| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal dative phrase tē de mia tōn sabbatōn {Τῇ δὲ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων | Tē dè miâ tōn sab-bá-tōn} “now on the first of the week,” where the dative marks time and sabbatōn, a Semitic loanword, is used idiomatically for the weekly cycle rather than only the Sabbath day. The subject is introduced as Maria hē Magdalēnē {Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ | María hē Mag-da-lē-nḗ}, with the article hē joining the personal name and geographical designation into a single identifying title. The historical present erchetai {ἔρχεται | ér-khe-tai} “comes” lends vividness to the narrative. The genitive absolute prōi skotias eti ousēs {πρωῒ σκοτίας ἔτι οὔσης | prōï sko-tí-as éti oû-sēs}, literally “early, darkness still being,” functions as a circumstantial temporal clause, indicating that Mary arrives before daylight has broken. The prepositional phrase eis to mnēmeion {εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον | eis tò mnē-mei-on} marks the goal of her movement “to the tomb.” The second historical present blepei {βλέπει | blé-pei} “sees” introduces the climactic observation. Its object is expanded by the perfect passive participle hērmenon {ἠρμένον | hēr-me-non} modifying ton lithon {τὸν λίθον | tòn lí-thon}, yielding “the stone that has been taken away.” The perfect aspect presents the removal of the stone as a completed action with ongoing result, and the prepositional phrase ek tou mnēmeiou {ἐκ τοῦ μνημείου | ek toû mnē-mei-ou} specifies that it has been displaced from the tomb itself. The English renderings mirror this structure by foregrounding the temporal setting, then Mary’s approach, and finally the discovered state of the stone. |