John 10:41 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with kai {καὶ | kaí} ‘and’ as a simple narrative linker, carrying the reader forward from the prior scene. polloi {πολλοὶ | pol-loí} ‘many’ functions as the plural subject of ēlthon {ἦλθον | êl-thon} ‘they came,’ with the aorist presenting the approach as a completed event. The preposition pros {πρὸς | prós} with the accusative auton {αὐτὸν | au-tón} ‘him’ marks directional movement toward Jesus, not mere association. A second kai {καὶ | kaí} joins the speech clause, while elegon {ἔλεγον | é-le-gon} ‘they were saying’ shifts to the imperfect, portraying repeated or ongoing report rather than a single utterance. Hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} ‘that’ introduces the content of the saying. Inside the quotation, the men ... de {μὲν ... δὲ | mén ... dé} pattern creates a balanced contrast: one clause denies any validating action from John, and the other affirms the total truthfulness of what he said. The fronted object sēmeion {σημεῖον | sē-meî-on} ‘sign’ gives prominence to the absence of a miracle-sign, while ouden {οὐδέν | ou-dén} ‘nothing’ intensifies the negation. The phrase panta hosa {πάντα ὅσα | pán-ta hó-sa} ‘everything that’ is an inclusive totality expression, making John’s witness comprehensive. The aorist eipen {εἶπεν | ei-pen} ‘he said’ summarizes his testimony, peri toutou {περὶ τούτου | pe-rí toú-tou} ‘concerning this one’ identifies the subject of that testimony, and the predicate adjective alēthē {ἀληθῆ | a-lē-thê} ‘true’ with ēn {ἦν | ên} ‘was’ states the settled conclusion: John’s words about Jesus were in fact true.