Future in the past (II) ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν Mark 6:48

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Stephen Hughes
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Joined: February 26th, 2013, 7:12 am

Future in the past (II) ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν Mark 6:48

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Even while we are considering that μελλειν (+ present infinitive) construction in the narrative past, perhaps I could bring this up too,
Mark 6:48 wrote:καὶ εἶδεν αὐτοὺς βασανιζομένους ἐν τῷ ἐλαύνειν ἦν γὰρ ὁ ἄνεμος ἐναντίος αὐτοῖς καὶ περὶ τετάρτην φυλακὴν τῆς νυκτὸς ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτοὺς περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν αὐτούς
He was going to pass them by.
I'm wondering if this is like an earlier form of the Modern Greek future construction in θα + infinitive. It seems too strong to say that he "wanted" / "wished" to pass them by, but just "he was about to" could give the circumstance in which they would be able to see him, rather than describing his motive.
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Future in the past (II) ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν Mark 6:48

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Stephen Hughes wrote:Even while we are considering that μελλειν (+ present infinitive) construction in the narrative past, perhaps I could bring this up too,
Mark 6:48 wrote:καὶ εἶδεν αὐτοὺς βασανιζομένους ἐν τῷ ἐλαύνειν ἦν γὰρ ὁ ἄνεμος ἐναντίος αὐτοῖς καὶ περὶ τετάρτην φυλακὴν τῆς νυκτὸς ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτοὺς περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν αὐτούς
He was going to pass them by.
I'm wondering if this is like an earlier form of the Modern Greek future construction in θα + infinitive. It seems too strong to say that he "wanted" / "wished" to pass them by, but just "he was about to" could give the circumstance in which they would be able to see him, rather than describing his motive.
If you check out θέλω in BDAG, it does not appear to bear that sense anywhere. Quick quiz: why the augment with an eta? :shock:
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
RandallButh
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Joined: May 13th, 2011, 4:01 am

Re: Future in the past (II) ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν Mark 6:48

Post by RandallButh »

Stephen and Barry both have good points. The connection with modern Greek θα ιs remarkable but the time seems several centuries too early. However, the general Greek mix of 'intention' with the 'future aspect' (for example, as seen with future participles and infinitives) leads one to wonder just how weak of a "wishing" was intended with ἤθελεν ?

As for the augment, I'm not sure how to read Barry's emoticon. The first answer from a Greek perspective is the "First Universal Rule of Grammar".

And what is the First Universal Rule of Grammar?
We do it like that, because that's the way they do it. :D

Linguists may add that θἐλω is an elided form from what used to be ἐθέλω,
and that some verbs may spread forms via analogy, like the wanna-be forms in ἤμελλεν or ἠδυνήθη / ἠδύνατο.
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