From: Peter Osborne. (s351016@student.uq.edu.au)
Date: Wed Apr 17 2002 - 02:05:27 EDT
Hi,
in John 8:58 the following well known phrase appears:
prin Abraam genesthai egw eimi
Does the following statement by Burton apply to this phrase?
"The Present of Past Action still in Progress. The Present Indicative,
accompanied by an adverbial expression denoting duration and referring to
past time, is sometimes used in Greek ... to describe an action which,
beginning in past time, is still in progress at the time of speaking.
English idiom requires the use of the Perfect in such cases." (e.a.)-Ernest
De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods And Tenses in New Testament Greek, p.
10, section 17."
If Burton's comments do apply to this passage, what is your opinion on his
accuracy? Hence, can it be said that "ego eimi" (present tense) linked with
the adverbial past-tense phrase "prin Abraam genesthai" implies that ego
"was" in the past "prin Abraam genesthai" and has continued to "be" until
the time of speaking?
I know this could be the subject of theologocal debate, but I'm not looking
for theological argument, just clarification of a technicality.
Peter.
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