# BBG Chapter 36 — ἵστημι, τίθημι, δείκνυμι and Odds 'n Ends

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch36-mi-verbs-parsing/ | 20-item drill: parse forms from ἵστημι, τίθημι, δείκνυμι, and related μι-verbs

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch36-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 9 vocabulary words
ch36-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch36-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
Morphological Distribution | How δίδωμι, ἵστημι, τίθημι forms distribute across tenses and books

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition
Data: MACULA Greek TAGNT (~295 ἵστημι tokens; ~95 τίθημι tokens; ~33 δείκνυμι tokens NT-wide)

## 1. ἵστημι — "I Stand / I Set"

ἵστημι is notable because it is transitive in some tenses and intransitive in others.

Tense | Transitivity | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
Present, Imperfect, 1st Aorist (ἔστησα) | Transitive | "to set, place, establish" (someone/something)
2nd Aorist (ἔστην), Perfect (ἕστηκα) | Intransitive | "to stand, to come to stand"

> Note: This transitive/intransitive split is unique to ἵστημι among μι-verbs. The perfect ἕστηκα is especially important — it is perfect in form but present in meaning: "I have taken my stand" = "I am standing." This is a classic Greek perfect of resultant state.

### 1.1 Present Active Indicative of ἵστημι

Person | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
1st | ἵστημι | ἵσταμεν
2nd | ἵστης | ἵστατε
3rd | ἵστησι(ν) | ἱστᾶσι(ν)

> The reduplication is ἱ- (rough breathing on the stem ἱστ-).

### 1.2 Key Aorist Forms

Form | Parsing | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
ἔστησα | 1st aor. act. ind. 1sg | "I set/placed" (transitive)
ἔστην | 2nd aor. act. ind. 1sg | "I stood / came to stand" (intransitive)
ἔστη | 2nd aor. act. ind. 3sg | "he/she stood" (intransitive)

### 1.3 Perfect

Form | Parsing | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
ἕστηκα | Perf. act. ind. 1sg | "I am standing" (resultant state)
ἕστηκεν | Perf. act. ind. 3sg | "he/she is standing"

### 1.4 GNT Examples

> ἔστησεν αὐτὸ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. (Matt 18:2)
> "He set it [= a child] in their midst." — transitive 1st aorist

> ἔστη Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ μέσον. (John 20:19)
> "Jesus stood in their midst." — intransitive 2nd aorist

> ἕστηκεν ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ τόπῳ. (Matt 24:15)
> "is standing in the holy place." — perfect with present meaning

## 2. τίθημι — "I Place / Put"

τίθημι (root: θε-/θη-) means "to place, put, lay down, set." It conjugates similarly to δίδωμι but with the θε-/θη- stem.

### 2.1 Present Active Indicative of τίθημι

Person | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
1st | τίθημι | τίθεμεν
2nd | τίθης | τίθετε
3rd | τίθησι(ν) | τιθέᾶσι(ν)

> Note: The stem alternation is θη- (long, singular) / θε- (short, plural) — parallel to δίδωμι's δω-/δο- pattern.

### 2.2 Aorist Active Indicative

Person | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
1st | ἔθηκα | ἔθεμεν
2nd | ἔθηκας | ἔθετε
3rd | ἔθηκε(ν) | ἔθεσαν

> Note: Like δίδωμι's ἔδωκα, the aorist ἔθηκα uses a κ suffix but is aorist, not perfect.

### 2.3 Key Forms and GNT Examples

> τίθησιν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν. (Matt 5:15)
> "he puts it on the lampstand."

> ψυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. (John 10:15)
> "I lay down my life for the sheep."

> ὅπου ἔθηκαν αὐτόν. (John 20:2)
> "where they had placed him."

### 2.4 Key Compound: κατατίθημι

κατατίθημι = κατά + τίθημι = "to deposit, lay down, do a favor for" — appears in Acts 24:27; 25:9.

## 3. δείκνυμι — "I Show"

δείκνυμι (root: δεικ-) means "to show, demonstrate, point out." It represents a smaller sub-class of μι-verbs that use -νυ- as the present tense suffix.

### 3.1 Present Active Indicative of δείκνυμι

Person | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
1st | δείκνυμι | δείκνυμεν
2nd | δείκνυς | δείκνυτε
3rd | δείκνυσι(ν) | δεικνύασι(ν)

> Note: The -νυ- infix is the characteristic of this class. Other verbs in this sub-class include ἀπόλλυμι ("I destroy/perish") and ζώννυμι ("I gird").

### 3.2 GNT Example

> δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου. (Jas 2:18)
> "Show me your faith." — aorist imperative

## 4. Other Important μι-Verbs

### 4.1 ἀφίημι — "I Leave / Forgive / Permit"

ἀφίημι = ἀπό + ἵημι ("to send"). The ἵημι root is rarely seen alone but is common in compounds.

