Τί

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 Τί

   TI

   Why
2. clause🔊 Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί;

   TI HÔ-de hes-TÊ-ka-te HO-lên TÊN hê-ME-ran ar-GOI

   Why are you standing here idle all the day
3. sentence🔊 περὶ δὲ τὴν ⸀ἑνδεκάτην ἐξελθὼν εὗρεν ἄλλους ⸀ἑστῶτας, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί;

   pe-RI DE TÊN hen-de-KA-tên ek-sel-THÔN HEU-ren AL-lous hes-TÔ-tas KAI LE-yei au-TOIS TI HÔ-de hes-TÊ-ka-te HO-lên TÊN hê-ME-ran ar-GOI

   {and} about the eleventh having gone out he found others standing {and} he says to them Why are you standing here idle all the day

Exegesis

The interrogative clause Tí hode hestēkate holēn ten hēmeran argoi {Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί | Tí hôde hestḗkate hólēn tḕn hēméran argoí} begins with Tí functioning adverbially (“why”), followed immediately by the deictic adverb hode (“here”), giving the question a pointed, local focus: “Why here have you been standing…?” The verb hestēkate, a perfect indicative, conveys a state resulting from prior action, hence the rendering “have you been standing,” indicating prolonged inactivity. The phrase holēn ten hēmeran (“the whole day”) intensifies the duration, while the predicate adjective argoi placed at the end of the clause carries rhetorical weight, summarizing their condition as “idle.” English word order is slightly adjusted (“Why have you been standing here idle all the day?”) to maintain natural flow while preserving the emphasis on long-standing, culpable idleness.

Root and etymology

exesti🔊 ἔξεστι(ν)epsilon–xi–epsilon–sigma–tau–iota

“it is permitted, it is lawful”

• 🔊 ἐξουσίαex-ou-sí-aauthority, rightMatthew 28:18