S. M. Baugh wrote:
>
> Question: Why is PARAGETAI ("is passing away") in 1 John 2:8 and 17
> evaluated as passive by BAGD and LSJ? Its meaning seems so middle to me
> unless there is some causation: "is led off," "is forced to disappear."
> Curiously, the active form has both an active and intransitive meaning
> (e.g., 1 Cor. 7:31). Is this just another sign of AGW's flexibility? Any
> ideas, Kratistoi Grammateis?
It seems to me that in Greek there are quite a few verbs that undergo a
semantic shift when they undergo a voice shift. PARAGW, according to
BAGD and even the UBS GNT dictionary, is apparently one of those cases.
Both include as meanings of the passive 'to disappear, to pass away',
neither of which is really passive sounding.
Ron Ross