From: Alan B. Thomas (a_b_thomas@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jul 26 2001 - 14:03:22 EDT
Rob (sorry for the oversight)
You wrote...
> 2) You said "a Greek reader would not RESPOND
> differently based on
> whether the command was in the Present or Aorist".
> But does the tense
> tell us something about the persons addressed? In
> other words, the
> present could imply they are not now doing it and
> the aorist could imply
> that they are, but need to continue the rule. Would
> that be correct?
No, I do not think this would be at all correct.
For example, you will find Aorist Imperatives of
commands to adopt a disposition or behavior
WHENEVER you encounter such a situation (a situation
that need not be present at the time the command
was first issued). As in James 1.2, hHGHSASQE....hOTAN
Current grammars tend toward Aspect as that which
seems to separate an Aorist from a Present Imperative.
The Aorist Imp. would suggest that the writer is
simply
identifying the general category of behavior to adopt,
whereas the Present would direct one's attention to
the individual steps in carrying it out. The Aorist
emphasizes the overall plan, whereas the Present
focuses on the details, if you will.
If a command were issued to forgive one another, an
Aorist tense might suggest that we adopt this
attitude, whereas the Present tense might direct
our focus on individual acts of forgiving. That is
why I said earlier that both tenses will elicit the
same response. If the Aorist draws attention to the
attitude and the Present draws attention to the
specific acts, then what you have is nothing more than
emphasis falling on different aspects of the SAME
command and subsequent behavior.
So, in your verse (Phil. 4.5), Paul is directing them
to let their reasonableness be known. Since this is
an Aorist, he is commanding them to enter or maintain
such an attitude. We might say that had Paul used a
Present, he would have been reminding them to be
mindful to preform specific acts that demonstrate such
an attitute.
But again, this is only a suggestion on how to
understand these two tenses in the Imperative. Any
suggestion that cannot be falsified is really nothing
more than a suggestion. We may never quite understand
what was in the minds of those in the first-century.
=====
Sincerely,
Alan B. Thomas
"There may be no way out, but there
is always a way up."
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