ἀντί carrying the general meaning of “in place of,” “instead of,” or “in exchange for.” It may also express opposition to. It is only used with the ablative case—the case of source or separation.
ἀντί may be used to express substitution. In Matthew 2:22, ἀντί conveys that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod after his death. In John 1:16, we find the expression “grace instead of grace.” Within the Church, women are not required to wear a head covering, for her hair is given in place of a covering (1 Corinthians 11:15). ἀντί may also be used to express exchange, as in Romans 12:17, where the grace believer is instructed not to render wrong in exchange for wrong. Likewise, in James 4:15, we are to seek the determined will of God instead of pursuing earthly opportunities.
In composition, ἀντί may convey the sense of opposition, as in Luke 24:17, where Cleopas and another disciple were walking along the road to Emmaus, discussing what had happened over the last three days. They had hoped that Christ was the Messiah, but He had been crucified and was raised from the dead three days later. The verb ἀντιβάλλω, meaning “to cast against,” indicates that their conversation was quite spirited.
In John 19:12, the Jews cried out against Pilate, declaring that he opposed Caesar if he released Jesus. The verb ἀντιλέγω is a compound of ἀντί (“against”) and λέγω (“to say, speak”). When it came to the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees spoke against it (Luke 20:27). Paul instructs grace believers who are bondservants not to speak against their masters or pilfer their possessions, but to demonstrate good faith, thereby adorning themselves with the teaching of God our Savior in all things (Titus 2:9).
ἀντί is used only with the ablative case, the case of separation or source. The semantics of substitution, exchange, or opposition in the ablative involve the idea of removal or separation, which is the core function of this case.
There is substantial proof that ἀντί, in the first century, carried the meaning “instead of,” while still retaining its classical sense of “in exchange for.” In Hebrews 12:16, Esau sold his birthright—the promise of God—in exchange for a bowl of lentil soup. The same meaning is conveyed in Romans 12:17 with the expression “an eye for an eye”: an eye in exchange for an eye.
When used with the pronoun ὧν, the preposition ἀντί carries the meaning “because of.” When Gabriel told Zacharias that his wife would bear him a child in their old age, he was unable to speak because of his unbelief until the child was born and he named him John (Luke 1:20). Likewise, when the man of lawlessness rises, through the working of Satan he will deceive those who are perishing, because (ἀνθʼ ὧν) they did not have a love for the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10).