Matthew 15:29 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with kai {Καὶ | Kaí} as a narrative connector linking this scene to the previous one. The first participial clause, metabas ekeithen {μεταβὰς ἐκεῖθεν | me-ta-bás e-KEI-then} ‘having departed from there’, uses an aorist participle to denote action anterior to the main verb, marking a completed transition from the prior location. The subject ho Iesous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho Iē-soûs} follows, a typical narrative pattern where the participle precedes the explicit subject. The main finite verb elthen {ἦλθεν | Ēl-then} governs the first movement, with the prepositional phrase para ten thalassan tes Galilaias {παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας | pa-rá tḕn thá-las-san tês Ga-li-laí-as} specifying destination: “beside the sea of Galilee,” where para with the accusative emphasizes proximity along the shoreline. A second aorist participle, anabas {ἀναβὰς | a-na-bás} ‘having gone up’, introduces a subsequent movement that is still logically subordinate to the final imperfect verb. The directional prepositional phrase eis to oros {εἰς τὸ ὄρος | eis tò ó-ros} describes ascent “into the mountain,” probably highlighting a significant elevated setting. The clause concludes with ekatheto ekei {ἐκάθητο ἐκεῖ | e-ká-thē-to e-keí}, where the imperfect middle ekatheto depicts a durative or stative posture (“He was sitting”), and ekei reinforces location “there,” closing the movement sequence with a settled state. In translation, the two aorist participles were rendered as temporal clauses (“having departed,” “having gone up”) in the formal reconstruction to preserve the sequential aspect and dependence on the main verb, while the dynamic reconstruction converted them into simple finite verbs (“left,” “climbed up”) to yield smoother narrative flow in contemporary English. The single Greek sentence was divided into two English sentences in the dynamic rendering to distinguish clearly between the journey along the lake and the settled position on the hill, while still reflecting the progression from movement to stationary presence signaled by the Greek aspectual pattern.