| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the object-fronting construction allēn parabolēn {παραβολὴν | pa-ra-bo-lḗn} ‘another parable’, emphasizing a series of illustrative comparisons. The finite verb elalēsen autois {ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς | e-lá-lē-sen au-toîs} ‘he spoke to them’ follows, with the aorist indicative presenting the speech as a completed account. The comparison homoiā estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn zymē {Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ζύμῃ | ho-moí-a é-stin hē ba-si-leí-a tōn ou-ra-nōn zý-mē} ‘the kingdom of the heavens is like leaven’ uses the predicate adjective and a dative of likeness to introduce a metaphor. The relative clause hēn labousa gynē enekrypsen {ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ἐνέκρυψεν | hḗn la-boû-sa gy-nḗ e-né-kryp-sen} ‘which a woman, having taken, hid’ employs an aorist participle for prior action linked to the main aorist verb. The phrase eis aleurou sata tria {εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία | eis a-leú-rou sá-ta trí-a} combines a genitive of material with an accusative of measure to define the leaven’s sphere. The temporal clause heōs hou ezymōthē holon {ἕως οὗ ἐζυμώθη ὅλον | hé-ōs hoû e-zy-mō-thē hó-lon} ‘until it was leavened whole’ uses heōs with a genitive relative to mark completion. The preserved Greek order in translation highlights the hidden yet expansive nature of the kingdom’s influence. |