| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {καὶ | kaí} linking this action to the preceding description of the beast, followed by the aorist verb ēnoixe {ἤνοιξε | ḗ-noi-xe} which presents a single, decisive act. The subject is expressed as to stoma autou {τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ | tò stó-ma au-toû} “his mouth,” a metonymy for speech, with autou functioning as a possessive genitive referring back to the beast. The prepositional phrase eis blasphēmias {εἰς βλασφημίας | eis blas-phē-mí-as} uses eis with an accusative plural noun to indicate the purpose or result of the opening: it is “into” or “for” blasphemous speech. This is further specified by pros ton theon {πρὸς τὸν θεόν | pròs tòn the-ón}, where pros plus accusative marks hostile direction “against God.” The infinitive blasphēmēsai {βλασφημῆσαι | blas-phē-mê-sai} is epexegetic, explaining the nature of these blasphemies and governing a series of accusative objects: to onoma autou {τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ | tò ó-no-ma au-toû} “His name,” tēn skēnēn autou {τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ | tḕn skē-nḕn au-toû} “His tabernacle,” and tous en tō ouranō skēnountas {τοὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ σκηνοῦντας | toùs en tṓ ou-ra-nṓ skē-noûn-tas} “those dwelling in heaven.” The last object is a substantival participial phrase, with en tō ouranō giving the location of the ones described by the participle skēnountas “dwelling, residing.” The Greek stacks these three objects in a single chain, heightening the scope of the blasphemy: it assaults God’s name, His dwelling, and His heavenly people. In English, maintaining this chain requires careful coordination (“His name and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven”), while preserving the sense of intentional, directed hostility conveyed by eis and pros. |