John 18:16 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with ho de Petros {ὁ δὲ Πέτρος | ho dè Pétros} ‘but Peter,’ where de {δὲ | dè} marks a narrative shift from the preceding scene. The pluperfect heistekei {εἱστήκει | heistḗkei} presents Peter’s posture as already established and still ongoing, so the line begins with a state rather than a new act. The phrase pros tēi thyrāi exo {πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ ἔξω | pros tēi thýrāi éxō} combines an adverbial location with a prepositional phrase to place Peter on the outside edge of the entrance. Movement resumes with exelthen oun {ἐξῆλθεν οὖν | exḗlthen oun}, where oun {οὖν | oun} signals consequence and narrative advancement. The subject then expands through the stacked articular chain ho mathētēs ho allos ho gnōstos tou archieréōs {ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ ἄλλος ὁ γνωστὸς τοῦ ἀρχιερέως | ho mathētḗs ho állos ho gnōstós toû archieréōs}, a layered apposition that identifies the person by relation and access rather than by name. The final coordination eipen ... kai eisēgagen {εἶπεν ... καὶ εἰσήγαγεν | eîpen ... kaì eisḗgagen} compresses two linked actions into a single progression: speech to the doorkeeper opens the way, and Peter is then admitted. The Greek syntax therefore moves from static exclusion to mediated entry, with the repeated articles slowing the identification of the intermediary before the decisive act of bringing Peter inside.