| 42. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence opens with the emphatic subject autos {αὐτὸς | aû-tos} ‘he himself,’ which, combined with the postpositive conjunction gar {γὰρ | gàr} ‘for,’ underscores David’s own testimony as authoritative support for Jesus’ argument. The main verb legei {λέγει | lé-gei} ‘says’ is present tense, a common idiom in citation formulas that portrays Scripture as speaking in an ongoing way. The prepositional phrase en biblō psalmōn {ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν | en bí-blō psal-mōn} ‘in the book of Psalms’ specifies the literary source, with the dative biblō governed by en and the genitive psalmōn indicating the contents of the book. The quotation itself is introduced by the aorist eipen {εἶπεν | eî-pen} ‘said,’ which narrates the original divine utterance. Within the quoted material, kyrios {κύριος | ký-ri-os} functions as the subject of eipen, while the dative phrase tō kyriō mou {τῷ κυρίῳ μου | tôi ku-rí-ō mou} ‘to my Lord’ marks the indirect object, showing a Lord addressing another Lord. The imperative kathou {κάθου | ká-thou} ‘sit’ is a direct command, and the genitive phrase ek dexiōn mou {ἐκ δεξιῶν μου | ek dex-i-ōn mou} literally ‘from my rights’ is an idiomatic spatial expression for being seated at someone’s right hand, symbolizing conferral of honor and shared authority. The syntax thus presents a divine speech act in which one exalted figure is invited into a position of royal dignity, which Jesus uses contextually to raise the question of the Messiah’s status in relation to David. |