| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {καὶ | kaí}, linking this scene to the preceding vision. The aorist passive verb egemisthe {ἐγεμίσθη | egemísthē} precedes its subject ho naos {ὁ ναὸς | ho naòs}, giving prominence to the completed result, “the temple was filled.” The genitive kapnou {καπνοῦ | kapnoû} functions as a genitive of content, specifying what fills the temple. This is further qualified by two parallel prepositional phrases, ek tēs doxēs tou theou {ἐκ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ | ek tēs dóxēs tou theoû} and ek tēs dynameōs autou {ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ | ek tēs dunámeōs autoû}, indicating that the smoke proceeds “from the glory of God” and “from His power,” so that divine manifestation and divine might are the explicit source and cause of the filling.
The second half introduces a new clause with kai {καὶ | kaí}, followed by the subject–verb sequence oudeis edynato {οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο | oudeís edúnato}, “no one was able,” plus the complementary infinitive eiselthein {εἰσελθεῖν | eiseltheîn}, “to enter,” forming a construction of total incapacity. The prepositional phrase eis ton naon {εἰς τὸν ναὸν | eis tón naòn} marks the forbidden goal, reinforcing the focus on restricted access to the divine presence. The temporal boundary is introduced by achri {ἄχρι | ákhri} followed by the aorist passive subjunctive telesthōsin {τελεσθῶσιν | telesthōsin}, “until…should be completed,” which governs the subject phrase hai hepta plēgai tōn hepta angelōn {αἱ ἑπτὰ πληγαὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων | haí heptà plēgaí tōn heptà angélōn}. The repetition of hepta {ἑπτὰ | heptà} before both plēgai and angelōn forms a tightly bound unit, emphasizing fullness and divinely ordered completeness of judgment. In translation, the passive verbs are rendered with natural English passives (“was filled,” “were completed”) to retain the implied divine agency, while the achri + subjunctive structure is expressed as “until … were completed / had come to an end” to convey a definite eschatological endpoint. |