From: Kimmo Huovila (kimmo@kaamas.kielikone.fi)
Date: Tue Dec 26 2000 - 04:02:01 EST
My suggestion is that these imperfect verbs are used of foreground
events to signal that the supplicant was still prostrated when the
storyline progressed.
Kimmo
Iver Larsen wrote:
>
> Since I am new on the list I am not aware if there is a consensus on the use and
> implication of the imperfective tense/aspect in Greek. I would be interested in
> comments about the following:
>
> Just looking at the lexical item PROSKUNEW in Matthew I find the following
> constructions (ignoring for my purposes subjunctives and future forms):
>
> 2:11 part. aor. + ind. aor.
> 14:33 ind. aor. + saying (part. pres. of LEGW)
> 8:2 part. aor. + ind. impf. + saying
> 9:18 part. aor. + ind. impf. + saying
> 15:25 part. aor. + ind. impf. + saying
> 18:26 part. aor. + ind. impf. + saying
> 28:9 ind. aor. KAI ind. aor. (possibly Hebrew influence, no further
> comment)
>
> The aorist participle indicates that the action (fall down, approach or come in
> these examples) is prior to the action described by the main indicative verb
> PROSKUNEW.
>
> Since the imperfective aspect basically refers to something not yet complete in
> thought, is it significant that all these examples are followed by a present
> participle "saying"? Does it indicate that the kneeling down is simultaneous
> with or at least not considered complete until something has been said to
> explain the significance of the kneeling down? Against this hypothesis is 14:33
> which has an aorist followed by "saying".
>
> Or should we look towards a more subtle hypothesis which is connected with one
> of the possible uses of the present tense, which is the other imperfective
> aspect form in Greek? For instance, is it significant that 14:33 is a conclusion
> and reaction to a miracle of Jesus, so that the thought unit is complete? 2:11
> also describes a completed thought unit. All the others "introduce" either a
> miracle of Jesus or something that is highly unexpected (in the case of 18:26).
> Is it a signal by Matthew to the reader that soon something unexpected or
> significant is going to happen? Is it significant that in two of these examples,
> the attention getter IDOU also occurs?
>
> Iver Larsen
> Kolding, Denmark
> alice-iver_larsen@wycliffe.org
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