| 46. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with the circumstantial aorist middle participle parresiasamenoi {παρρησιασάμενοι | parrēsiasámenoi} ‘having spoken boldly’, which sets the backdrop of courageous proclamation prior to the main action. The particle te {τε | te} lightly links this statement with the preceding narrative, while the coordinated subjects ho Paulos kai ho Barnabas {ὁ Παῦλος καὶ ὁ Βαρναβᾶς | ho Paûlos kaì ho Barnabâs} present the missionary pair in a marked, nominative position before the verb. The aorist indicative eipan {εἶπαν | eîpan} introduces direct speech, with the dative hymin {Ὑμῖν | Hymîn} ‘to you’ specifying the Jewish audience in the synagogue. The clause ēn anankaion prōton lalēthēnai ton logon tou theou {ἦν ἀναγκαῖον πρῶτον λαληθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ | ên anankaîon prôton lalēthê-nai tòn lógon toû theoû} uses an impersonal construction (ēn anankaion) plus an aorist passive infinitive (lalēthēnai) to express divine necessity, with prōton giving adverbial prominence to Israel’s priority. The causal conjunction epeidē {ἐπειδὴ | epeidḗ} introduces the reason for a missional shift: apōtheisthe auton {ἀπωθεῖσθε αὐτὸν | apōtheîsthe autón} ‘you are rejecting it’ places the present middle indicative before the pronoun object, emphasizing the audience’s ongoing refusal of the message. The coordinated clause kai ouk axious krinete heautous tēs aiōniou zōēs {καὶ οὐκ ἀξίους κρίνετε ἑαυτοὺς τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς | kaì ouk axíous krínete heautoús tês aiōníou zōês} combines the negative particle ouk with axious as the object complement of krinete, portraying the audience as actively rendering a verdict on themselves with respect to participation in ‘eternal life’. The deictic particle idou {ἰδοὺ | idoú} marks a decisive turning point, drawing attention to the new action strephometha eis ta ethnē {στρεφόμεθα εἰς τὰ ἔθνη | strephómetha eis tà éthnē}, where the middle voice of strephometha underscores a deliberate, self-involving redirection of mission toward the Gentiles. The English renderings mirror the Greek progression from past bold speech, to statement of divine necessity, to the audience’s self-condemnation, and finally to the decisive shift in evangelistic focus. |