τὸν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 τὸν

   ton

   the
2. sentence🔊 Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς Πῶς λέγουσιν τὸν χριστὸν εἶναι Δαυὶδ υἱόν

   EI-pen de pros au-TOUS PÔS LE-gou-sin ton khri-STON EI-nai DAU-id hy-ON

   He said and to them How do they say the Christ to be David son

Exegesis

The object clause is formed by tòn christòn {τὸν χριστὸν | tòn khri-stòn} ‘the Christ’ with the infinitive einai {εἶναι | eî-nai} ‘to be’ plus the predicate accusative Dauid huion {Δαυὶδ υἱόν | Da-uìd hu-ión} ‘David’s son.’ This infinitival construction functions as an indirect statement, reporting what “they say” about the Messiah’s identity. Greek places the infinitive and its predicate after the object noun, giving climactic focus to the messianic lineage from David. In translation, this is rendered as a natural English direct question while preserving the theological emphasis on the relationship between “the Christ” and “David’s son.” The question operates rhetorically, setting up Jesus’ subsequent argument that the Messiah is both David’s descendant and his Lord.