| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the imperfect verb etrechon {ἔτρεχον | é-tre-khon} ‘they were running’, which provides an ongoing background action involving the subject phrase hoi dyo homou {οἱ δύο ὁμοῦ | hoi dý-o ho-moû} ‘the two together’, emphasizing shared movement. The contrastive particle de {δὲ | dé} links this action to what follows without breaking the narrative flow. Focus then narrows to the singular subject ho allos mathetes {ὁ ἄλλος μαθητὴς | ho ál-los ma-thē-tēs} ‘the other disciple’, whose distinct role is highlighted by the aorist verb proedramen {προέδραμεν | pro-é-dra-men} ‘ran ahead’, a punctiliar action contrasting with the imperfect. This is qualified by the comparative adverb tachion {τάχιον | tá-khi-on} ‘faster’, and the genitive tou Petrou {τοῦ Πέτρου | toû Pé-trou} marks Peter as the one surpassed. The narrative reaches its climax with the aorist elthen {ἦλθεν | ēl-then} plus the predicate adjective protos {πρῶτος | prō-tos} ‘first’, followed by the prepositional phrase eis to mnemeion {εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον | eis tó mnē-mei-on} ‘to the tomb’, indicating the goal of the running. In translation, the sequence of verbs (imperfect to aorist) is preserved by using progressive “were running” followed by simple past “ran ahead” and “came,” maintaining the contrast between shared action and individual precedence. The word order is slightly smoothed in English while keeping the emphasis on the other disciple’s speed and priority of arrival. |