[B-Greek] Verbal aspect - Aorist
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sun Dec 26 12:59:39 EST 2004
Eddie, you may be right about this author, but I offered my comment in terms of
general NTGreek style insofar as I've observed it--that an imperfect would more
likely have been used of a past action continued into the present. I think of
the perfect more as a stative underscoring the present reality brought about by
the action indicated in the verb. Thus ECARHN = "I did feel joy." A perfect
tense of this verb CECARHKA(?) would, I think, mean something more like "I am in
full enjoyment."
Eddie Mishoe wrote:
"Carl:
You responded to Mitch:
> For my part I'd say that the author is more likely
> to use an imperfect for an
> action extending later in time than when started and
> possibly continuing to the
> present. I don't think it's a matter of a
> "once-for-all" tense so much as it is
> of a "perfective" tense that indicates an action
> taking place in the past and
> emphasizing the wholeness of that action as
> something complete. "I did feel joy"
> doesn't imply that the author feels something other
> than joy now, but it does
> indicate the sense of joy as something felt at a
> point in the past.
"I very much agree with you here, but wonder if by "the
author" are you referring to the author of this
epistle and/or the Johannine epistles? "The reason I
ask is because of your subsequent statement that the
Imperfect "is more likely." Seems to me the author,
whoever he was, had a proclivity toward the Perfect in
such instances as you describe."
--- "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
wrote:
> Mitch Larramore asked:
>
> "I have this question regarding the statement below
> taken from Dr. Raymond E. Brown's commentary on the
> epistles of "John." Although the passage in question
> is 2 John 4a (aorist of CAIREIN), it doesn't seem
> relevant to my question, since I think he is making
> a
> general statement that pertains to verbal aspect.
> "'Virtually no modern commentar""""y gives the
> strictest
> interpretation of the aorist, namely, that the
> Presbyter rejoiced in the past when he made his
> finding but his joy has now ceased.' (p. 660)
> "Am I right in understanding verbal aspect as it
> pertains to the aorist when I say that the aorist
> does
> not indicate one way or another whether the event
> that
> is portrayed in the past extends all the way to the
> present (as would be implied with a Perfect)? (I'm
> wondering if Brown made this commment back when
> verbal
> aspect had not yet clarified that; back when
> scholars
> still taught the once-for-all aorist.)"
>
> For my part I'd say that the author is more likely
> to use an imperfect for an
> action extending later in time than when started and
> possibly continuing to the
> present. I don't think it's a matter of a
> "once-for-all" tense so much as it is
> of a "perfective" tense that indicates an action
> taking place in the past and
> emphasizing the wholeness of that action as
> something complete. "I did feel joy"
> doesn't imply that the author feels something other
> than joy now, but it does
> indicate the sense of joy as something felt at a
> point in the past.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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