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Re: An Aoristic Perfect Tense?



Regarding aorist vs perfect, Maximilian Zerwick (Biblical Greek 
Illustrated by Examples) says:

	It is to be noted that the choice between aorist and perfect is
	not determined by the objective facts, but by the writer's wish
	to connote the special nuance of the perfect; if this be not
	required, the aorist will be used. The use of the perfect in the
	NT thus shows that the author had in mind the notion of a state
	of affairs resultant upon the action.

	This has indeed been questioned, because the perfect in later Greek
	use lost its specific sense and became a <b>simple narrative tense</b>
	like the aorist, so that the question arises, whether there are
	not traces of this evolution in the NT. IT IS MORE COMMONLY
	ADMITTED THAT THERE ARE NOT, FOR THE EXAMPLES ALLEGED NEARLY ALL
	ALLOW OF OTHER EXPLANATIONS. {emphasis mine}

James K. Tauber, Undergraduate Student
Centre for Linguistics, UWA, Australia
E-mail: jtauber@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
WWW:    ftp://tartarus.uwa.edu.au/pub/jtauber/main.html




References: