| 34. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with the article–particle sequence hoi de {οἱ δὲ | hoî dè}, where de functions as a post-positive conjunction giving a mild contrast, rendered as “But.” The aorist verb eipan {εἶπαν | eî-pan} introduces a main clause of speaking, followed by hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} marking the content of what is said, which then appears as direct speech in translation. Within the clause ho kyrios autou chreian echei {Ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἔχει | hò kú-ri-os au-toû khreí-an é-khei}, the nominative ho kyrios {Ὁ κύριος | hò kú-ri-os} is the subject, explicitly titled “the Lord,” while autou {αὐτοῦ | au-toû} is a genitive referring back to the animal mentioned in the preceding verse, indicating that the Lord regards it as His. The accusative chreian {χρείαν | khreí-an} functions as the internal object of echei {ἔχει | é-khei}, forming the idiom “to have need,” literally “need has.” English requires reordering this to “has need of it” or “needs it,” and it requires an explicit object pronoun “it” to convey the understood referent. The structure places “the Lord” first in the clause, foregrounding His authority and claim before the expression of necessity, which is reflected in translation by preserving “The Lord” as the prominent subject of the request. |