Greek Verbs
Verbal Tense
In Greek, that which is important is the kind of action, versus the time of action in English. Now although time of action is certainly apparent in Greek, it is the kind of action that is most important in interpreting Greek. For example, in the phrase, “and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7c), the word “cleanses” is in the present tense. However, that which is of greatest significance for us today is not that His blood cleansed the people back then (although we certainly rejoice in that for them), but that His blood is effectual for us in the twenty-first century and beyond. Thus, the kind of action expressed in the present tense usage of this verb is continuous action; i.e., for those of us who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, His blood “continually cleanses” us from all sin, even when we are not consciously aware of our sin! What a glorious truth to walk in and live by. Therefore, the kind of action, not time of action is what is of uppermost significance in Greek interpretation.
1. The Present Tense The present tense indicates continuous or linear action. It may represent action that is ongoing as in the above example in I John; or it may represent action that was in the past, but it is described as though it were occurring now for emphasis sake; and at times it is used to express an event as occurring right now in the view of the writer, versus an ongoing action. Regardless of its nuances, the kind of action is linear or continuous.
2. The Imperfect Tense The imperfect tense emphasizes action that is continuing in past time. As with the present, there are a variety of nuances with the imperfect, but the primary idea conveyed by all these nuances is that of continuous action of some type in past time.
Example: John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was (imperf. was being) God.”
3. The Future Tense The future expresses both progressive and punctiliar action as occurring at some future time. Punctiliar action is that which will occur at some point in the future without necessarily indicating anything about the duration of the act, but simply that it will occur, whereas progressive action is continuous and linear.
Example: “You shall love (agapēseis) your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8). Here, “You shall love (agapēseis),” although in the indicative mood, is actually giving a command in the future, active,
indicative; i.e., “You shall” do etc.
4. The Aorist Tense The kind of action demonstrated by the aorist tense is punctiliar; i.e., its main purpose is to signify action that has occurred without indicating, necessarily, the amount of time involved. It does not make any statement as to the completeness of an action, only that it has been accomplished; thus, it simply indicates the reality of the action without emphasis as to elapsed time.
Example: John 2:20 (KJV), ” … forty and six years was this temple in building (aor. built) … “
5. The Perfect Tense The perfect tense is one of the most important in the Greek New Testament. The action it indicates is action that is complete, but it has an ongoing state of being; i.e., a completed action with an existing result in the present time.
Example: Acts 5 :28, ” … you have filled (perf) Jerusalem with your doctrine … “
6. The Pluperfect Tense The pluperfect tense emphasizes a completed act in past time with a resultant state of being in the past.
Example: “And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ And rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because (ē̢deisan) they knew Him to be the Christ” (Luke 4:41). Here, “they knew” is the pluperfect, and it is emphasizing the reality of the demons ‘knowing’ that Jesus was the Christ at this particular point in time in the past. But with the pluperfect is the reality of an initial point of knowledge that occurred before this encounter, and the results of that initial point of knowledge had an ongoing effect in the past, including up to and through this encounter. Thus, for the demons, this initial point of knowledge would have to be from the beginning of time. Therefore, “they knew” is talking about a completed act of knowing at some point in the past, with an ongoing effect in the past.
English pluperfect reading: “He had finished.” The English perfect is formed by the present tense of the helping verb plus the past participle, e.g., “He has finished.”
Greek Voice & Mood Voice
The New Testament Greek has three voices: active, middle, and passive.
1. Active Voice The active voice merely reflects the person (or thing) as performing the action of the verb (e.g., Bill hits the ball – in this instance, “hits” would be in the active voice showing that Bill is producing the action). A deponent verb means it is middle or passive in form, but active in meaning (the sign for deponent in the Analytical is dep.) “and we toil (kopiōmen – present active indicative), working with our own hands” (I Corinthians 4:12).
2. Middle Voice The middle voice stresses the agent as participating in the result of the action that is being performed.
Example: Matthew 27:5, ” … and went and hanged himself.. .”
3. Passive Voice The passive voice simply indicates that the subject is being acted upon by someone or something else (e.g., Bill is being hit by etc.).
Example: “. . . My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (apektanthē – aorist passive indicative) among you, where Satan dwells “ (Revelation 2:13).
Mood
The New Testament Greek has four moods: indicative, subjunctive, optative and imperative.
1. Indicative Mood The indicative mood is the mood of reality; i.e., it describes something as really happening.
Example: John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word … “
2. Subjunctive Mood The subjunctive mood expresses action that is likely to occur, but is not actually happening.
Examples:
- As a statement: He should pay his debts.
- As a question: Should he pay his debts?
- As a weak command: Let him pay his debts.
3. Optative Mood The optative mood expresses action that one hopes will occur, and is one more step removed from reality than the subjunctive.
Example: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify (hagiasai – aorist optative) you entirely” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
4. Imperative Mood The imperative mood is the mood of command; i.e., it is requiring something of someone or someones that is volitionally possible from those of whom the action is being required. With the present imperative, the action conveyed is keep on doing whatever one is doing, and with the aorist imperative, the action is start doing something.
Example: “And I say to you, ask (aiteite – present imperative), and it shall be given to you; seek (zēteite – present imperative), and you shall find; knock (krouete – present imperative), and it shall be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).” The emphasis in the above example is to continue “asking,” continue “seeking” and continue “knocking.” “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave (dote – aorist imperative) room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Here, in this example, the emphasis is, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but begin right now to leave room for the wrath of God, . . .”
Assignment: Take one verse from the New Testament that you are either reading or are familiar with and do the OIA method – Observe, Interpret, and Apply. Take at least one main noun or verb and use morphology to discover tenses, voices, and moods. How does this change your interpretation and application?
Consider God's Word 