Aorist Indicative: The Dramatic Aorist

Posted on October 31, 2011 by New Testament Greek

The Aorist Indicative is sometimes used of a state of mind just reached, or of an act expressive of it. The effect is to give to the statement greater vividness than is given by the more usual Present.

Luke 16:4.; ἔγνων τί ποιήσω, I know [lit. I knew, or I perceived] what I shall do.

REMARK. This usage is in classical Greek mainly poetical and is found chiefly in dialogue. It is sometimes called “Aoristus tragicus.” Brugmann thus describes it: “Nicht selten wurde der Aorist von dem gebraucht, was soeben eingetreten ist, besonders von einer Stimmung, die soeben uber einen gekommen ist, oder von einem Urteil, das man sich soeben gebildet hat.”… Learn Koine Greek

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Aorist Indicative: The Epistolary Aorist

Posted on October 30, 2011 by New Testament Greek

The writer of a letter sometimes puts himself in the place of his reader and describes as past that which is to himself present, but which will be past to his reader.

Eph. 6:22; ὃν ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, whom I send to you for this very purpose. See also Acts 23:30; 1 Cor. 5:11; Phil. 2:28; Col. 4:8; Philem. 11.… Learn Koine Greek

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Aorist Indicative: The Gnomic Aorist

Posted on October 28, 2011 by New Testament Greek

The Aorist is used in proverbs and comparisons where the English commonly uses a General Present.

1 Pet. 1:24; ἐξηράνθη ὁ χόρτος, καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐξέπεσεν, the grass withereth and the flower falleth. See also Luke 7:35; John 15:6; Jas. 1:11, 24.

REMARK. Winer’s contention (WT. p. 277; WM. p. 346) that the Gnomic Aorist does not occur in the New Testament does not seem defensible. The passages cited above are entirely similar to the classical examples of this ancient and well-established idiom.… Learn Koine Greek

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Aorist Indicative: The Resultative Aorist

Posted on October 26, 2011 by New Testament Greek

The Aorist of a verb whose Present implies effort or intention, commonly denotes the success of the effort.

Acts 27:43; ὁ δὲ ἑκατοντάρχης βουλόμενος διασῶσαι τὸν Παῦλον ἐκώλυσεν αὐτοὺς τοῦ βουλήματος, but the centurion . . . prevented them from their purpose. See also Matt. 27:20; Acts 7:36.… Learn Koine Greek

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Aorist Indicative: The Inceptive Aorist

Posted on October 24, 2011 by New Testament Greek

(1) The Aorist of a verb whose Present denotes a state or condition, commonly denotes the beginning of that state.

2 Cor. 8:9; δι’ ὑμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν πλούσιος ὤν, though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor. See also Luke 15:32; John 4:52; Acts 7:60; Rom. 14:9.

REMARK. The Aorist of such verbs is not, however, necessarily inceptive. The same form may be in one sentence inceptive and in another historical. Cf. Luke 9:36 with Acts 15:12, the verb , being in the former historical, in the latter probably inceptive.… Learn Koine Greek

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Aorist Indicative: The Historical Aorist

Posted on October 22, 2011 by New Testament Greek

(1) The Aorist Indicative is most frequently used to express a past event viewed in its entirety, simply as an event or a single fact. It has no reference to the progress of the event, or to any existing result of it.

John 1:11; εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον, he came unto his own and they that were his own received him not.

(2) Since any past event without reference to its duration or complexity may be conceived of as a single fact, the Historical Aorist may be used to describe

(a) A momentary action.

Acts 5:5; ἐξέψυξεν, he gave up the ghost.… Learn Koine Greek

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The Aorist Indicative

Posted on October 20, 2011 by New Testament Greek

(1) The constant characteristic of the Aorist tense in all of its moods, including the participle, is that it represents the action denoted by it indefinitely; i.e. simply as an event, neither on the one hand picturing it in progress, nor on the other affirming the existence of its result. The name indefinite as thus understood is therefore applicable to the tense in all of its uses.

As respects the point of view from which the action is looked at, however, we may distinguish three functions of the tense common to all of its moods.

First, it may be used to describe an action or event in its entirety.… Learn Koine Greek

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Imperfect Indicative: Periphrastic Form Of Imperfect

Posted on October 18, 2011 by New Testament Greek
PERIPHRASTIC FORM OF THE IMPERFECT

Periphrastic Imperfects, formed by adding a Present Participle to the Imperfect of the verb eivmi,, are frequent in the New Testament, especially in the historical books. The large majority of these forms denote continued action.

Mark 10:32; καὶ ἦν προάγων αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, and Jesus was going before them. So also Luke 1:10, 22; John 13:23; and probably Mark 2:18. In a few instances repeated action is referred to, as Luke 5:16; 19:47; Gal. 1:23. Cf. The Predicative Adjective Participle (3).… Learn Koine Greek

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Imperfect Indicative: The Imperfect Of Repeated Action

Posted on October 16, 2011 by New Testament Greek
THE IMPERFECT OF REPEATED ACTION

The Imperfect is used of customary or repeated action in past time.

Acts 3:2; ὃν ἐτίθουν καθ’ ἡμέραν πρὸς τὴν θύραν τοῦ ἱεροῦ, whom they used to lay daily at the gate of the temple.

(1) For the use of the Imperfect, Aorist, or Pluperfect in a condition contrary to fact, or its apodosis, see B. Supposition contrary to Fact.

(2) The Imperfect and Aorist with a;n are used in classical Greek to denote a customary past action taking place under certain circumstances. In the New Testament this usage never occurs in principal clauses. The use of the Imperfect and Aorist with a;n in conditional relative clauses is possibly a remnant of the usage.… Learn Koine Greek

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Imperfect Indicative: The Conative Imperfect

Posted on October 14, 2011 by New Testament Greek
THE CONATIVE IMPERFECT

The Progressive Imperfect is sometimes used of action attempted, but not accomplished. Cf. THE CONATIVE PRESENT.

Matt. 3:14; ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν, but he would have hindered him.

See also Luke 1:59, ἐκάλουν; 15:16, ἐδίδου; Acts 7:26, συνήλλασσεν; 26:11, ἠνάγκαζον.

Luke 1:59 Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἦλθον περιτεμεῖν τὸ παιδίον, καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ζαχαρίαν.

Luke 15:16 καὶ ἐπεθύμει γεμίσαι τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν κερατίων ὧν ἤσθιον οἱ χοῖροι, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδίδου αὐτῷ.

Acts 7:26 τῇ τε ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ ὤφθη αὐτοῖς μαχομένοις καὶ συνήλλασσεν αὐτοὺς εἰς εἰρήνην εἰπών Ἄνδρες, ἀδελφοί ἐστε ἱνατί ἀδικεῖτε ἀλλήλους;

Acts 26:11 καὶ κατὰ πάσας τὰς συναγωγὰς πολλάκις τιμωρῶν αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν, περισσῶς τε ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς ἐδίωκον ἕως καὶ εἰς τὰς ἔξω πόλεις.… Learn Koine Greek

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