Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

Some Historical Comments
A beginning grammar is not the place to engage in complex explanations about the
evolution of a language. But an occasional comment can prove helpful. You might
be interested to know that the so-called “Second” Aorists and “Root” Aorists are
the earliest (i.e. oldest) strategies the Greek language employed to express an Aorist
Tense. In the evolution of the Greek language, the so-called “First” Aorists gained
only a toehold before growing in frequency in usage over time. When we reach the
GNT, the “First” Aorists had gained the upper hand. Keep these two things in mind:
1) The names “First” and “Second” are poorly chosen, obscuring the chronological
priority of the so-called “Second” aorists; 2) Many verbs will have both “First” and
“Second” Aorist forms, with one foot in the “old” world and one in the “new.” On
occasion there may be a shade of difference in meaning between the two. Consult
BDAG for help here. [You might look up μ to see how complex this can
become.]
Assembly Line “A”
Many Greek verbs travel down Assembly Line “A,” adding sigma () to the Root.
An important feature of this pathway is the use of alpha () as a connecting vowel
joining the “naked” Principal Part to the Personal Endings in the Indicative. Observe
how these elements, along with the augment, unite to form the Aorist Active and
Middle Indicative. (We’ll demonstrate this four-fold combination of elements with
the 1st Person Plural of the Active.)
Augment 3rd PrinPrt Connecting Alpha Personal Ending
μ
(Let’s not consider the passive right now)
Aorist Active Indicative [3rd PrinPrt] Aorist Middle Indicative [3rd PrinPrt] Aorist Passive Indicative [6th PrinPrt]
“I destroyed” μ “I myself destroyed” “I was destroyed”
ßß “you destroyed” “you yourself destroyed” “you were destroyed”
“he/she/it destroyed” “he/she/it [him]self destroyed” “he/she/it was destroyed”
μ “we destroyed” μ “we ourselves destroyed” μ “we were destroyed”
“y’all destroyed” “y’all yourselves destroyed” “y’all were destroyed”
“they destroyed” “they themselves destroyed” “they were destroyed”
12: Aorist Tense
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