| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the correlative negative construction mete de hēliou mete astrōn epiphainontōn {μήτε δὲ ἡλίου μήτε ἄστρων ἐπιφαινόντων | mḗ-te dé hē-lí-ou mḗ-te ás-trōn e-pi-phai-nón-tōn}, where neither…nor coordinates “of sun” and “of stars” under the participle epiphainontōn “appearing.” This genitive participial phrase establishes a scene of prolonged darkness. The prepositional phrase epi pleíōnas hēmeras {ἐπὶ πλείονας ἡμέρας | e-pí plé-o-nas hē-mé-ras} indicates duration “for many days,” heightening the narrative tension. The genitive absolute cheimōnos te ouk oligou epikeimenou {χειμῶνός τε οὐκ ὀλίγου ἐπικειμένου | khei-mō-nos te ouk o-lí-gou e-pi-kei-mé-nou} describes a storm “not small” pressing upon them, with the litotes ouk oligou idiomatically meaning “very violent” and epikeimenou conveying ongoing pressure. The adverb loipon “finally” introduces the main verb periēreitō, an imperfect middle/passive that portrays the gradual removal of hope. The articular infinitive tou sōzesthai hēmas expresses the content of that hope: “of our being saved.” In English, the genitive absolute and participial constructions are rendered as temporal and circumstantial clauses, with slight rearrangement for clarity while preserving intensity and sequence. |