[B-Greek] Matthew 12.32 hOS EAN EIPHi

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Jan 16 16:29:37 EST 2007


On Jan 16, 2007, at 3:59 PM, Mitch Larramore wrote:

> In Matthew's gospel, chapter 12 and verse 32, an
> individual is identified who "says" something.
>
> KAI hOS EAN EIPHi LOGON......
>
> hOS D’ AN EIPHi .....
>
> I am trying to understand the Aorist Subjunctive EIPHi
> in this context. What does the Aorist mean? Would a
> Present Subjunctive have communicated anything
> different than the Aorist.

"If anyone ever ..." envisions a hypothetical single instance of such  
behavior that will entail decisive consequences. Insofar as there's a  
difference, I think that a similar phrasing with a present  
subjunctive (hOS EAN LEGHi ..., hOS D' AN LEGHi ...) it would be  
incipient or repeated or continued/ongoing behavior that's  
envisioned. The aorist formulation is surely more forceful: "If  
anyone ever utters a statement ... " as opposed to "If anyone talks  
talk ... "

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/





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