Grammatical Antecedents and Acts 14:4

Acts 14:4: ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἦσαν σὺν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, οἱ δὲ σὺν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις (NA 28).

Acts 14:4 serves as an example of the Greek pronominal's content being discerned from the literary context of the passage (i.e., from the cotext). In the construction, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἦσαν σὺν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, the plural pronominal οἱ (functioning as an alternative pronoun) does not have an explicit antecedent; however, we discern the identity of those who sided with the Jews (οἱ) and we recognize the "others" who elected to go with the apostles by appealing to the context. See Acts 14:1-2.