| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two coordinated first person declarations, each beginning with a present indicative verb that highlights ongoing religious practices. The initial clause uses nēsteuō {νηστεύω | nē-steu-ō} ‘I fast’ followed immediately by the adverb dis {δὶς | dís} ‘twice’, establishing frequency. The temporal genitive phrase tou sabbatou {τοῦ σαββάτου | toû sab-BA-tou} functions as a genitive of time, idiomatically referring to the weekly cycle anchored in the Sabbath, so the sense is “twice in the week.” The second clause introduces another present indicative, apodekatō {ἀποδεκατῶ | a-po-de-ka-tō} ‘I tithe, I give a tenth’, with the direct object panta hosa {πάντα ὅσα | pán-ta hó-sa} ‘all things, as many as’, where hosa introduces a relative clause completed by ktōmai {κτῶμαι | ktō-mai} ‘I acquire, I possess’. This structure emphasizes that the tithing practice extends comprehensively to every acquisition. The asyndetic coordination (juxtaposing the two clauses without an explicit conjunction in Greek) creates a compact, emphatic listing of pious acts. In translation, the two clauses are linked with punctuation (formal) or “and” (dynamic) to convey the parallelism while preserving the focus on the speaker’s fasting and tithing as habitual disciplines. |