Bible Lexicons

THE PRESENT TENSE REPRESENTS A SIMPLE STATEMENT OF FACT OR REALITY VIEWED AS OCCURRING IN ACTUAL TIME. IN MOST CASES THIS CORRESPONDS DIRECTLY WITH THE ENGLISH PRESENT TENSE.

SOME PHRASES WHICH MIGHT BE RENDERED AS PAST TENSE IN ENGLISH WILL OFTEN OCCUR IN THE PRESENT TENSE IN GREEK. THESE ARE TERMED "HISTORICAL PRESENTS," AND SUCH OCCURRENCES DRAMATIZE THE EVENT DESCRIBED AS IF THE READER WERE THERE WATCHING THE EVENT OCCUR. SOME ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS RENDER SUCH HISTORICAL PRESENTS IN THE ENGLISH PAST TENSE, WHILE OTHERS PERMIT THE TENSE TO REMAIN IN THE PRESENT.

THE MIDDLE VOICE INDICATES THE SUBJECT PERFORMING AN ACTION UPON HIMSELF (REFLEXIVE ACTION) OR FOR HIS OWN BENEFIT. E.G., "THE BOY GROOMED HIMSELF." MANY VERBS WHICH OCCUR ONLY IN MIDDLE VOICE FORMS ARE TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH AS HAVING AN ACTIVE SENSE; THESE ARE CALLED "DEPONENT" VERBS, AND DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE NORMAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MIDDLE VOICE.

THE OPTATIVE MOOD IS GENERALLY USED IN THE SO-CALLED "FOURTH-CLASS" CONDITIONS WHICH EXPRESS A WISH OR DESIRE FOR AN ACTION TO OCCUR IN WHICH THE COMPLETION OF SUCH IS DOUBTFUL. BY THE TIME OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE OPTATIVE MOOD WAS BEGINNING TO DISAPPEAR FROM SPOKEN AND WRITTEN GREEK, AND SUCH RARELY OCCURS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

IN A FEW CASES, VERBS IN THE OPTATIVE MOOD STAND APART FROM A CONDITIONAL CLAUSE TO EXPRESS THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE WISH REGARDING AN EVENT. THE MOST COMMON OF THESE APPEARS IN THE PHRASE "MH GENOITO" (AV,"GOD FORBID"; NKJV "CERTAINLY NOT").