| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is composed of two coordinated clauses divided by the middle dot after hypage {ὕπαγε | hý-pa-ge} ‘go’, forming a sharp transition from command to explanation. The opening sequence aron to son kai hypage {ἆρον τὸ σόν καὶ ὕπαγε | â-ron tò són kaí hý-pa-ge} combines an aorist imperative followed by a present imperative, creating an urgent, completed action (“take”) alongside an ongoing motion (“go”), which together convey a decisive dismissal of the addressee. The noun phrase to son functions as a substantivized possessive construction, literally “the yours,” which naturally becomes “what is yours” in English to capture the idea of due possession.
The second clause begins with the finite verb thelo {θέλω | thé-lō} ‘I desire’, foregrounding the speaker’s volition and introducing the infinitival complement dounai {δοῦναι | doû-nai} ‘to give’. The structure thelo dounai ‘I desire to give’ presents the payer’s will as the controlling factor in the action. The dative phrase touto tō eschato {τούτῳ τῷ ἐσχάτῳ | toú-tō tôi es-chá-tō} ‘to this last’ singles out the final worker in the sequence, using both demonstrative and article plus adjective for emphasis. The comparative marker hos {ὡς | hōs} with kai soi {σοί | soí} ‘also to you’ forms a comparison of manner or measure, signaling that the giving to “this last one” matches what has been given to “you.” In translation, this comparative is rendered with “as” or “the same as” to keep the parallel in focus while maintaining smooth English word order. |