Class VIII: Imperative © Dr. Esa Autero GRE 4221 Beginning Greek II Class VIII: Imperative © Dr. Esa Autero
Imperative 1.1 Imperative In English – second person command You! No inflection In Greek similar but with greater range of meaning Second and third person – difficulty translating Pr., aor., [pf. x4 in NT] ASPECT not time is significant pr. = continuous; aor. = undefined
Imperative 1.2 Forming imperative – present and aorist imp. Second singular needs to be memorized Pr. stem+ con. vowel+ imperative morpheme λυ+ ε+ τω λυέτω Unaugmented aor. stem+ tense form+ imp. morpheme λυ+ σα+ τω λυσάτω
Pr./Aor. Middle/passive Imperative Morpheme chart Pr. act. and aor. pass. Pr./Aor. Middle/passive Sg. 2 ? [“irregular”] Sg. 3 - τω σθω Pl. 2 - τε σθε Pl. 3 - τωσαν σθωσαν
Imperative λῦε λῦσον λυέτω λυσάτω λύετε λύσατε λυέτωσαν λυσάτωσαν Paradigm – imperative Active Present 1st Aor. Translation Sg. 2 λῦε λῦσον (You) loose Sg. 3 λυέτω λυσάτω Let him loose Pl. 2 λύετε λύσατε Pl. 3 λυέτωσαν λυσάτωσαν Let them loose
Imperative λύου λῦσαι You loose for yourself λυέσθω λυσάσθω Mid. Present 1st Aor. Translation Sg. 2 λύου λῦσαι You loose for yourself Sg. 3 λυέσθω λυσάσθω Let him loose for himself Pl. 2 λύεσθε λύσασθε Pl. 3 λυέσθωσαν λύσασθωσαν Let them loose for themselves
Imperative λύου λύθητι You be loosed λυέσθω λυθήτω Let him be loosed Pass. Present 1st Aor. Translation Sg. 2 λύου λύθητι You be loosed Sg. 3 λυέσθω λυθήτω Let him be loosed Pl. 2 λύεσθε λύθητε You be loosed Pl. 3 λυέσθωσαν λυθήτωσαν Let them be loosed
Imperative ἔχετε πίστιν θεοῦ (Mk 11:22) Some confusing forms Imperative pl.2 is the same as indicative Use context as the guide Aorist lacks augment ἔχετε πίστιν θεοῦ (Mk 11:22) Have faith in God OR you have faith in God λύου (sg.2 mid/pass.imp.) looks like impf. w/o augment
Imperative λάβε γενοῦ γράφητι λαβέτω γενέσθω γραφήτω λάβετε γένεσθε 2nd Aorist forms Built on 2nd aorist stem – same ending as pr. indicative Parsing: tense, voice, “imperative”, person, number… For contract verbs and εἰμί see p. 313 2 Aor. Active Middle Passive Sg. 2 λάβε γενοῦ γράφητι Sg. 3 λαβέτω γενέσθω γραφήτω Pl. 2 λάβετε γένεσθε γράφητε Pl. 3 λαβέτωσαν γενέσθωσαν γραφήτωσαν
Imperative 2.1 Meaning of imperative (i) Command ἀκολούθει μοι [cf. ποίει (imp.) – ποιεῖ (ind.)] Follow me (Mark 2:14) δότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φαγεῖν You give them [something] to eat (Mk 6:37) (ii) Imperative of entreaty – request κύριε, δίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι Lord, teach us to pray See also, the Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:10)
Imperative οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις... μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν 2.2 Prohibition and Negations Different kinds of prohibitions and negations (i) οὐ with the future indicative – simple negation οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις... You shall not commit adultery, …not murder... (Rom 13:9) (ii) μή plus pr. impr. – prohibiting continuous action μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν Do not worry about your life
Imperative μὴ γνώτω ἡ ἀριστερά σου τί ποιεῖ ἡ δεξιά σου (iii) μή plus the aorist imp. – prohibiting undefined action μὴ γνώτω ἡ ἀριστερά σου τί ποιεῖ ἡ δεξιά σου Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (iv) μή plus the aor. subj. – stronger “no” than no: (i) μὴ νομισήτε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον… Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law… (v) οὐ μή plus aor. subj – firm fut. negation (firmer than iv) οἱ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσιν My words will [truly] not pass away
Imperative Practice: Homework: Parsing and warm-up p. 137 p. 139, No: 7-8