| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with legousin {λέγουσιν | légousin} “they say,” a present tense narrative verb that keeps the dialogue vivid and ongoing. The dative pronoun autō {αὐτῷ | autôi} “to him” marks the indirect object and identifies Jesus as the one being addressed in the conversation. The interrogative-particle sequence ti oun {Τί οὖν | Tí oûn} “why then” ties the question logically to Jesus’ preceding statement, introducing a challenge based on perceived tension with Scripture. The subject Mōusēs {Μωϋσῆς | Mōusēs} “Moses” is fronted before the verb eneteilato {ἐνετείλατο | eneteílato} “commanded,” highlighting Mosaic authority. This verb governs two coordinated aorist infinitives, dounai {δοῦναι | doûnai} “to give” and apolysai {ἀπολῦσαι | apolûsai} “to send away,” which function as complementary infinitives expressing the content of Moses’ command. The object phrase biblion apostasíou {βιβλίον ἀποστασίου | biblíon apostasíou} forms a fixed legal expression “certificate of divorce,” with the genitive apostasíou specifying the legal purpose of the written document. The final infinitive apolysai, with its object autēn {αὐτήν | autḗn} “her,” clarifies the intended result of issuing the document: the dismissal of the woman. In translation, the Greek word order is slightly adjusted into a more standard English clause sequence (“They said to Him … Why then did Moses command…”) while preserving the logical connection introduced by ti oun and the legal nuance of the infinitival construction. |