Tense of infinitive in 1 Cor 15:25
Mary Pendergraft
pender at wfu.edu
Mon May 24 05:37:05 EDT 1999
George Goolde wrote:
>
> What, if anything, is the significance of the present tense of the
> infinitive in 1 Cor 15:25: "dei gar auton basileuin"?
> Does the present infinitive after dei say anything about the time of
> the reign relative to the time of writing?
>
To the second question, I don't think so: Unless there's a compelling
reason to believe otherwise in a particular case, the tense of an
infinitive represents aspect rather than time, except in constructions
with an accusative subject, like indirect statement. If the force is
aspect, then, BASILEUEIN suggests "to be king" in contrast to what an
aorist, "to become king": such an ingressive use of the aorist is
particularly likely with this verb.
Mary
Mary Pendergraft
Associate Professor of Classical Languages
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem NC 27109-7343
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