Acts 14:12 — ExegesisTAB

The verse is structured around the imperfect verb ekaloun {ἐκάλουν | ekáloun} ‘they were calling’, which portrays ongoing or repeated action in the narrative, indicating a continuing response of the crowd rather than a single momentary outburst. The coordinating particle te {τε | te} links this description to the surrounding context, while the double accusative pattern “ton Barnaban Dia, ton de Paulon Hermen” shows each missionary paired with a corresponding deity. The article ton {τὸν | tón} before each proper name underscores them as distinct objects of the crowd’s identification. The contrastive particle de {δὲ | dé} before “Paulon” adds a slight distinction between how each man is named. The causal clause introduced by epeide {ἐπειδὴ | epeidḕ} ‘because, since’ explains the rationale behind calling Paul “Hermes.” Within this clause, autos {αὐτὸς | autós} functions as an emphatic subject pronoun, “he himself,” referring back to Paul. The verb en {ἦν | ên} links the subject to the predicate nominative phrase ho hegoumenos tou logou {ὁ ἡγούμενος τοῦ λόγου | ho hēgoúmenos tou lógou}, in which the participle hegoumenos {ἡγούμενος | hēgoúmenos} operates as a substantive “the one leading” or “the leader,” modified by the genitive tou logou {τοῦ λόγου | toû lógou} ‘of the word, of the speech,’ specifying leadership in the sphere of public speaking. This genitive is best taken as an objective or descriptive genitive, indicating that Paul led with respect to the spoken message. In translation, the Greek participial structure is rendered as a finite copula plus a noun phrase (“was the one leading the word” / “was the main speaker”) to maintain clarity and natural English flow, while preserving the causal relationship introduced by epeide.