| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The participle epilabomenoi {ἐπιλαβόμενοί | epilabómenoi} ‘having taken hold of’ functions adverbially, coordinating temporally with the main verb egagon {ἤγαγον | ḗgagon} ‘they brought,’ which moves the narrative subject to a new location. The conjunction te {τε | te} ‘and’ links this participial clause to the main clause. The prepositional phrase epi ton Areion Pagon {ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄρειον Πάγον | epí tón Áreion Págon} uses epi with the accusative to indicate motion toward the Athenian council hill. The participle legontes {λέγοντες | légontes} ‘saying’ introduces direct speech attached to the same subject as egagon. Within the quotation, dunámetha gnônai {Δυνάμεθα γνῶναι | dunámetha gnônai} ‘we are able to know’ expresses a polite inquiry with a present middle indicative and an aorist infinitive of purpose. The nominal clause tis hē kaine haute hē hypo soû lalouménē didakhḗ {τίς ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ λαλουμένη διδάχή | tís hē kainḗ haútē hē hupó soû lalouménē didakhḗ} places the interrogative pronoun tis ‘what’ before its article–noun unit, highlighting the content sought. Modifiers around didakhḗ ‘teaching’—kaine ‘new’, haute ‘this’, and the participial phrase hupó soû lalouménē ‘being spoken by you’—emphasize its novelty and origin. The English arrangement “what this new teaching is that is being spoken by you” preserves Greek emphasis on both novelty and source. |