| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The vocative Pater dikaie {Πάτερ δίκαιε | Pá-ter dí-kai-e} opens the prayer with direct address, fusing intimacy with righteousness and setting the tone for the contrast that follows. The clause ho kosmos se ouk egnō {ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω | ho kós-mos se ouk ég-nō} places se before the verb to spotlight the Father's person as the one the world fails to know. In egō de se egnōn {ἐγὼ δέ σε ἔγνων | e-gṓ dé se ég-nōn}, egō is emphatic and de marks a deliberate antithesis: Jesus stands in true knowledge over against the world's failure. The coordination kai houtoi egnōsan {καὶ οὗτοι ἔγνωσαν | kaí hoû-toi ég-nō-san} extends that true knowledge to the disciples, while hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces the content of what they know. The final clause sy me apesteilas {σύ με ἀπέστειλας | sý me a-pé-stei-las} closes the verse with the commissioning of the Son, so the Father's sending becomes the ground of authentic knowledge. The repeated aorist forms present the three know-clauses and the sending as decisive, completed realities rather than tentative impressions. |