Andrew Chapman wrote:Stephen Hughes wrote:ἐφέστηκεν (1[2] Timothy 4:6 ὁ καιρὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ἀναλύσεως ἐφέστηκεν. The time of my departure is at hand.),
Thanks, Stephen, I am familiar with ἵστημι in the perfect having a present meaning. My doubt was about whether it can have what seems to be a future meaning - although I can see that the more imminent something is, the more present it may seem. So your example from 2 Timothy is the closest to the sense that is argued for by some. But here it is ἐφίστημι, so it can naturally have be present in tense, but impending in meaning - the time of my departure is now standing over me, so to speak.
But can ἐνέστηκεν ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου mean that the day of the Lord is imminent, rather than that it is now present?
Can something mean something is a difficult question, because between the right people any utterance can mean just about anything, so long as it is understood - even if just by them. Seriously, though, how long is the present?
I ask that because the present tense from the grammarians right up till Modern Greek is called the ὁ ἐνεστὼς (χρόνος), and if at the time of speaking you are doing it, you are anticipating doing it for a bit longer, right? Otherwise -
if you were not going to be doing it for longer than the time you began to speak - it would be over, and wouldn't be present. That is to say that
theoretically any present tense needs be has at least a little future reference. Is the minimum length present, the length of speaking, or up to the time taken to comprehend something, or perhaps to act on it? In any case, taking the speakers moment (either actual or remembered as the marker point for time measurement), it seems more likely that the present must contain something of the future. On that basis, in general the present refers to the very immediate future - the extension of the present.
But that doesn't seem to be what you are asking. You seem to be saying can it be in the future of itself, close to, but without direct relationship to an action that is in the present. Let me preface this next remark by saying that I handle the "present used in non-present situations, by understanding the present as referring to an imagined time reference point that at that moment holds great relevance to the speaker / writer. It would seem strange to me (but who am I to judge), if the imagined point of reference was within the period that was already being considered as present on account of other attendant circumstances.
Andrew, my ignorance and knowledge is publicly displayed here quite often, so I'm sure you have formed adequate opinion of my ability and inability and will be able to make an informed value judgement about my opinions. That is to say, that while I think it means present, you could consider whether my reasons for thinking that are relevant or not.
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I'm sure you have looked at them already, but let me bring up for public discussion some related verbs;
2 Peter 3:10 wrote:Ἥξει δὲ ἡ ἡμέρα κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί
Which has a future sense. Also
Romans 13:12 wrote:ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα ἤγγικεν·
Which has the feeling of immanence and is a future reference.