| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the aorist participle kalesas {καλέσας | kalésas} ‘having called’, which functions temporally to set the background action prior to the main verb edoken {ἔδωκεν | édōken} ‘he gave’. The reflexive heautou {ἑαυτοῦ | heautoû} specifies that these are the master’s own servants, marking a relationship of ownership and responsibility. The paired objects deka doulous {δέκα δούλους | déka doúlous} ‘ten servants’ and deka mnas {δέκα μνᾶς | déka mnâs} ‘ten minas’ are arranged in parallel, suggesting a deliberate, ordered distribution that the wider parable clarifies. The narrative then moves to the second finite verb eipen {εἶπεν | eîpen} ‘he said’, introducing direct speech that contains the key imperative pragmateusasthe {Πραγματεύσασθε | pragmateúsasthe} ‘do business’. The aorist imperative here calls for decisive engagement in commercial activity, not a single momentary act but a committed course of action throughout the interval implied by the following clause. The prepositional-relative phrase en hō erchomai {ἐν ᾧ ἔρχομαι | en hō érchomai} literally ‘in which I am coming’ functions idiomatically as a temporal expression, indicating the span of time up to the master’s return; this is most naturally rendered as “until I come back” or “until I return.” The Greek word order keeps the focus on the master’s initiative (calling, giving, commanding) and the servants’ ensuing responsibility, which is reflected in the English by preserving the sequence of calling, entrusting, and instructing. |