| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the fronted demonstrative hautē {Αὕτη | Haútē} ‘this,’ which highlights the statement that follows. The copular estin {ἐστὶν | estín} then identifies the subject as hē entolē hē emē {ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ ἐμὴ | hē entolḗ hē emḗ}, an emphatic article-noun-article-possessive pattern that marks the command as personally belonging to Jesus. The hina-clause introduced by hina {ἵνα | hína} functions as the content and goal of the statement: it specifies what the command consists of. Within that clause, agapate {ἀγαπᾶτε | agapâte} is placed early for emphasis and carries the force of sustained, ongoing action, while allēlous {ἀλλήλους | allḗlous} expresses reciprocal love within the disciple community. The comparative kathōs {καθὼς | kathṓs} establishes Jesus’ own action as the norm, and ēgapēsa {ἠγάπησα | ēgápēsa} presents His love as a decisive completed act that sets the pattern for theirs. The final hymas {ὑμᾶς | hymâs} keeps the focus on the disciples as the recipients of that model. In English, the structure can be represented either by preserving the subordinate clause or by converting the command into a direct imperative while retaining the comparison to Jesus’ prior love. |