Lesson 5 | Aorist Participles
[4] Examples from the Greek NT
As you go through the examples below, remember that Greek verbs communicate time only in the indicative. Therefore, aorist participles are perfective in aspect but take their time from the main verb.
καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς δύο ἰχθύας ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εὐλόγησεν... (NA28) And after he took the five loaves of bread and the two fish and looked up towards heaven, he gave thanks... —Mark 6:41
There are two aorist participles in this clause: λαβών (after he took) and ἀναβλέψας (after he looked up). Can you parse them?
λαβ+ων
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
αναβλεπ+σα+ς
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
λαβών is a second aorist participle. It has an aorist stem, a οντ tense former (timid τ dropped off and the remaining -ον lengthened to -ων), and lacks an ending just like many nominative singulars in the third noun pattern. We know it is masculine and not neuter because of the lengthened -ων. Therefore, λαβών is an aorist, active, participle, nominative, masculine, singular from λαμβάνω.
How about ἀναβλέψας? It has the same stem as its present tense-form, a σαντ tense former (σαντ + ς = σας), and a third pattern ending. Therefore, it is an aorist, active, participle, nominative, masculine, singular from ἀναβλέπω. Scheming σ changed the π into ψ (ἀναβλεπ + σας = ἀναβλέψας).
Both participles are nominative, share the main verb’s subject, and do not have the article. So, how are they functioning? They are adverbs that further describe the main verb’s action.
Since these participles have perfective aspect, how should we translate them? It is often difficult to communicate an aorist participle’s aspect in English. However, in narrative literature (like this example), aorist participles often depict an action that occurred before the main verb. So, λαβών and ἀναβλέψας communicate actions that occur before Jesus gave thanks: "He gave thanks after he took the bread and after he looked up into heaven."
ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. (NA28) I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. —Galatians 2:20
Once again, there are two aorist participles in this sentence: τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός (the one who loved) and παραδόντος (the one who gave). Can you parse them?
αγαπα+σαντ+ος
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
παραδ+οντ+ος
[Stem]
[Tense Former]
[Ending]
τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός is a first aorist participle. It has the same stem as the present tense-form, the σαντ tense former, and a third pattern ending. Therefore,τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός is an aorist, active, participle, genitive, masculine, singular from ἀγαπάω. Notice how the second α in ἀγαπάω lengthens to η because of the σαντ tense former (ἀγαπα + σαντος = ἀγαπήσαντός).
παραδόντος is a second aorist participle. It has an aorist stem, the οντ tense former, and a third pattern ending. Therefore, παραδόντος is an aorist, active, participle, genitive, masculine, singular from παραδίδωμι (you do not know this kind of verb yet).
How are they functioning? Note that καί joins these participles so that they share one article. Thus, both participles have the article. Further, they match τοῦ υἱοῦ in gender, number, and case. So, these are both adjectival participles.
How do we communicate the perfective aspect of these participles? Remember, Greek verbs communicate time only in the indicative. In this verse, we translate these participles with the English past tense because of the context. Paul has been talking about Christ’s crucifixion, which is a past event. Since these participles clearly refer to that event, they take their time from the past time of that event. With perfective aspect, these participles merely summarize this past event as a whole action: “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Your Turn
Now, let’s try another quizlet. This quizlet contains both first and second aorist participle forms from the different verbs you already learned. It will be significantly more difficult. Move slowly and take time to parse each form properly. You may want to use a pencil and paper to write down each parsing before flipping the card. When you make a mistake, take time to understand the correct answer. Remember to focus on identifying the three key features for each participle.
