| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with agousin {ἄγουσιν | á-gou-sin} ‘they lead’, a vivid narrative present that drives the action forward and keeps Jesus at the center of the movement. The inferential oun {οὖν | oun} ties the scene to what has just happened before, so this is not a new episode but a consequence of the previous hearing. The source phrase apo tou Kaiapha {ἀπὸ τοῦ Καϊάφα | a-pó tou Ka-i-á-pha} marks the place of departure, while eis to praitorion {εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον | eis to prai-tṓ-ri-on} marks the destination and shifts the setting from Jewish custody into Roman judicial space. The temporal insert ēn de proi {ἦν δὲ πρωΐ | ēn de prō-í} is background information, with de creating a mild turn in the narration and proi locating the event at the start of the day. The clause kai autoi ouk eiselthon {καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσῆλθον | kaí au-toí ouk ei-sêl-thon} uses autoi {αὐτοὶ | au-toí} ‘they themselves’ for emphasis, stressing that the very people who brought Jesus forward remained outside the Roman residence. The repeated eis to praitorion {εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον | eis to prai-tṓ-ri-on} reinforces the spatial boundary and keeps the venue in view. The purpose clause hina me mianthosin {ἵνα μὴ μιανθῶσιν | hí-na mē mi-an-thô-sin} states the negative aim of avoiding ritual contamination, and the contrastive alla phagosin to pascha {ἀλλὰ φάγωσιν τὸ πάσχα | al-lá phá-gō-sin to pás-kha} gives the positive goal: preserving access to the feast. The grammar creates sharp irony, since concern for purity is preserved even while justice is being moved toward Jesus’ death. |