| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the coordinating conjunction kai {καί | kaí} linking this statement to the prior narrative about Israel. The particle hōs {ὡς | hōs} modifies the temporal expression, giving an approximate sense, “about.” The combination tesserakontaete khronon {τεσσερακονταετῆ χρόνον | tesserakontaetê khrónon} forms an accusative of extent of time, indicating the duration “about forty years.” The aorist verb etropophoresen {ἐτροποφόρησεν | etropophórēsen} summarizes God’s past action with a constative force, presenting His sustained forbearance in the wilderness as a single whole. The pronoun autous {αὐτοὺς | autoús} functions as the direct object, referring back to Israel. The prepositional phrase en tē erēmō {ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ | en tē̂ erḗmō} is locative, situating the action spatially in the wilderness and evoking the theological setting of the Exodus wanderings. In English, the temporal phrase “for about forty years” is placed at the front to mirror the Greek emphasis on duration, while the implicit subject is made explicit as “He” or “God” for clarity. The semantic nuance of etropophoresen, which can suggest both “bearing with” difficult people and “carrying” or “caring for” them, is conveyed through choices like “bore with” and “patiently put up with,” preserving the focus on divine patience during Israel’s wilderness period. |