| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the genitive absolute construction epitrepsantos de autou {ἐπιτρέψαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ | epitrépsantos de autoû} ‘when he had permitted’, setting a temporal backdrop. The subject appears with the nominative participle hestōs {ἑστὼς | hestṓs} ‘standing’, indicating Paul’s posture as he gains elevation. The locative prepositional phrase epi tōn anabathmōn {ἐπὶ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν | epí tōn anabathmṓn} ‘on the steps’ underscores his visible platform. The main verb katéseise {κατέσεισε | katéseise} ‘he motioned’ takes a dative of means tē kheirí {τῇ χειρὶ | tē kheirí} ‘with the hand’ and an indirect object tō laō {τῷ λαῷ | tō laṓ} ‘to the people’. A second genitive absolute, pollēs de sigēs genomenēs {πολλῆς δὲ σιγῆς γενομένης | pollês de sigês genomenês} ‘when a great silence had come about’, marks the effect of his gesture and introduces the speech event. The verb prosephōnēsen {προσεφώνησεν | prosephṓnēsen} ‘he addressed’ is modified by the dative of manner tē Hebraidi dialektō {τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ | tē Hebraḯdi dialéktō} ‘in the Hebrew language’, highlighting his choice of the audience’s native tongue. The participle legōn {λέγων | légōn} ‘saying’ functions as a discourse marker that leads into the following address. |