| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the historical present legei {λέγει | lé-gei} ‘he says’, a narrative device that makes the dialogue vivid. The indirect object autō {αὐτῷ | au-tôi} ‘to him’ refers back to the questioner introduced in the preceding context. The interrogative Poias {Ποίας | Po-í-as} ‘which ones?’ is accusative feminine plural, implicitly modifying ‘commandments’ and seeking specification within the broader category of divine commands. The reply is introduced with the aorist eipen {εἶπεν | eî-pen} ‘he said’, marking a responsive speech act after the question. The neuter article To {Τὸ | Tò} functions substantivally as a heading, roughly ‘The (thing is this):’, introducing the list that follows. Greek then uses a series of prohibitions each formed with the negative particle Ou {Οὐ | Ou} plus future indicative verbs: Ou phoneuseis {Οὐ φονεύσεις | Ou pho-neú-seis} ‘you will not murder’, Ou moicheuseis {Οὐ μοιχεύσεις | Ou moi-kheu-seis} ‘you will not commit adultery’, Ou klepseis {Οὐ κλέψεις | Ou klép-seis} ‘you will not steal’, Ou pseudomartyrēseis {Οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις | Ou pseu-do-mar-tu-ré-seis} ‘you will not bear false witness’. The future indicative here has an imperatival force, echoing the Decalogue’s legal style. The repeated Ou before each verb creates rhythmic emphasis and treats each commandment as a distinct, weighty prohibition. In English, the list is rendered with repeated “You shall not” or “You must not” to preserve this emphasis and maintain the second person direct address. |