| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the circumstantial participle proskalesamenos {προσκαλεσάμενος | proskalēsámenos} ‘having called to himself’, marking background action that precedes the main verb. The partitive genitive héna tôn paidōn {ἕνα τῶν παίδων | héna tôn paidōn} ‘one of the servants’ limits the selection to a single individual within the household. The imperfect middle indicative epynthaneto {ἐπυνθάνετο | epyntháneto} ‘he was inquiring’ underscores repeated or ongoing questioning. The indirect question is introduced by the interrogative ti {τί | tí} ‘what’ plus the modal particle án {ἂν | án} and the optative eíē {εἴη | eíē} ‘it might be’, conveying uncertainty that is rendered in English with might or could. The demonstrative taúta {ταῦτα | taúta} ‘these things’ refers back to the commotion described in the preceding context. In both reconstructions, the participial clause is rendered to reflect its temporal-subordinate function, and the indirect question preserves its nuance of perplexity. |