[B-Greek] John 3:29 hO hESTHKWS KAI AKOUWN

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Tue Dec 19 13:04:20 EST 2006


On Dec 19, 2006, at 9:42 AM, Carl W. Conrad wrote:

> Just to be a little bit more precise about the forms of this verb:
> the present-tense forms are hISTHMI ("make stand"), which is the
> active causative form of what should perhaps more reasonably be
> considered the real lemma, hISTAMAI, which means "rise to a standing
> position" or "come to a halt." The perfect-tense form hESTHKA (older
> hESTAA) is intransitive as is the aorist form ESTHN (as opposed to
> the active ESTHSA corresponding to the active causative present
> hISTHMI). These intransitive perfect and aorist are forms
> corresponding to the present middle hISTAMAI; they are survivals from
> the period before the development of a perfect middle-passive form in
> -MAI/SAI/TAI/KTL.

Carl,

Is intransitive perfect hO hESTHKWS stative or imperfective?

John 3:29 hO ECWN THN NUMFHN NUMFIOS ESTIN: hO DE FILOS TOU NUMFIOU  
hO hESTHKWS KAI AKOUWN AUTOU CARAi CAIREI DIA THN FWNHN TOU NUMFIOU.  
hAUTH OUN hH CARA hH EMH PEPLHRWTAI.

I would agree that the perfect active fills the same slot as the  
present active but to say it functions as the present (G.Somsel)  
implies that it is aspectually imperfective.


Elizabeth Kline







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