John 20:2 — ExegesisTAB

The verse begins with two present-tense verbs, trechei {τρέχει | tré-khei} “she runs” and erchetai {ἔρχεται | ér-khe-tai} “she comes,” functioning as historical presents that create vivid, ongoing action. The inferential conjunction oun {οὖν | oûn} links this movement logically to the preceding discovery of the empty tomb. The repeated prepositional phrase pros Simona Petron kai pros ton allon matheten {πρὸς Σίμωνα Πέτρον καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄλλον μαθητὴν | pròs Sí-mō-na Pé-tron kaí pròs tòn ál-lon ma-thē-tḕn} uses pros with the accusative twice, highlighting the two specific recipients of Mary’s report and balancing Simon Peter with the unnamed “other disciple.” The relative clause hon ephilei ho Iesous {ὃν ἐφίλει ὁ Ἰησοῦς | hòn e-phí-lei ho Iē-soûs} follows directly after “the other disciple,” with the imperfect verb ephilei indicating Jesus’ ongoing, characteristic love for this disciple rather than a single momentary act. The narrative present legei autois {λέγει αὐτοῖς | lé-gei au-toîs} introduces direct speech in a lively way. Within the quotation, Eran ton kurion ek tou mnemeiou {Ἦραν τὸν κύριον ἐκ τοῦ μνημείου | Ê-ran tòn ký-ri-on ek toû mnē-meí-ou} places the aorist verb Eran “they took” first for emphasis on the completed removal of “the Lord” from “the tomb.” The coordinating kai joins this with the negative clause ouk oidamen pou ethekan auton {οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποῦ ἔθηκαν αὐτόν | ouk oí-da-men poû é-the-kan au-tón}, where the perfect oidamen “we know” with negation expresses a settled lack of knowledge, and the interrogative adverb pou introduces the indirect question “where they laid him.” The third person plural subjects of Eran and ethekan remain implicit, reflecting Mary’s focus on the fact of removal rather than the agents. In translation, the historical presents are slightly varied (present in the formal reconstruction, more typical past in the dynamic) to remain natural in English while preserving narrative vividness, and the relative clause is kept closely attached to “the other disciple” to reflect the Greek structure.