| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with the nominative phrase ho theos tou laou toutou Israēl {ὁ θεὸς τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου Ἰσραὴλ | ho theós tou laou toútou Israḗl}, where the head noun theos is qualified by the genitive tou laou toutou, forming an attributive genitive “the God of this people,” and further specified appositionally by Israēl, identifying the people as Israel. The aorist middle verb exelexato {ἐξελέξατο | exelÉxato} functions as the main verb of the first clause, with tous pateras hēmōn {τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν | toûs patéras hēmôn} as its direct object, marking God’s decisive initiative in choosing “our fathers.” The coordination with kai ton laon hypsōsen {καὶ τὸν λαὸν ὕψωσεν | kaí tón laón hýpsōsen} introduces a second aorist verb, hypsōsen, sharing the same subject (God) and taking ton laon as its object, describing how He “exalted” or “made great” the people. The prepositional phrase en tē paroikia {ἐν τῇ παροικίᾳ | en tē paroikía} is further qualified by en gē Aigyptou {ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτου | en gē Aigýptou}, yielding a locative-temporal setting “during the sojourn in the land of Egypt,” with paroikia conveying their status as resident aliens rather than permanent citizens. The next coordinated clause with kai meta brachiōnos hypsēlou exēgagen autous ex autēs {καὶ μετὰ βραχίονος ὑψηλοῦ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ἐξ αὐτῆς | kaí metá brachíōnos hypsēloû exḗgagen autoús ex autês} presents another aorist main verb, exēgagen, again with God as implicit subject and autous as object, narrating the climactic act of deliverance. The prepositional phrase meta brachiōnos hypsēlou expresses means or accompaniment, “with an uplifted arm,” a metaphorical anthropomorphism for manifest power, while ex autēs refers back to Egypt as the place from which they were brought out. English renderings reflect the asyndetic sequence of divine actions (chose, exalted, led out), preserve the temporal and locative nuance of the en-phrases by using “while” and “in,” and maintain the metaphor of the raised arm to retain the imagery of powerful, public deliverance. |