| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the coordinating conjunction kai {καὶ | kaì} ‘and’, linking this request to the unfolding narrative. The phrase ho neōteros autōn {ὁ νεώτερος αὐτῶν | ho neō-té-ros au-tôn} ‘the younger of them’ employs a comparative adjective with a genitive plural pronoun to distinguish one son. The indirect object tō patri {τῷ πατρί | tô pa-trí} ‘to the father’ precedes the vocative Páter {Πάτερ | pá-ter} for direct address. The aorist imperative dós {δός | dós} ‘give’ governs the dative pronoun moi {μοι | moi} ‘to me’, and the object is the articular participial phrase tò epibállon méros {τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος | tò e-pi-bál-lon mé-ros} ‘the portion that is coming’, with epibállon functioning adjectivally. The genitive tês ousías {τῆς οὐσίας | tês ou-sí-as} ‘of the estate’ specifies the source. The transition ho dè {ὁ δὲ | ho dè}, often rendered ‘then’, introduces a contrasted action, and the aorist dieîlen {διεῖλεν | di-eî-len} ‘he divided’ takes autoîs {αὐτοῖς | au-toîs} ‘to them’ and tòn bíon {τὸν βίον | tòn bí-on} ‘the livelihood’ to describe the distribution of the father’s means between his sons. |