| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The temporal conjunction hote de {ὅτε δὲ | hó-te dè} ‘But when’ sets up the elder brother’s objection. The phrase ho huios sou houtos {ὁ υἱός σου οὗτος | ho hu-i-ós sou hoû-tos} positions the demonstrative after the possessive to convey ‘this son of yours.’ The participle kataphagōn {καταφαγών | ka-ta-pha-gṓn} with sou ton bion {σου τὸν βίον} marks prior misuse ‘having devoured your livelihood,’ and meta pornōn {μετὰ πορνῶν} specifies the disreputable context. The main verbs ēlthen … ethysas {ἦλθεν … ἔθυσας | ēl-then … é-thy-sas} link arrival and response, where ethysas denotes a ritual sacrifice. The dative autō {αὐτῷ | au-tō} marks the beneficiary, and ton siteutón mó-schon {τὸν σιτευτὸν μόσχον | ton si-teu-tòn mó-schon} highlights the specially fed calf reserved for celebration. The translation renders the participle as a relative clause and preserves the narrative contrast in English order. |