| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is a carefully balanced sequence of first person movement clauses that compresses Jesus’ entire mission into one compact statement. `exelthon {ἐξῆλθον | exêl-thon} ‘I came out’` opens the sentence with origin language, and `ek tou patros {ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς | ek tou pa-tròs} ‘from the Father’` identifies the source of that movement. The next clause, `elelytha eis ton kosmon {ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὸν κόσμον | e-lḗ-ly-tha eis ton kós-mon} ‘I have come into the world’`, uses the perfect tense to present the coming as completed yet still effective in the present. `palin {πάλιν | pá-lin} ‘again’` marks a pivot in the discourse, turning the movement around. The parallel closing clauses, `aphiemi ton kosmon {ἀφίημι τὸν κόσμον | a-phí-e-mi ton kós-mon} ‘I leave the world’` and `poreuomai pros ton patera {πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα | po-reú-o-mai pros ton pa-té-ra} ‘I am going toward the Father’`, reverse the earlier motion and bring the statement to its theological destination. The three prepositions `ek`, `eis`, and `pros` create a deliberate from–into–toward arc, so the verse reads as a structured summary of preexistence, incarnation, departure, and return. The repetition of `ton kosmon` heightens the contrast between Jesus’ entry into the world and His departure from it. |