Aspect and Prominence in the Synoptic Accounts of Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem 171 important. Rather, the presence of the HP points on beyond itself and draws attention to the subsequent events that take place in Capernaum”40. In other words, εἰσπορεύονται gives prominence not so much to the act of entering Capernaum as to Jesus teaching in the synagogue and the amazement of the crowd (ἐδίδασκεν, ἐξεπλήσσοντο) at his teaching (vv. 21b-22). Turning to the HPs in Mark 11,1-2, we have already noted out that the parallel passage in Luke 19,29-30 has instead the combination of ἐγένετο and a temporal expression which “picks out from the general background the specific circumstance for the foreground events that are to follow”41. This means that both gospels use a non-default form of encoding which gives prominence to the events that result from Jesus sending his disciples for a colt. Similarly, the HP in Mark 11,5, while no doubt giving prominence to the untying (λύουσιν) of the colt as instructed, also points forward to the response of the onlookers, culminating in the disciples receiving permission to take the colt (v. 6). Finally, the effect of using HPs in Mark 11,7 to encode the bringing of the colt to Jesus (φέρουσιν) and the laying of their cloaks over it (ἐπιβάλλουσιν) is to point forward to what happens afterwards; namely, Jesus sitting on it (ἐκάθισεν) and the responses of the crowd on seeing him on it (vv. 8-10). The effect of the HPs in Mark 11,1-7, then, is to direct the readers’ attention first to what happens after Jesus sends his disciples for a colt42, then to what happens when they untie it and, finally, to what happens after they have led it to Jesus and laid their cloaks over it (see the Table below). The peak of the episode is still the response of the crowd as he made his way to Jerusalem, but prominence is given to that response not only by the imperfect in v. 9, but also by the HPs earlier in the episode, which keep pointing forward to the next set of resulting events. As they draw near (ἐγγίζουσιν) to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at prominent: 11,1 the Mount of Olives, he sends (ἀποστέλλει) two of his disciples, points forward and he says (λέγει) to them, “Go to the village ahead of you and, just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie prominent: 2-3 it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, points forward ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly’.” Levinsohn Discourse Features 202. 40 Levinsohn Discourse Features 177. 41 42 Cross-linguistically, reported speeches are often backgrounded with respect to the events that follow them (Levinsohn Self-Instruction §5.2.2), which explains why the HP often introduces reported speeches (Levinsohn Discourse Features 202).