the absolute formulation is what disturbs them.
• Ex. 21:5 — “if the servant shall plainly say” (אָמֹר יֹאמַר, “saying he shall say”) — the servant’s free and deliberate choice is stated without ambiguity.
• Num. 22:17 — “I will promote thee unto very great honour” (כַּבֵּד אֲכַבֶּדְךָ, “honouring I will honour thee”) — Balak’s emphatic promise to Balaam, reinforced by the doubled stem.
• Hag. 1:6 — “Ye have sown much, and bring in little” (Hag. 1:6); the recurring infinitive absolute structure drives the whole indictment (cf. Hag. 1:9).

Greek: verb + cognate accusative (verb + cognate noun):

• Eph. 4:8 (citing Ps. 68:18) — “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive” (ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, lit. “he led captive-ness captive”). The noun (αἰχμαλωσία) and the verb (αἰχμαλωτεύω) share the root αἰχμ-: Christ’s triumph over the spiritual powers is expressed as an absolute, total seizure. Nee reads this verse in the context of Christ’s cosmic victory that forms the believer’s foundation for spiritual warfare.
• Acts 4:17 — “let us straitly threaten them” (ἀπειλῇ ἀπειλησώμεθα, “with a threat let us threaten”) — the Sanhedrin deliberates over the apostles; the cognate noun renders the intention absolute.
• Acts 5:28 — “Did not we straitly command you?” (παραγγελίᾳ παρηγγείλαμεν, “with a commandment we commanded”) — parallel construction in the same narrative sequence, presenting the council’s authority as absolute.
• John 3:29 — “rejoiceth greatly” (χαρᾷ χαίρει, “with joy he rejoiceth”) — the joy of the friend of the bridegroom is total; one root expresses its completeness.
• Jas. 5:17 — “he prayed earnestly” (προσευχῇ προσηύξατο, “with prayer he prayed”) — Elijah’s intense intercession as cognate accusative, followed by the confirmation that his prayer worked.

Cited prophecy: LXX quotation in the New Testament:

• Matt. 13:14 (citing Isa. 6:9) — “By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε … βλέποντες βλέψετε). Two cognate constructions in succession — the judicial hardening is doubly reinforced.
• Heb. 6:14 — “Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee” (εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω σε καὶ πληθύνων πληθυνῶ σε) — citation of God’s oath to Abraham in Gen. 22:17, double polyptoton.

Related Figures

• paronomasia — repetition of similar-sounding but not root-identical words; polyptoton repeats the same root, paronomasia plays with sound similarity across different roots
• epizeuxis — immediate repetition of the same word in identical form; polyptoton instead varies the inflected form of the root
• anaphora — repetition of an identical opening word in successive clauses; polyptoton repeats a root, anaphora repeats an unchanged word

Source

E.W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (1898), pp. 267-285.