| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the imperfect prosepheron {Προσέφερον | pro-sé-phe-ron} ‘they were bringing’, portraying ongoing, repeated activity rather than a single event. The connective de {δὲ | dé} marks a narrative development. The dative pronoun autō {αὐτῷ | au-tō} indicates the indirect object, the One to whom the infants are being brought, while kai {καὶ | kaí} coordinates the direct object phrase ta brephē {τὰ βρέφη | tà bre-phē} ‘the infants’, implying that in addition to others, even infants are included.
A purpose clause follows, introduced by hina {ἵνα | hí-na}, with autōn {αὐτῶν | au-tōn} functioning as the genitive object of haptētai {ἅπτηται | hap-tē-tai}, yielding the sense ‘so that He might touch them’. The present subjunctive here expresses intended action rather than completed fact, emphasizing the desire for His touch.
The aorist participle idontes {ἰδόντες | i-dón-tes} is temporal, best rendered ‘when they saw’, and it introduces a new perspective, that of the disciples. Another de {δὲ | dé} signals this shift, bringing in the nominative subject hoi mathētai {οἱ μαθηταὶ | hoí ma-thē-tai} ‘the disciples’. The imperfect epetimon {ἐπετίμων | e-pe-tí-mōn} with the dative autois {αὐτοῖς | au-tois} portrays continuous or repeated rebuking directed toward those involved (likely the bringers). The sequence of imperfects (prosepheron, epetimon) highlights an ongoing clash between the people’s desire for access to Him and the disciples’ corrective response, which is important for the narrative tension that Jesus will subsequently address. |