| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the dative kairō {καιρῷ | kai-rôi} functioning as a temporal datival phrase, setting the scene as a particular, fitting moment rather than a generic time. The aorist apesteilen {ἀπέστειλεν | a-pé-stei-len} introduces the main narrative action, with pros {πρὸς | pròs} plus the accusative phrase tous geōrgous {τοὺς γεωργούς | toùs ge-ōr-goús} marking the farmers as the goal of the sending. The direct object doulon {δοῦλον | doû-lon} specifies that what is sent is a servant, anticipating later servants in the parable.
A purpose clause follows with hina {ἵνα | hí-na} plus the future indicative dōsousin {δώσουσιν | dṓ-sou-sin}, a common construction in narrative Greek where the future functions to express intended result or purpose: “in order that they will give.” The prepositional phrase apo tou karpou tou ampelōnos {ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος | apò toû kar-poû toû am-pe-lô-nos} indicates that what is owed is a share drawn “from the fruit of the vineyard,” tying the farmers’ responsibility directly to the owner’s property. The dative autō {αὐτῷ | au-tôi} marks the beneficiary of this giving.
The clause pivots with the adversative sequence hoi de geōrgoi {οἱ δὲ γεωργοί | hoí dè ge-ōr-goí}, contrasting the owner’s expectation with the farmers’ response. Exapesteilan auton {ἐξαπέστειλαν αὐτὸν | ex-a-pé-stei-lan au-tòn} deliberately echoes apesteilen, forming a rhetorical parallel: as he sent the servant to them, so they send him away from them. The participle deirantes {δείραντες | deí-ran-tes} is an aorist circumstantial participle preceding the main verb, best taken as temporal and manner (“after beating him, they sent him away”) and intensifying the hostility. Kenon {κενόν | ke-nón} stands predicate to auton, summarizing the outcome: the servant returns “empty,” with no fruit and bearing the marks of violence. The syntax thus heightens the contrast between rightful claim and unjust refusal, preparing for the repeated pattern of rejected emissaries in the wider parable. |