Lesson 8 | Odds & Ends, Part 1
[3] Periphrastic Participles
per⦁i⦁phras⦁tic adjective An indirect or roundabout way to say something
The following are two ways to say the exact same thing:
- ἐβαπτίζεν - an imperfect, active, indicative, third-person, singular verb
- ἦν βαπτίζων - an imperfect, active, indicative form of εἰμί with a present active participle
Both are translated, “He was baptizing.” Either way, the meaning is the same. Because the second form uses a verb and a participle, it is the long way to say it. We call this a periphrastic construction. Specifically, it is a periphrastic participle.
Key features of periphrastic participles:
- A finite form of εἰμί is paired with a participle.
- The participle is usually in the nominative case.
- The participle usually comes after the finite verb.
- The participle will not have an article.
The meaning and use of periphrastic participles¹
Since two verbs are involved, they each contribute to the meaning of the whole.
- The finite form of εἰμί supplies the person, number, mood, and time (when in the indicative mood).
- The participle supplies the aspect, voice, and the lexical meaning.
In the example ἦν βαπτίζων,
- ἦν communicates third-person, singular, indicative mood, and past time: “he was …”
- βαπτίζων communicates imperfective aspect, active voice, and the meaning: “... baptizing”
If the meaning is the same, why would an author use a periphrastic participle? As the Greek language evolved, the answer to that question shifted over time. In his textbook, Reading Koine Greek, Rodney Decker highlights three significant reasons why periphrastic participles were used in the NT era:
- Sometimes, a particular verb does not occur in the tense form that the writer wants to communicate. That is, using the participle is the only way to say it. (For example, there is no future-perfect form of δέω (I bind), so the periphrastic construction ἔσται δεδεμένον is used in Matt 16:19.)
- An author may use a periphrastic participle simply for stylistic reasons.
- A periphrastic participle may help communicate more information than the finite verb can do alone. For example, consider the following verse:
ἰδοὺ ἔσῃ σιωπῶν καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος λαλῆσαι ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας γένηται ταῦτα Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day when these things take place. —Luke 1:20
Let’s unpack the periphrastic construction ἔσῃ σιωπῶν. (Note that this sentence contains two participles in the periphrastic construction: σιωπῶν and δυνάμενος. Both carry the same force, so we will only focus on the first.)
- ἔσῃ communicates second-person, singular, indicative, and future time: “you will be…”
- σιωπῶν communicates imperfective aspect, active voice, and the meaning: “... being silent”
Notice that, if the future indicative form of σιωπάω (I keep silent) had been used, it would communicate perfective aspect. The periphrastic participle allows the speaker to communicate both future time and imperfective aspect. “You will continue to be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place.”
This is very similar to how we communicate continuous (imperfective) action in English. In the present tense, we can say "she runs" or "she is running." But in the past and future tenses, we must use a helping verb + a participle: "she was running" or "she will be running."