toward a definition of Verbal Apect

Mark Wilson emory2oo2 at hotmail.com
Mon Nov 4 13:44:21 EST 2002


Norman wrote:

------
>>Allow me to ask for a clarification.  I am in a denomination where the 
>>punctilliar idea in the Aorist has been used to defend all sorts of 
>>"once-for-all" actions, a notion that still persists in many circles.  How 
>>would one explain that this "once-for-all-ness" is not automatically part 
>>of the Aorist aspect, without removing the idea that it "usually indicates 
>>past time?"  It seems to be that the balance here is not as simply as it 
>>sometimes is made to appear.  Thanks for your time.
------

I have a question about "punctiliar"

Definitions I've cut and pasted from the Internet:

Punctiliar, that is, action as in a point of time rather than continuous

The Punctiliar Aspect-action stated as a point (.)

For now, we will distinguish between two kinds of action, linear and 
punctiliar.

Punctiliar - Action at a "point" in time.

Punctiliar, marked with ñ-, indicates an action that is instantaneous or 
non-habitual.

The punctiliar (momentary) in the aorist stem: the action is conceived as a 
point with either the beginning or the end of the action emphasized



I think we might want to rethink the idea of "punctiliar." What comes
to my mind when I think of "punctiliar" is something that takes place
quickly and over a very short time. Within an Aorist verb, the actual
events or actions depicted could be seen as transpiring over years.
The actually number of events that an Aorist verb depicts can be
millions. So what other word makes better sense in today's English?

For example, I am thinking of Romans 3:23:

PANTES GAR hHMARTON...

Rather than depicting any "punctiliar" notion, this use of the Aorist
seems to put all events/actions/sins within ONE CATEGORY, but spans
thousands of years and encompasses billions of separate events.

And of course, I guess we need to distinguish Grammatical from Lexical
Aspect if we are to arrive at an all-inclusive word to replace punctiliar.

My thoughts,

Mark Wilson


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