| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence opens with the finite verb oida {οἶδα | oî-da} ‘I know’, which places Paul’s confident awareness in the prominent initial position. The postpositive de {δὲ | dè} provides a mild connective to the preceding discussion while not weakening the assertion. The conjunction hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces a content clause that specifies what Paul knows. Inside this clause, the nominative participle erchomenos {ἐρχόμενος | er-khó-me-nos} ‘coming’ functions adverbially, with a temporal force equivalent to “when I come.” The prepositional phrase pros hymas {πρὸς ὑμᾶς | pròs hū-mâs} identifies the Roman believers as the destination of his anticipated arrival. The following prepositional phrase en pleromati eulogias Christou {ἐν πληρώματι εὐλογίας Χριστοῦ | en plē-ró-ma-ti eu-lo-gí-as Khris-toû} is built around the dative head noun pleromati ‘fullness,’ which is modified by the genitive eulogias ‘of blessing,’ itself further qualified by the genitive Christou ‘of Christ.’ This stacked genitive construction presents a blessing characterized by Christ and marked by fullness, suggesting both the source and the rich extent of what Paul expects to bring. The future middle verb eleusomai {ἐλεύσομαι | e-leú-so-mai} ‘I will come’ resumes and completes the thought begun with the participle, underscoring the certainty of his future visit. In translation, the participle is rendered as a temporal clause (“when I come/visit”) to reflect its function, and the chain of genitives is expressed as “the fullness of the blessing of Christ” or “the complete blessing that comes from Christ” to maintain the ideas of intensity and Christ as the giver. |