| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the connective kai {καὶ | kaí}, linking this description closely to the preceding vision. The phrase mian ek tōn kephalōn autou {μίαν ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ | mí-an ek tôn ke-pha-lôn au-toû} is an accusative object phrase (“one out of his heads”) whose verb is supplied from the broader visionary context (“he saw”), singling out a particular head from among several. The comparative particle hōs {ὡς | hōs} introducing esphagmenēn {ἐσφαγμένην | es-phag-mé-nēn} (“as having been slain”) presents the head as appearing slain rather than asserting the fact absolutely, which justifies renderings such as “as though it had been slain” or “seemed fatally wounded.” The prepositional phrase eis thanaton {εἰς θάνατον | eis thá-na-ton} intensifies the injury as one directed “unto death,” suggesting a mortal blow. The next clause, hē plēgē tou thanatou autou etherapeuthē {ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη | hē plē-gḗ tou tha-ná-tou au-toû e-the-ra-peú-thē}, is a complete nominative clause in which “the wound of his death” is the subject and aorist passive etherapeuthē is the verb, depicting the healing as a completed event, almost paradoxical given its lethal character. Finally, ethaumasthē holē hē gē opiso tou thēriou {ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου | e-thau-más-thē hó-lē hē gê o-pí-sō tou thē-rí-ou} uses another aorist passive (“was filled with wonder”) with holē hē gē as the subject, presenting the entire earth in collective astonishment and allegiance, conveyed by the preposition opiso {ὀπίσω | o-pí-sō} “after, behind,” a typical following-after language. In translation, Greek participial and prepositional structures are rendered with clear finite clauses and sequential connectors, preserving both the sense of a seemingly mortal yet healed wound and the resultant global amazement and pursuit of the beast. |