| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal conjunction hos {ὡς | hōs} introducing the circumstance under which the main action occurs, followed by the postpositive de {δὲ | de} to continue the narrative flow. The aorist middle verb paregenonto {παρεγένοντο | paregénonto} marks the completed arrival of the group to Paul, expressed by the prepositional phrase pros auton {πρὸς αὐτὸν | pros autón}. The narrative then shifts to direct discourse through eipen autois {εἶπεν αὐτοῖς | eipen autoîs}, a typical speech-introduction formula. Inside the quotation, the emphatic subject pronoun humeis {Ὑμεῖς | humeîs} placed before the verb epistasthe {ἐπίστασθε | epístasthe} highlights the addressees’ personal awareness: "You yourselves know." The temporal expression apo prōtēs hēmeras {ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡμέρας | apó prṓtēs hēméras} sets the starting point of their acquaintance with Paul, further specified by the relative clause aph hēs epeben eis tēn Asian {ἀφʼ ἧς ἐπέβην εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν | aph hēs epébēn eis tēn Asían}, indicating the precise moment he first set foot in the province. The interrogative adverb pōs {πῶς | pōs} introduces an indirect question describing manner: "how" he was with them. This is followed by the prepositional phrase meth humōn {μεθʼ ὑμῶν | meth hymôn} stressing his presence "with you," and the accusative phrase ton panta khronon {τὸν πάντα χρόνον | ton pánta khrónon} functioning as an internal accusative to intensify duration, "the whole time." The aorist middle egenomēn {ἐγενόμην | egenómēn} here carries the nuance of ongoing conduct or mode of life among them, not just existence. In translation, the indirect-question structure (pōs + egenomēn) is preserved by rendering "how I was with you" or "how I lived among you," while the temporal sequence is maintained from initial arrival in Asia through the entire period of ministry. |