Imperative Mood: Present vs. Aorist

April Van Bibber stuart.vanbibber at gte.net
Fri Oct 23 15:20:45 EDT 1998


A friend put this to me: It seems to me that the present and aorist 
imperatives in some cases are used interchangeably. Where I would expect a 
single aorist I find a present, and visa versa. For example, in Matthew 
5:24 why aren't "leave" your gift and "go" both aorists? Or, in Matthew 8:4 
"go" and "show": "go" is present and "show" is aorist. Still further, in 
Matthew 16:24 "deny" is aorist (I would expect a present), "take up" is 
aorist followed by daily (making me expect it to be present, and "follow 
me" is a present, which I expected. Also, in Ephesians 5:18 "Be not drunk 
with wine but be filled with the Spirit", both verbs are present imperative 
past. Any insights?



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