| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the historical present erchontai {ἔρχονται | érchontai} “they come” coupled with the adverb palin {πάλιν | pálin} “again,” signaling a renewed arrival into Jerusalem. The prepositional phrase en tō hierō peripatountos autou {ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ περιπατοῦντος αὐτοῦ | en tôi hierō peripatoûntos autoû} contains a genitive absolute participle providing circumstantial background (“while He was walking”) within the temple precinct. The narrative then repeats erchontai with pros auton {πρὸς αὐτόν | prós autón} to emphasize directed motion toward Jesus. The coordinated list hoi archiereis, hoi grammateis, kai hoi presbyteroi {οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς, οἱ γραμματεῖς, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι | hoi archiereîs, hoi grammateîs, kaí hoi presbýteroi} identifies the Jewish authorities approaching Him. In translation, the genitive absolute becomes a temporal clause (“while He was walking”), and the verbs “came,” “came back,” and “came up to” preserve the focus on movement in the sacred setting. |