QUESTION
What is the meaning of καὶ γὰρ in 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 in the Greek New Testament?
1 Corinthians 12:13-14 (NA27 with Mounce-Koivisto Morphology)
13 καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν, εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες εἴτε δοῦλοι εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ πάντες ἓν πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν.
14 Καὶ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἓν μέλος ἀλλὰ πολλά.
RESPONSE
καὶ γὰρ means "for even" or "for also” or “for indeed". καὶ is adverbial, and γὰρ is conjunctive. It is a fixed expression at the beginning of the independent clause that occurs 39 times in the GNT, in many books, primarily Pauline, but rarely Johannine. About 10% of καὶ occurrences are adverbial and most are conjunctive. The semantic force of this καὶ is quite light, and translators often ignore it.
γὰρ comes second because it is postpositive. If καὶ comes second after γὰρ, they refer to different clauses, for example Matthew 23:3, λέγουσιν γὰρ καὶ οὐ ποιοῦσιν “for they preach and do not practice.”
How do we know that καὶ is adverbial here and not conjunctive as usual? γὰρ is always a main inferential conjunction on a main clause (1042 occurrences). καὶ (9355 occurrences) is also often a main conjunction on a clause (over a thousand occurrences) but is never tolerated as a conjunction, either as a main or coordinating conjunction, on a clause that already has an inferential conjunction.
Generally, only one conjunction per main clause; γὰρ always trumps καὶ as the conjunction. This is intuitive for English speakers. We do not say “and for” unless for is a preposition. This rule contrasts with subordinating conjunctions like ὅτι. The subordinate clause takes a subordinator and may also take a coordinating conjunction καὶ ὅτι “and that.” This is also intuitive for English speakers. We say “and because.” These conjunctive grammar rules are firmly established statistically over large populations in the GNT.
— Dennis Kenaga