| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the neuter indefinite noun ouden {οὐδέν | oudén} ‘nothing’ in a fronted position to stress absolute negation, immediately followed by the existential verb estin {ἔστιν | éstin} ‘is’. The adverb exothen {ἔξωθεν | éxōthen} ‘from without’ limits the scope to external influences, with the participle eisporeuomenon {εἰσπορευόμενον | eisporeuómenon} ‘entering’ specifying inward movement toward a person. The modal verb dunatai {δύναται | dýnatai} ‘is able’ takes the aorist infinitive koinosai {κοινῶσαι | koinôsai} ‘to defile’, forming a clause of potential inability. A strong adversative conjunction, alla {ἀλλὰ | allà} ‘but’, introduces the contrasting assertion. Here the substantive participle phrase ta ek tou anthropou ekporeuomena {τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενα | tá ek tou anthrṓpou ekporeuómená} ‘the things issuing from a person’ functions as a collective subject, paired with the singular verb estin {ἔστιν | éstin} ‘is’, highlighting the group as a unified source. The predicate participle koinounta {κοινοῦντα | koinoûnta} ‘defiling’ identifies these internal elements as the true agents of impurity. This chiastic pattern contrasts external inability with internal causation of defilement. |