Matthew 19:17 — ExegesisTAB

The verse begins with the narrative marker ho de eipen {ὁ δὲ εἶπεν | ho dè eî-pen}, combining the article used as a pronoun with the connective particle and aorist verb to continue the dialogue with a simple past-tense report, “But He said.” The interrogative Ti me erōtas {Τί με ἐρωτᾷς | Tí me e-rō-tâis} forms a direct question, with the neuter interrogative pronoun Ti functioning idiomatically as “Why” in context, and the present indicative erōtas giving the sense of a current inquiry, “you are asking Me.” The prepositional phrase peri tou agathou {περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ | pe-rí toû a-ga-thoû} uses peri with the genitive article-adjective phrase “the good” to indicate a specific, defined standard of goodness under discussion. The assertion heis estin ho agathos {εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός | heîs es-tín ho a-ga-thós} places the numeral heis in the emphatic subject position, yielding the theological claim “There is One who is good,” while the article plus adjective ho agathos personifies “the good” in a single ultimate source. The conditional protasis ei de theleis {εἰ δὲ θέλεις | ei dè thé-leis} introduces a real condition, “If you wish,” with the de again lightly contrasting the condition with the preceding statement about the One who is good. The infinitival phrase eis tēn zōēn eiselthein {εἰς τὴν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν | eis tḕn zō-ḕn ei-sel-theîn} uses eis with the accusative plus an aorist infinitive to express purpose or goal, “to enter into life,” with “life” understood contextually as eschatological life. The main imperative tērēson tas entolas {τήρησον τὰς ἐντολάς | tḗ-rē-son tàs en-to-lás} concludes the sentence with a clear command, where the aorist imperative has the force of a decisive, comprehensive response, and the plural “the commandments” refers collectively to God’s covenant directives as the path into that “life.”