| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the genitive absolute construction touto de autou lalountos {τοῦτο δὲ αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος | toû-to dè autoû laloûn-tos} “but as he was speaking this,” which supplies a temporal and circumstantial frame independent of the main clause. The aorist middle verb egeneto {ἐγένετο | e-gé-ne-to} functions idiomatically as “there came to be,” introducing the event and taking stasis {στάσις | stá-sis} “dissension” as its subject, so that the focus rests on the sudden emergence of conflict. The genitive phrase tōn Pharisaion kai Saddoukaiōn {τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων | tôn Pha-ri-saí-on kai Sad-dou-kaí-on} specifies the parties among whom the strife arises, marking them as the factions involved rather than the larger audience. The coordinating kai {καὶ | kaí} then links a second aorist clause, eschisthē to plēthos {ἐσχίσθη τὸ πλῆθος | es-khís-thē tò plê-thos} “the crowd was divided,” which presents the result of the preceding dissension in the wider group. English style prefers to convert the genitive absolute into a temporal subordinate clause (“as he was saying this” / “while he was saying this”) and the impersonal egeneto into more natural finite forms (“arose,” “broke out”), while keeping the sequence and cause–result relationship between the outbreak of party conflict and the division of the listening crowd. |