| 31. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the adverb eutheos {εὐθέως | eu-thé-ōs} ‘immediately’, setting the temporal context and heightening narrative urgency. The subject ho Iesous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho Iē-soûs} is introduced, followed by the aorist participle ekteinas {ἐκτείνας | ek-teí-nas} ‘having stretched out’, which functions circumstantially to describe the action concurrent with the main verb epelabeto {ἐπελάβετο | e-pe-lá-be-to} ‘took hold of’. This sequence presents a swift rescue movement: extending the hand and securing the person. The noun phrase ten kheira {τὴν χεῖρα | tḕn kheî-ra} ‘the hand’ emphasizes the concrete means of help. The narrative continues with the historical present legei {λέγει | lé-gei} ‘he says’, used for immediacy, governing the direct speech. In the address Oligopiste {Ὀλιγόπιστε | o-li-gó-pis-te} ‘O you of little faith’, the vocative singular of an adjective serves as a pointed rebuke. The question eis ti {εἰς τί | eis tí} ‘for what purpose/why’ governs the aorist indicative edistasas {ἐδίστασας | e-dís-ta-sas} ‘did you doubt’, conveying a probing inquiry into Peter’s momentary hesitation. The translation retains the participle-verb sequence as consecutive actions, preserves the historical present in the formal version for vividness while shifting to past in the dynamic version for natural flow, and renders the interrogative structure idiomatically as “for what reason” and “why” respectively. |