Tense/Mood in Gal. 4:15
Posted: July 20th, 2011, 8:34 am
Galatians 4:15 ποῦ οὖν ὁ μακαρισμὸς ὑμῶν; μαρτυρῶ γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰ δυνατὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν ἐξορύξαντες ἐδώκατέ μοι.
Paul here is describing the past desire or hypothetical desire of the Galatians that was, of course, not realized. I was surprised to come across the aorist indicative here. I'm used to seeing imperfects in places like this:
Luke 1:59 καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ζαχαρίαν.
Romans 9:3 ηὐχόμην γὰρ ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν μου κατὰ σάρκα,
Is there a reason why Paul chose the aorist in this case? And, since we're here, would any other tense/mood combinations be possible in this sort of situation? I've started to become more sensitive to these things now that I'm composing Greek on ΣΧΟΛΗ
Paul here is describing the past desire or hypothetical desire of the Galatians that was, of course, not realized. I was surprised to come across the aorist indicative here. I'm used to seeing imperfects in places like this:
Luke 1:59 καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ζαχαρίαν.
Romans 9:3 ηὐχόμην γὰρ ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν μου κατὰ σάρκα,
Is there a reason why Paul chose the aorist in this case? And, since we're here, would any other tense/mood combinations be possible in this sort of situation? I've started to become more sensitive to these things now that I'm composing Greek on ΣΧΟΛΗ