| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the main clause paredoka gar hymin en protois {Παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις | Parédōka gár hymîn en prṓtois}, where the aorist verb paredoka presents Paul’s completed act of transmitting the tradition, and the adverbial phrase en protois marks this content as primary in significance. The relative clause ho kai parelabon {ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον | ho kaí parélabon} functions in apposition to the implied object of handed on, specifying that the teaching is exactly what Paul previously received; the conjunction kai underscores the continuity of transmission. The conjunction hoti {ὅτι | hóti} introduces the content clause Christos apethanen hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn kata tas graphas {Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς | Christós apéthanen hypér tōn hamartiôn hēmôn katá tas graphás}, where the fronted subject Christos gains emphasis, and the aorist apethanen depicts His death as a decisive redemptive act on behalf of “our sins.” The preposition kata governs the accusative tas graphas, anchoring the event firmly “in accordance with” the authority of the Scriptures and highlighting the fulfillment of scriptural promise. The structure preserves the priority of the tradition and its rootedness in the written Word while rendering the Greek clauses clearly in English. |