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Greek Lessons
- Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek: Imperfective vs. Perfective
- Chiasmus, Inclusio, and Anaphora in New Testament Greek
- Numbered and Named: Genitive Constructions and Enumerated Tribes in Revelation 7:7
- Semantic Range of Greek Verbs in the New Testament: A Case Study on ἀγαπάω and φιλέω
- Released to Serve Anew: Aorist Passives, Participles, and the Tension of Transformation in Romans 7:6
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Category
Tag Archives: εἰμί
“ἦν… ἐκεῖ”: The Imperfect Tense of Presence in John 2:1
Introduction: The Mother Was There
The clause καὶ ἦν ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκεῖ appears understated, yet its grammatical structure offers insightful narrative and theological signals. The use of ἦν {ēn}, the imperfect tense of εἰμί, and the adverb ἐκεῖ {ekeī}, meaning “there,” produces a sense of continued, established presence.
This clause is not just background information—it’s a scene-setting device that positions Jesus’ mother at the center of what is about to unfold. The grammar is deliberate and loaded with narrative sensitivity.
Καὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ γάμος ἐγένετο ἐν Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, καὶ ἦν ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκεῖ.In this lesson, we’ll explore the verb ἦν (the imperfect active indicative of εἰμί) and how it works with ἐκεῖ (“there”) to communicate durative presence, narrative positioning, and theological resonance.… Learn Koine Greek
Present Indicative: Periphrastic Form Of The Present
PERIPHRASTIC FORM OF THE PRESENT
One of the clearly marked peculiarities of the Greek of the New Testament is the frequency with which periphrastic forms composed of a Present or Perfect Participle (Luke 23:19 is quite exceptional in its use of the Aorist Participle; cf. Ev. Pet. 23), and the Present, Imperfect, or Future Indicative, or the Present Subjunctive, Imperative, Infinitive, and even participle, of the verb εἰμί, (rarely also ὑπάρχω), are used instead of the usual simple forms. Cf. The Predicative Adjective Participle, and see the full discussion with examples in B. pp. 308-313, and the list (not quite complete) in S.… Learn Koine Greek