| 41. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative verb eipen {εἶπεν | eî-pen} ‘he said’ followed by the conjunction de {δὲ | dè}, marking a transition to a new turn in the dialogue. The prepositional phrase pros autous {πρὸς αὐτούς | pròs au-toús} ‘to them’ identifies the audience, likely the religious leaders with whom Jesus is disputing. The interrogative adverb pos {πῶς | pôs} ‘how’ introduces a question that challenges accepted teaching. The present indicative legousin {λέγουσιν | lé-gou-sin} ‘they say’ depicts an ongoing, customary assertion held by others. 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. |