First Aorist Indicative Verbs

In this chapter, we will consider the aorist tense. Because there are two patterns for aorist verbs, this chapter will cover the more regular pattern (first aorist) whereas the next one will discuss the pattern of more irregular verbs (second aorist). English also has verbs that follow a regular pattern for their past tense (walk→walked; cook→cooked) and verbs that follow irregular patterns (run→ran, is→was). This English regular/irregular pattern corresponds roughly to the Greek first aorist/second aorist distinction. There is no difference between the first and second aorist in terms of meaning—both patterns convey a wholistic/simple/unmarked presentation of past action. Generally, a verb will either form its aorist in the regular way (first aorist) or irregular way (second aorist), though there are a few unusual verbs that have both first and second aorist forms. Like the future, the aorist has distinct middle and passive paradigms.

The prologue of 1 John has many perfect tense verbs (a tense we have yet to learn). Nevertheless, in the midst of these perfect tenses, we find two aorist verbs—and both appear with less common vocabulary words.

That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold (ἐθεασάμεθα, aorist), and our hands did handle (ἐψηλάφησαν, aorist), concerning the Word of the Life. (1 John 1:1 YLT)

The verb translated “did behold” often has the sense of seeing something with amazement or surprise. The verb translated “did handle,” which only occurs four times in the New Testament, does not convey the idea of a quick touch, but more of a handling.

By shifting both to rarer, more intensive vocabulary words and to the aorist tense, the author of 1 John cues his readers to hear this recollection as distinct from the broader eyewitness reflections of the prologue. To look upon the incarnate deity with wonder and to touch his physical body in sensory confirmation—is this not an unmistakable allusion to Jesus’s resurrection (e.g., Luke 24:37–39)?

The aorist tense in the indicative mood communicates both the time of action (typically in the past) and perfective aspect (that is, the author depicts the action as complete or as a whole). With the aorist tense, the author generally depicts the entire action in such a way that it encompasses the beginning, ending, and everything in-between. Of course, depending on the inherent procedural nature of the verb and the surrounding context, the aorist can convey a variety of nuanced meanings. Here is a sampling of the ways the aorist tense is employed in the Greek New Testament.

• Constative Aorist: Presents the action as a whole without regard to its beginning or end, or the length of time it took to accomplish the action. The aorist does not necessarily communicate a punctiliar or once-for-all action. Such nuances are communicated by the context and the inherent procedural nature of the verb’s action. In Rom 5:14 Paul writes, “death reigned from Adam to Moses,” ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωϋσέως. Notice that the action of the verb is not a once-for-all action since it describes a span of centuries.

• Inceptive Aorist: Emphasizes the beginning of a state or action. The inceptive idea is usually expressed by the term “began” in English: “Jesus began to weep,” ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς (John 11:35 NRSV).

• Epistolary Aorist: Used in letters where the author writes from the perspective of the readers. Although the author is currently writing something or is sending someone to the readers, by the time the recipients receive the letter, it will already have been written or the person will have already been sent. Thus, it is translated as an English present tense verb: “I am sending [Tychicus] to you,” [Τύχικον] ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς (Eph 6:22).

At this point, use the simple past in English unless the context demands otherwise.

Verbs with lexical forms that end with -ω can be active, middle, or passive. If the ending of the verb follows the endings (+ tense formative) found in the ἔλυσα paradigm (-σα, -σας, -σεν, -σαμεν, -σατε, -σαν), then it is active. If it follows the endings found in the ἐλυσάμην paradigm (-σαμην, -σω, -σατο, -σαμεθα, -σασθε, -σαντο), then it is middle. And if it follows the endings found in the ἐλύθην paradigm (-θην, -θης, -θη, -θημεν, -θητε, -θησαν), then it is passive in form, but can convey either a middle or passive sense depending on context. Some grammarians call such passive forms “medio-passives” as a reminder that they can convey either middle or passive meanings.

Verbs with lexical forms ending with -ομαι can follow either middle or passive paradigms, but they always convey a middle sense.

Like the imperfect tense, the aorist also has an augment which indicates that the verb’s time of action occurs in the past. If the first letter of the stem begins with a vowel, then the vowel is lengthened (ἀκούω → ε + ακουσα → ἤκουσα). In addition, if the stem of the verb begins with the diphthong αι-, the alpha (α) lengthens to an eta (η), causing the iota (ι) to become subscripted (αἰτεῖτε → ᾐτήσατε). As with the imperfect, the augment comes after the prefix in a compound verb. Here is a more precise breakdown of the component parts (morphemes) of the various forms.

Aorist active forms have similar endings to the imperfect (except for the first person singular), with the addition of a sigma/alpha (-σα) tense formative.

Note that the second person singular form has no alpha in its ending.

The aorist forms experience the same issues as the future forms when the sigma (σ) tense formative is added to the stem of the verb. These changes occur often and in accordance with regular patterns, as was seen in the previous chapter.

Like future forms, aorist contract verbs do not contract because the added sigma separates the contract vowel and the connecting vowel (ἠγάπησα). The contract vowel typically lengthens (ο→ω, ε→η, and α→η) but, unlike the future forms, the accent is not necessarily placed above the lengthened vowel.

For future and aorist passive forms, the addition of the -θη tense formative also causes slight adjustments to the normal paradigm. Students can usually recognize the forms below without being able to explain or predict these orthographic variations.

A. Paradigms: Memorize the aorist active, middle, and passive paradigms of λύω (see section 11.5). Then write out each paradigm ten times from memory.

B. Parsing: Parse the following verbs.

1. ἐπέμψατε

2. ἐπράξαμεν

3. ἐδίωξα

4. ἐπιστεύσατε

5. προσεκύνησεν

6. ἐτήρησας

7. ἀπελύθησαν

8. προσηύξατο

9. ἤνοιξεν

10. ἐσώθη

C. Translation: Translate the following sentences:

1. ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ (epistle/letter) (1 Cor 5:9).

2. ἔκραξεν οὖν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ … ὁ Ἰησοῦς (John 7:28).

3. Ιωάννης ἐδίδαξεν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (Luke 11:1).

4. οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον (John 3:16).

5. καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην (Jordan) ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου (John) (Mark 1:9).

6. καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν θεὸν Ἰσραήλ (Israel, genitive) (Matt 15:31).

7. προσευχόμεθα πάντοτε (always) περὶ ὑμῶν (2 Thess 1:11).

8. ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου … ἀπέλυσεν αὐτὸν (Matt 18:27).

9. ἤρξατο διδάσκειν (to teach) παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν (Mark 4:1).

10. ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ Σατανᾶς (Satan) τὴν καρδίαν σου (Acts 5:3).

11. καὶ ᾐτήσατο τὸ σῶμα (body) τοῦ Ἰησοῦ (Mark 15:43).

12. καὶ ἠνεῴχθησαν αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί (Matt 9:30).

D. Translation: Translate the following sentences into Greek.

1. He prayed in the synagogue.

2. The teacher was gathering the disciples and taught them.

3. The angel glorified God before his throne.

4. We did not believe the demon.

5. The joy of the Lord guarded us in the boat.