From: Alan B. Thomas (a_b_thomas@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Dec 18 2000 - 09:28:41 EST
Carl wrote this
> I'm not sure I belong in this discussion, but I
> think the answer to this is
> that the statement is presented from the perspective
> of one looking
> backward at a pivotal event as a whole: an act of
> love encompassed in an
> act of giving.
I am somewhat weak on the Linguistic side of this
discussion, but I would agree that Carl could support
his statement here. I would also say that more could
be said, even the opposite of Carl's statement, to
some degree.
Namely, I would find it natural for a Greek to write
of the reign of a king with either the Imperfect or
Aorist (for 10 years he was reigning; or, he reigned
10 years.)
However, I do not think that the Aorist is an attempt
to view the reign as a "single or complete" reign.
That is, the Greek writer, immediately after stating
that this king reigned (Aorist) 10 years, he might
just as naturally identify a particular moment and
discuss some detail during this 10 year reign. He
might even discuss two specific details years apart,
but all under the Aorist umbrella.
The attempt to make the Aorist a "punctiliar" aspect I
think is incorrect. If an event is point-like, then
and only then do we have a punctiliar use, but even
then I would say that is not inherently part of the
Aorist. The punctiliar aspect would require an
additional grammatical element to bring this aspect
into the aoristic verbal phrase.
Returning then to John 3.16, I think Mark is
essentially on the right trail, the "telic" nature of
"he gave" would seem to imply that John has a specific
act in mind. However, that act could span an interval
of time, even include the entire earthly career of Jesus.
=====
Sincerely,
Alan B. Thomas
"Mary did you know... this child that you delivered,
would soon deliver you?
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