| 50. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the adversative particle de in hoi Ioudaioi {οἱ δὲ Ἰουδαῖοι | hoi dè Iou-daî-oi}, marking contrast with the preceding positive response to the gospel and foregrounding “the Jews” as the grammatical and rhetorical subject. The main verb parotrynan {παρώτρυναν | pa-rṓ-try-nan} introduces the first action, taking as its object the coordinated group tas sebomenas gynaikas tas euschemonas {τὰς σεβομένας γυναῖκας τὰς εὐσχήμονας | tàs se-bo-mé-nas gy-naî-kas tàs eus-chḗ-mo-nas}, a tightly bound noun phrase where participle, noun, and attributive adjective together describe “the devout, noble women.” The coordination continues with kai tous protous tes poleos {καὶ τοὺς πρώτους τῆς πόλεως | kaí toùs prṓ-tous tês pó-le-ōs}, “and the leading men of the city,” where the genitive tes poleos specifies the civic sphere of influence. The repeated kai {καὶ | kaí} throughout the verse creates polysyndeton, giving a stepwise, cumulative feel to the hostile actions: the same subject then performs epegeiran diogmon {ἐπήγειραν διωγμὸν | e-pḗ-gei-ran di-ōg-món}, “they raised persecution,” with the prepositional phrase epi ton Paulon kai Barnaban {ἐπὶ τὸν Παῦλον καὶ Βαρναβᾶν | e-pì tòn Paû-lon kaì Bar-na-bân} specifying the direct targets. The narrative concludes with exebalon autous apo ton horion auton {ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτῶν | e-xé-ba-lon au-toùs a-pò tôn ho-rí-ōn au-tôn}, where the aorist exebalon presents a decisive act of expulsion, and apo plus the genitive phrase emphasizes removal from the community’s territorial boundaries. In translation, separate finite verbs (“incited,” “stirred up,” “expelled”) are preserved to reflect the sequence of escalating opposition, while “district” and “region” render horion in a way that communicates civic jurisdiction in contemporary English. |