| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with kai {καὶ | kaí}, which links this detail closely to the preceding description of the grave clothes and signals a continuation rather than a new scene. The articular noun phrase to soudarion {τὸ σουδάριον | tó sou-dá-ri-on} serves as the subject, and is immediately specified by the relative clause ho ēn epi tēs kephalēs autou {ὃ ἦν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ | ho ēn epí tês ke-pha-lês au-toû}, “which was upon His head,” identifying this cloth as the one that had covered Jesus. The negated participial phrase ou meta tōn othoniōn keimenon {οὐ μετὰ τῶν ὀθονίων κείμενον | ou metá tōn o-tho-ní-ōn keí-me-non} describes the face cloth by what is not true of it: it was not lying with the other linen cloths. The participle keimenon {κείμενον | keí-me-non} functions predicatively, forming a periphrastic-like description of its state. The adversative alla {ἀλλὰ | allá} introduces a sharp contrast, followed by chōris entetuligmenon {χωρὶς ἐντετυλιγμένον | khō-rís en-te-tu-lig-mé-non}, “apart, having been wrapped up,” where chōris emphasizes spatial separation and the perfect passive participle entetuligmenon {ἐντετυλιγμένον | en-te-tu-lig-mé-non} conveys a completed action with continuing result, suggesting deliberate arrangement. The prepositional phrase eis hena topon {εἰς ἕνα τόπον | eis hé-na tó-pon} expresses motion into a specific location, focusing attention on the orderly placement of the cloth. In translation, the relative clause is kept close to “face cloth” to preserve identification, while the contrastive structure “not with…but…” mirrors the Greek adversative relationship to highlight intentional separation. |