[B-Greek] aorist active imperative in the word TERESON

Harold R. Holmyard III hholmyard at ont.com
Thu Oct 21 21:00:01 EDT 2004


Dear Craig,

>In John 17:11 I find the aorist active imperative where I would expect to
find the present active imperative in the word TERESON.  Why is that?

HH: It is probably the constative aorist, which stresses the fact of 
the keeping, not its nature. It views the action as a whole and in 
summary fashion, including a multitude of actions. Also, the 
imperative is used to make requests, especially when the speaker 
addresses a superior. Such imperatives are almost all in the aorist 
case, and imperatives directed to God in prayer fit this category 
(Dan Wallace, _Greek Grammar beyond the Basics_, 487-88).

				Yours,
				Harold Holmyard

>
>Craig
>---
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