| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with plen {πλὴν | plḗn} ‘nevertheless’, an adversative particle that sharply turns the discourse from the meal setting to a startling disclosure. Idou {ἰδοὺ | idoú} ‘look’ functions as a deictic attention marker, pulling the hearer into the moment. The clause then centers on he cheir {ἡ χεὶρ | hē kheìr} ‘the hand’ as the fronted subject, with the implied verb ‘is’ supplied in English. The genitive participial phrase tou paradidontos me {τοῦ παραδιδόντος με | toû paradidóntos me} ‘of the one handing me over’ works substantivally, identifying the person by the act itself rather than by name. The phrases met’ emou {μετʼ ἐμοῦ | metʼ emoû} ‘with me’ and epi tes trapezes {ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης | epì tês trapezēs} ‘on the table’ combine companionship and location, making the betrayal both relationally close and physically present. English smooths the Greek nominal clause by supplying the copula and by placing the location naturally at the end, while preserving the shock of the hand already present in the shared meal. |