Form | Parsing | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
ἀφίημι | Pres act ind 1sg | I forgive / I permit
ἀφίεις | Pres act ind 2sg | you forgive
ἀφίησι(ν) | Pres act ind 3sg | he/she forgives
ἀφῆκεν | Aor act ind 3sg | he/she forgave / let go
ἀφεθῇ | Aor pass subj 3sg | it/he may be forgiven

GNT: ἀφίεναι τὰς ἁμαρτίας — "to forgive sins" (Luke 5:21)

### 4.2 ἀπόλλυμι — "I Destroy / Perish"

Active: "I destroy." Middle: "I perish / am destroyed."

Form | Parsing | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
ἀπόλλυσι(ν) | Pres act ind 3sg | he/she destroys
ἀπολλύμεθα | Pres mid ind 1pl | we are perishing
ἀπώλεσεν | Aor act ind 3sg | he/she destroyed
ἀπώλετο | Aor mid ind 3sg | he/she perished

GNT: οὐκ ἀπολεῖται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (John 10:28) — "will never perish"

## 5. Summary of All μι-Verb Patterns

Verb | Root | Pres. 1sg | Aor. 1sg Act | Key Feature
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
δίδωμι | δο-/δω- | δίδωμι | ἔδωκα | redupl. δι-; κ aor.
τίθημι | θε-/θη- | τίθημι | ἔθηκα | redupl. τι-; κ aor.
ἵστημι | στα-/στη- | ἵστημι | ἔστησα (tr.) / ἔστην (intr.) | transitive/intransitive split
ἵημι (compounds) | ε-/η- | (ἵημι) | ἧκα / ἀφῆκα | seen in compounds
δείκνυμι | δεικ- | δείκνυμι | ἔδειξα | -νυ- infix
ἀπόλλυμι | ὀλ- | ἀπόλλυμι | ἀπώλεσα | -νυ- class; act/mid distinction

## 6. Miscellaneous Forms — Odds 'n Ends

### 6.1 εἶμι vs. εἰμί

Form | Verb | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
εἰμί | εἰμί (to be) | "I am"
εἶμι | εἶμι (to go — rare in NT) | "I will go"

These are distinct verbs. In the GNT, εἶμι appears only in compounds or in participle form (ἰών = "going"). Do not confuse the two.

### 6.2 οἶδα — "I Know" (Perfect with Present Meaning)

οἶδα is a perfect form in morphology but present in meaning — a classic "perfect of resultant state." It has no present tense of its own.

Person | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
1st | οἶδα | οἴδαμεν
2nd | οἶδας | οἴδατε
3rd | οἶδε(ν) | οἴδασι(ν)

> οἶδα ὅτι Μεσσίας ἔρχεται. (John 4:25)
> "I know that the Messiah is coming."

### 6.3 Numerals — εἷς, μία, ἕν (One)

Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter
--- | --- | --- | ---
Nominative | εἷς | μία | ἕν
Genitive | ἑνός | μιᾶς | ἑνός
Dative | ἑνί | μιᾷ | ἑνί
Accusative | ἕνα | μίαν | ἕν

δύο ("two") is indeclinable in most forms (gen./dat.: δυοῖν in classical; δύο used for all cases in NT).

### 6.4 Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Degree | Formation | Example
--- | --- | ---
Positive | — | μέγας ("great")
Comparative | -τερος/-τερα/-τερον or -ίων/-ιον | μείζων ("greater")
Superlative | -τατος/-τατη/-τατον or -ιστος | μέγιστος ("greatest")

Common irregular comparatives in the GNT:

Positive | Comparative | Superlative
--- | --- | ---
ἀγαθός (good) | κρείσσων / βελτίων | κράτιστος
κακός (bad) | χείρων | κάκιστος
μέγας (great) | μείζων | μέγιστος
μικρός (small) | μικρότερος / ἐλάσσων | μικρότατος
πολύς (much) | πλείων / πλέων | πλεῖστος

## 7. Course Capstone — Reading Greek from the GNT

You now have the grammatical tools to read substantial portions of the Greek New Testament. The following passages are recommended first readings, ranging from vocabulary-controlled to richer:

Passage | Why It Is Good
--- | ---
1 John 1–5 | High-frequency vocabulary; repetitive structures; present participles
John 1:1–18 | Substantival participles; εἰμί; theological density
Mark 1–3 | Fast-moving narrative; aorist participles; imperatives
Philippians 1–4 | Participial phrases; subjunctives; imperatives
Romans 8 | Conditional sentences; participial chains; theological vocabulary

> Note: The best way to grow in reading facility is to read broadly in the GNT — not just translate word-by-word, but read for flow and comprehension. Use a good lexicon (BDAG), and consult a syntax reference (Wallace's Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics or Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek) when constructions seem unclear. The grammar you have learned in this course covers the forms and patterns that account for more than 95% of what you will encounter in the NT.