| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the second person plural imperative aphete {ἄφετε | á-phe-te} ‘allow, permit’, which governs the complementary infinitive synauxanesthai {συναυξάνεσθαι | sy-naux-á-ne-sthai} ‘to grow together’. This pairing issues a command not to separate prematurely. The object amphotera {ἀμφότερα | am-phó-te-ra} ‘both things’ refers back to the wheat and weeds, holding them in unified tension. The temporal prepositional phrase mechri tou therismou {μέχρι τοῦ θερισμοῦ | mé-khri tou the-ris-moû} ‘until the harvest’ sets an eschatological boundary, reiterated by en kairo tou therismou {ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ | èn kai-rṓ tou the-ris-moû} ‘in the season of the harvest’. The future indicative erō {ἐρῶ | e-rṓ} ‘I will say’ introduces the upcoming directive, while the dative dos theristais {τοῖς θερισταῖς | toîs the-ris-tâis} ‘to the reapers’ designates those who execute judgment. Within His quotation, the aorist imperatives syllexate {Συλλέξατε | syl-léx-a-te} ‘gather’ and dēsate {δήσατε | dḗ-sa-te} ‘bind’ structure a sequential process applied first to the zizania {ζιζάνια | zi-zá-ni-a} ‘weeds’. The purpose clause pros to katakausai auta {πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά | pròs tò ka-ta-kaú-sai au-tá} clarifies their destined destruction. The adversative de {δὲ | dè} ‘but’ contrasts with the subsequent verb synagagete {συναγάγετε | sy-na-ga-gé-te} ‘gather together’ applied to the siton {σῖτον | sí-ton} ‘wheat’, finalized by eis tēn apothēkēn mou {εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου | eîs tḗn a-po-thḗ-kēn mou} ‘into my barn’, which denotes preservation and ownership. The parallel imperatives emphasize the decisive separation enacted at the appointed time. |