| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse presents a single extended object phrase headed by gomon {γόμον | gó-mon} “cargo,” in the accusative, which functions as part of a larger description of Babylon’s trade. A chain of coordinated genitives follows—chrysou {χρυσοῦ | khry-soû} “of gold,” argyrou {ἀργύρου | ar-gý-rou} “of silver,” lithou timiou {λίθου τιμίου | lí-thou ti-mí-ou} “of precious stone,” margariton {μαργαριτῶν | mar-ga-ri-tôn} “of pearls,” and so on—creating a commercial inventory style. Adjectival genitives such as byssinou {βυσσίνου | bys-sí-nou}, sirikou {σιρικοῦ | si-ri-koû}, and kokkinou {κοκκίνου | kok-kí-nou} function substantivally (“fine linen,” “silk,” “scarlet”). The distributive adjective pan {πᾶν | pâ-n} precedes xylon {ξύλον | xý-lon} and skeuos {σκεῦος | skeû-os} to emphasize the comprehensiveness of “every” type of item: pan xylon thyinon {πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον | pâ-n xý-lon thý-i-non} and pan skeuos elephantinon {πᾶν σκεῦος ἐλεφάντινον | pâ-n skeû-os e-le-phán-ti-non}. The phrase pan skeuos ek xylou timiotatou {πᾶν σκεῦος ἐκ ξύλου τιμιωτάτου | pâ-n skeû-os ek xý-lou ti-mi-ō-tá-tou} uses ek {ἐκ | ek} with the genitive to indicate material composition (“vessel made from wood of the most precious kind”). The final coordinated genitives chalkou {χαλκοῦ | khal-koû}, siderou {σιδήρου | si-dḗ-rou}, and marmarou {μαρμάρου | mar-má-rou} round out the luxury materials. In translation, the repeated kai {καὶ | kaí} “and” is largely preserved to retain the piling-up effect, while some grouping and added commas or semicolons clarify the long list for modern readers without breaking the cumulative rhythm. |