| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the participial clause ho de emblepsas autois {ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς | ho dè em-BLÉP-sas au-TOIS}, where the article ho functions substantivally as “he,” joined with the postpositive de to mark a contrastive progression in the narrative. The aorist participle emblepsas precedes the main verb eipen {εἶπεν | EI-pen} in an attendant circumstance construction, portraying a deliberate, focused look that frames the solemnity of what is about to be said.
The main clause introduces a rhetorical question: ti oun estin to gegrammenon touto {Τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο | TÍ OUN estin to ge-gram-MÉ-non TOU-to}. Here, the copular verb estin links the interrogative ti with the substantival participle gegrammenon, modified by the demonstrative touto. This structure foregrounds “this written thing” as an authoritative scriptural statement whose meaning is being challenged: “What, then, is this Scripture?”
The quotation itself consists of two closely connected clauses. The first is an object-like phrase, lithon hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes {Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες | LÍ-thon HON ap-e-do-KÍ-ma-san HOI oi-ko-do-MOUN-tes}, where the relative pronoun hon refers back to lithon, and the finite verb apedokimasan is active, with hoi oikodomountes (“the ones building, the builders”) as its subject. This clause emphasizes the decisive, active rejection carried out by those who should have recognized the stone’s value.
The second clause, houtos egenethe eis kephalen gonias {οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας | HOU-tos e-ge-NÉ-thē EIS ke-pha-LĒN go-NÍ-as}, introduces the demonstrative houtos as the grammatical subject of egenethe. The passive verb with the preposition eis plus accusative expresses a change-of-status construction: “this one was made, became, into head of a corner.” The relative positioning of houtos after the mention of rejection heightens the paradoxical reversal: the very stone despised by the builders is the one that has been exalted to the chief position. The entire sentence is cast as a question, so Jesus’ use of the quotation functions both as an interpretive challenge and as an indirect self-identification as the rejected-but-exalted cornerstone. |