John says EGENOMHN (aorist) EN THi NHSWi. This simply states a fact of his
being on the island at some point in the past. He could still be here as he
writes, but there's no indication one way or the other in that regard. You
can't draw any inferences from this verb, particularly inasmuch as it isn't
linked to any temporal qualifier of earlier or later time, beyond the
simple statement that the word of God and witness to Christ were his reason
for being there.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/