| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with egeneto {Ἐγένετο | egé-ne-to} “it happened,” a common narrative formula that introduces a new event, with de {δέ | dé} linking it to the prior discourse. The dative moi {μοι | moi} marks the experiencer of the event. The dative aorist participle hypostrepsanti {ὑποστρέψαντι | hu-po-strép-san-ti} “having returned” functions temporally, indicating a circumstance prior to the main experience and syntactically dependent on moi, so that the sense is “for me, after I had returned.” The prepositional phrase eis Ierousalēm {εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ | eis Ie-rou-sa-lḗm} specifies the direction and destination of that movement.
The coordination kai {καὶ | kaí} introduces a genitive absolute-like construction, proseuchomenou mou {προσευχομένου μου | pro-seu-kho-mé-nou mou} “while I was praying,” which gives a simultaneous action and further situates the event. This is refined by the locative phrase en tō hierō {ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ | en tō hie-rō} “in the temple,” focusing the scene within the sacred precincts.
The infinitival structure genesthai me {γενέσθαι με | ge-nés-thai me} combined with en ekstasei {ἐν ἐκστάσει | en ek-stá-sei} expresses the resultant experience: “for me to come to be in a trance.” Greek uses the infinitive with an accusative subject (me) to present the outcome of the previously described circumstances. English does not normally use such an infinitival clause for main events, so the translations recast it as a finite clause (“that I came to be in a trance” / “I suddenly fell into a trance”) while preserving the temporal and locative layers established by the participles and prepositional phrases. |