| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the aorist participial clause poiesas {ποιήσας | poiḗsas} ‘having spent’, which functions adverbially and provides a temporal backdrop for the main action. The object mēnas treis {μῆνας τρεῖς | mênas treîs} ‘months three’ follows normal Greek ordering of noun before numeral, rendered in English as “three months” for idiomatic clarity. A genitive absolute, genomenes epiboules auto hypo ton Ioudaiōn {γενομένης ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων | genoménēs epiboulês autō̂ hypò tôn Ioudaíōn}, introduces a circumstantial situation, most naturally temporal with causal overtones: “when a plot was made against him by the Jews.” The participle mellonti {μέλλοντι | méllonti} combined with the infinitive anagesthai {ἀνάγεσθαι | anágesthai} forms a periphrastic expression of imminent intention, “as he was about to set sail,” marking the precise moment that danger arose. The idiom egeneto gnomes {ἐγένετο γνώμης | egéneto gnṓmēs} uses a middle verb with a genitive of content to express the emergence of a firm judgment, functioning as the main verbal idea, “he resolved” or “he decided.” The articular infinitive tou hypostrephein {τοῦ ὑποστρέφειν | toû hypostréphein} specifies the content of this resolve, “to return,” while dia Makedonias {διὰ Μακεδονίας | diá Makedonías} adds a genitive prepositional phrase describing the route “through Macedonia.” In the translations, conjunctions such as “after,” “when,” “but,” and “so” make explicit the temporal and causal links that Greek presents more compactly through participles and the genitive absolute, preserving the narrative logic of a deliberate change of travel plans in response to a threat. |