Lesson 24 Aorist Passive and Middle Participles The aorist passive participle is used like the other participles. The kind of action is PUNCTILIAR. The time of action is BEFORE / antecedent to the main verb. The voice indicates that the subject receives the action or acts in such a way as to participate in the results of the action. The participle may be translated several ways. The use of the word in its context must determine the translation. Compare the translations in the following summary: The predicate participle (without the article): Present
Act. λυων Mid. λυοµενος Pas. λυοµενος
as/while (he was) loosing as/while loosing himself/for himself/ and no other as/while (he was) being loosed
Aorist
Act. λυσας Mid. λυσαµενος
when/after he had loosed/ having loosed when/after he had loosed/ having loosed himself/for himself/ and no other when he was loosed; when he has/ had been loosed, after he was/ has been...; after he had been...; having been loosed, etc.
Pas. λυθεις
. The attributive participle (with the article): Present
Act. ο λυων Mid. ο λυµενος Pas. ο λυοµενος
Aorist
Act. ο λυσας Mid. ο λυοµενος Pas. ο λυθεις
he (the man/the one) who is loosing he (the man/the one) who is loosing himself/for himself/and no other he (the man/the one) who is being loosed he (the man/the one) who had/has loosed he (the man/the one) who has/had loosed himself/for himself/and no other he (the man/the one) who was/has been/had been loosed, etc.
Genitive Absolutes This construction is frequently found in the Greek New Testament. It has a very loose connection with the main part of the sentence, consisting of a participle and a noun or pronoun connected with it. These are put into the genitive case when the subject of the main verb is different from the noun or pronoun used with the participle. Compare the two following sentences: 1. V-AAP-NPM D-APN T-NPM N-NPM ειποντες ταυτα, οι αποστολοι Having said these things, the apostles •
V-AAI-3P
απηλθον. went away.
The subject of the sentence, “αποστολοι”, has a direct connection with the participle “ειποντες”, which, therefore, appears in the nominative.
2. V-AAP-GPM D-APN T-GPM N-GPM T-NPM N-NPM ειποντων ταυτα των µαθηται οι αποστολοι When the disciples had said these things, the apostles •
V-AAI-3P
απηλθον. went away.
There is no direct connection between “ ειποντων” and the subject of the main sentence, “αποστολοι”. In other words, the subjects of the participle and the main sentence are different.
The participle with its noun, is therefore “absolute”, i.e. loosed or separated from the main part of the sentence and, hence, in the genitive case. Bear in mind that the genitive absolute is used when the noun (or pronoun) going with the participle is different from the subject of the finite verb and has no direct grammatical relationship to the remainder of the sentence. Compare the following sentences at this point: 3. V-PAP-GSM P-GSM D-APM V-AAI-1S λεγοντας αυτου ταυτα απηλθον. While he was saying these things, I went away. •
This demands the genitive absolute.
4. V-AAI-1S P-ASM ειδον αυτον I saw him •
V-PAP-ASM
D-APN
λεγοντα ταυτα. while he was saying these things.
The subject of the main verb is different from the person doing the action expressed in the participle. The genitive absolute is not used, however, because the participle has direct grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence. It is accusative to agree with the pronoun which it modifies.