MELLW followed by Present
Dale Noonan
dknoonan at hotmail.com
Wed Nov 13 01:50:01 EST 2002
I was suprised to find that nearly all the infinitives following MELLW are
in the present tense. There are a few exceptions in the NT, such as Rev
3:2,16. But even for contexts that would seem to take an aorist, the verb
following MELLW is in the present. Examples are:
Luke 19:11 ... kingdom of God MELLEI appear at once.
John 11:51 ... that Jesus EMELLEN die for the nation...
Did the above writer mean to convey a durative sense for "appear" and
"die"? Or is there some other factor at work specifically with this word
MELLW?
Other verbs that function in a similar fashion, such as DUNAMAI, are
followed by a more balanced distribution of verb tenses -- it seems about
75% aorist and 25% present. What is it about MELLW that seems to call for
a present tense verb to complete the action?
Thanks,
Dale Noonan
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