1 John 5:16 possible with aorist?
Posted: September 25th, 2014, 11:37 pm
I am writing with a question about 1 John 5:16:
16 ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.
In 15a, the present participle of hamartano (ἁμαρτάνοντα) is used. My question concerns the linguistic possibilities of Greek - would it be linguistically possible in Koine Greek to use the aorist (hamartesanta) in this verse if the author intended a different meaning?
My assumption is that there are no restrictions on the pairing of horao with this participle or any others, and that the use of the aorist of hamartano would carry a punctual rather than durative meaning, roughly speaking.
Any help is appreciated. I am restricting this question to the very basic possibilties of this verse. Anyone who wants to expand the discussion is welcome.
16 ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.
In 15a, the present participle of hamartano (ἁμαρτάνοντα) is used. My question concerns the linguistic possibilities of Greek - would it be linguistically possible in Koine Greek to use the aorist (hamartesanta) in this verse if the author intended a different meaning?
My assumption is that there are no restrictions on the pairing of horao with this participle or any others, and that the use of the aorist of hamartano would carry a punctual rather than durative meaning, roughly speaking.
Any help is appreciated. I am restricting this question to the very basic possibilties of this verse. Anyone who wants to expand the discussion is welcome.