| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The opening cluster polla men oun kai alla semeia {Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα | pol-la men oun kai al-la se-mei-a} front-loads quantity and addition before any action is named, so the sentence sounds like a summary headline. The finite verb epoiesen {ἐποίησεν | e-poi-e-sen} then states the completed action, and the postposed subject ho Iesous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho iē-soūs} keeps attention on what Jesus did rather than on Jesus as a new topic. The phrase enopion ton matheton {ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν | e-nō-pi-on tōn ma-thē-tōn} marks the acts as publicly observable to the disciples, not hidden or private. The relative clause ha ouk estin gegrammena en tō bibliō toutō {ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ | ha ouk estin ge-gram-mé-na en tō bi-bliō toú-tō} uses a periphrastic present to express a present state that results from prior writing: these signs are not included in the written Gospel. The verse therefore contrasts the many public signs Jesus did with the select material preserved in the book, preparing the reader for the Gospel’s deliberate incompleteness. |