Luke 14:16 — ExegesisTAB

The verse begins with the clause ho de eipen autō {ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ | ho dè eî-pen au-tō}, where the article ho functions anaphorically to resume the previously mentioned subject (Jesus) and de marks a mild transition, often rendered “but.” The aorist eipen introduces direct speech, and the dative autō identifies the addressee. In the parable introduction, anthrōpos tis {Ἄνθρωπός τις | án-thrō-pos tis} uses the indefinite pronoun tis to present an unnamed “certain man,” a narrative device focusing on role over identity. The imperfect epoiei {ἐποίει | e-poí-ei} conveys continuous preparation, leading into deipnon mega {δεῖπνον μέγα | deîp-non mé-ga}, where the adjective intensifies the meal’s scale. The coordinating kai shifts to the aorist ekalesen {ἐκάλεσεν | e-ká-le-sen} to denote the completed act of inviting, with pollous {πολλούς | pol-loús} functioning substantivally as “many people.” This sequence of imperfect followed by aorist underscores first the extended preparation and then the decisive invitation, a structure preserved by rendering epoiei as “was making” in the formal and “was preparing” in the dynamic, and ekalesen as “invited.”