| 38. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal prepositional phrase meta tauta {Μετὰ ταῦτα | Metà taûta} ‘after these things’, with de {δὲ | dè} linking this scene to the preceding narrative. The main verb erōtēsen {ἠρώτησεν | ērṓtēsen} ‘asked’ precedes both object and subject, while the object phrase ton Pilaton {τὸν Πιλᾶτον | tòn Pilâton} ‘Pilate’ comes before the subject Iōsēph {Ἰωσὴφ | Iōsḕph}, foregrounding Pilate as the authority whose permission is sought. Joseph is further identified by the prepositional phrase apo Harimathaias {ἀπὸ Ἁριμαθαίας | apò Harimathaías} ‘from Arimathea’ and the participial clause ōn mathētēs tou Iēsou {ὢν μαθητὴς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ | ōn mathētḕs tou Iēsou} ‘being a disciple of Jesus’. The perfect participle kekrymmenos {κεκρυμμένος | kekrymménos} ‘having been hidden’ functions attributively with the subject, presenting Joseph’s secrecy as a settled state. The causal prepositional phrase dia ton phobon tōn Ioudaiōn {διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων | dià tòn phóbon tōn Ioudaíōn} ‘because of fear of the Jews’ explains the reason for this secrecy, with dia marking cause. The purpose of Joseph’s request is expressed by the hina-clause hina arē to sōma tou Iēsou {ἵνα ἄρῃ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ | hína árē tò sôma tou Iēsou} ‘in order that he might take away the body of Jesus’, where the aorist subjunctive arē signals an action contingent on Pilate’s approval. The narrative then reports the response with epetrepsen ho Pilatos {ἐπέτρεψεν ὁ Πιλᾶτος | epétrepsen ho Pilâtos} ‘Pilate permitted’, followed by the inferential particle oun {οὖν | oûn} and the aorist verbs ēlthen … kai ēren {ἦλθεν … καὶ ἦρεν | ḗlthen … kaí ḗren} ‘he came and took’, presenting Joseph’s actions as a completed sequence. In translation, the participial material is reshaped into relative and descriptive clauses for clarity, and the hina purpose clause is rendered as an English “that he might” or infinitival “to” construction, preserving both the sense of request and the narrative progression. |