ὀψέ

ὀψέ — opsé

ὀψέ (apparently from ὄπις; see ὀπίσω, at the beginning), adverb of time, after a long time, long after, late;

a. especially late in the day (namely, τῆς ἡμέρας, which is often added, as Thucydides 4, 93; Xenophon, Hellen. 2, 1, 23), i. e. at evening (Homer, Thucydides, Plato, others; for עֶבֶר עֵת, Gen 24:11): (Mar 11:1-33 :( T Tr marginal reading WH text (cf. Plutarch, Alex. 16,1)),;.

b. with a genitive (Winer's Grammar, § 54, 6), ὀψέ σαββάτων, the sabbath having just passed, after the sabbath, i. e.: at the early dawn of the first day of the week — (an interpretation absolutely demanded by the added specification τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ κτλ.), Mat 28:1 cf. Mar 16:1 (ὀψέ τῶν βασιλέως χρόνων, long after the times of the king, Plutarch, Num 1:1-54; ὀψέ μυστηρίων, the mysteries being over, Philostr. vit. Apoll. 4, 18); (but an examination of the instances just cited (and others) will show that they fail to sustain the rendering after (although it is recognized by Passow, Pape, Schenkl, and other lexicographers); ὀψέ followed by a genitive seems always to be partitive, denoting late in the period specified by the genitive (and consequently still belonging to it), cf. Buttmann, § 132, 7 Rem.; Kühner, § 414, 5 c. β. Hence, in Matthew, the passage cited 'late on the sabbath'). Keim, iii, p. 552f (English translation, vi., 303f) endeavors to relieve the passage differently (by adopting the Vulg.vesperesabbati, on the evening of the sabbath), but without success. ((Cf. Keil, Comm. über Matth. at the passage.))