Tense-aspect in Matthew 13:44-46

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Mitch Tulloch
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Tense-aspect in Matthew 13:44-46

Post by Mitch Tulloch »

[44] Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καὶ πωλεῖ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει καὶ ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον. [45] Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμπόρῳ ζητοῦντι καλοὺς μαργαρίτας· [46] εὑρὼν δὲ ἕνα πολύτιμον μαργαρίτην ἀπελθὼν πέπρακεν πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν καὶ ἠγόρασεν αὐτόν.

I'm trying to understand the aspectual character of the verbs in this short narrative passage i.e. which tenses Matthew uses and why. I'm employing the terminology used in Chapter 33 of the Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek (CGCG) which I'm currently working through. I'd appreciate some feedback from the experts here on whether I'm correctly understanding the tense-aspect choices in this passage.

1. κεκρυμμένῳ - perfect tense is used to emphasis the present state of the treasure (hidden in a field).

2. εὑρὼν and ἔκρυψεν - aorist tense is used to describe events (finding and hiding the treasure) without focusing on how or when it was found/hidden (perfective aspect). The aorist tense is also chosen to set the stage for the story.

3. ὑπάγει and ἀγοράζει - present tense (historical present) is used here to highlight the decisive/crucial event of the story (goes away and sells everything he owns to buy the field where the treasure is hidden). What still puzzles me is that CGCG says that historical present occurs nearly exclusively with telic verbs, and ὑπάγω would seem to me to be atelic (?)

4. ζητοῦντι - present tense (historical present - imperfective aspect) presents the action (seeking the mother of all pearls) as incomplete i.e. the reader imagines a man seeking and seeking...

5. εὑρὼν and ἀπελθὼν - aorist tense is used to describe events (finding and going away) as simple events without any details (perfective aspect).

6. πέπρακεν - perfect tense. Could it be that perfect tense is used here to highlight the state (of the man) resulting from the action (his selling everything he owns) i.e. dead-broke and homeless (but owning the mother of all pearls)?

7. εἶχεν - imperfect tense (imperfective aspect) aligns with present tense of ζητοῦντι earlier i.e. to describe the man's situation (he owned lots of stuff) before he found/bought the pearl.

8. ἠγόρασεν - aorist tense is used to describe event (buying the pearl) without focusing the details of the transaction (perfective aspect).

Am I getting it here or not? Thanks :-)
Cheers,
Mitch Tulloch
Mitch Tulloch
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Re: Tense-aspect in Matthew 13:44-46

Post by Mitch Tulloch »

Would appreciate some feedback on these questions as I'm trying to understand how aspect affects how one understands Greek verbs in narrative passages.

Or should I have posted my questions in the Greek Language and Linguistics / Syntax and Grammar section of this discussion board?

Cheers,
Mitch Tulloch
Cheers,
Mitch Tulloch
Ken M. Penner
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Re: Tense-aspect in Matthew 13:44-46

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Mitch Tulloch wrote: September 21st, 2023, 6:53 pm 1. κεκρυμμένῳ - perfect tense is used to emphasis the present state of the treasure (hidden in a field).
2. εὑρὼν and ἔκρυψεν - aorist tense is used to describe events (finding and hiding the treasure) without focusing on how or when it was found/hidden (perfective aspect). The aorist tense is also chosen to set the stage for the story.
3. ὑπάγει and ἀγοράζει - present tense (historical present) is used here to highlight the decisive/crucial event of the story (goes away and sells everything he owns to buy the field where the treasure is hidden). What still puzzles me is that CGCG says that historical present occurs nearly exclusively with telic verbs, and ὑπάγω would seem to me to be atelic (?)
4. ζητοῦντι - present tense (historical present - imperfective aspect) presents the action (seeking the mother of all pearls) as incomplete i.e. the reader imagines a man seeking and seeking...
5. εὑρὼν and ἀπελθὼν - aorist tense is used to describe events (finding and going away) as simple events without any details (perfective aspect).
6. πέπρακεν - perfect tense. Could it be that perfect tense is used here to highlight the state (of the man) resulting from the action (his selling everything he owns) i.e. dead-broke and homeless (but owning the mother of all pearls)?
7. εἶχεν - imperfect tense (imperfective aspect) aligns with present tense of ζητοῦντι earlier i.e. to describe the man's situation (he owned lots of stuff) before he found/bought the pearl.
8. ἠγόρασεν - aorist tense is used to describe event (buying the pearl) without focusing the details of the transaction (perfective aspect).
1. I wouldn't call it the present state (i.e., at the time the story is being told). It's relative past; i.e. the hiding took place before the story is told.
2. The aorist participle when followed by an aorist indicative can be used for a sequence of past events in a story. He found it and then he hid it. I wouldn't infer things about setting the stage. Even if he wasn't setting the stage, he'd still use the aorists.
3. Yes, the present tense breaks the pattern. You're right that the effect is to indicate to the audience that this is the point in the storyline that we are interested in. The kingdom of heaven is an exciting find, like this joyful time of going, selling, and buying. You're right that ὑπάγω is atelic. That doesn't contradict CGCG.
4. Yes, the present participle indicates an ongoing/repeated activity: a man constantly looking for it.
5. Similar to point #2 above, but this time the indicative the sequence ends with is in the perfect tense.
6. The perfect tense puts the selling in the past relative to the main indicative verb, which is in the aorist tense. This is surprising to me. Why perfect rather than aorist, especially given that it is followed by an (imperfect then an) aorist rather than a present tense? Normally the perfect indicates past relative to the present. But then Once the finding and leaving have happened, then the selling, and then we are at the relevant point in the storyline. The kingdom of heaven is an excited man, who has accomplished his longtime search.
7. The English "had" gets in the way of the ongoing nature of the imperfect. Perhaps think of it as "everything he was holding". It's everything he had been in possession of over an extended period up to the point of sale.
8. The aorist is the default storytelling tense. No special significance; no need to contrast it with anything. So you're right that it's not an ongoing event nor implies any special relevance.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Mitch Tulloch
Posts: 59
Joined: November 4th, 2017, 2:52 pm
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Contact:

Re: Tense-aspect in Matthew 13:44-46

Post by Mitch Tulloch »

Thanks Ken! I'll chew awhile on your explanation and respond again if I have any questions :-)

--Mitch
Cheers,
Mitch Tulloch
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