# BBG Chapter 24 — Aorist and Future Passive Indicative

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch24-aorist-future-passive-parsing/ | Aorist/Future Passive Parsing Drill — 20 forms to parse
exercises/ch24-passive-formation/ | Aorist vs. Future Passive Formation Drill — 20 items: classify θη-Aorist vs. θησ-Future, parse, translate

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch24-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 8 vocabulary words
ch24-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch24-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
GNT Verb Morphology | Passive voice counts by tense; divine passive context
Genre Comparison | Passive voice distribution by tense and NT genre

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition
Data: MACULA Greek TAGNT (~6,500 aorist passive + ~1,200 future passive tokens NT-wide)

## 1. The Passive Voice — Overview

Up through Ch23, students have worked with active and middle voices. The passive voice indicates that the subject receives the action of the verb. Greek introduces the passive system in stages:

- Present and Imperfect Passive: Identical to middle in form (introduced with present/imperfect paradigms)
- Aorist Passive: Introduced here — uses a new 6th principal part
- Future Passive: Built on the aorist passive stem

## 2. The Sixth Principal Part

The aorist passive uses the sixth principal part, which is completely independent of the other parts. For λύω:

Principal Part | Form | Description
--- | --- | ---
1st | λύω | Present active
2nd | λύσω | Future active
3rd | ἔλυσα | Aorist active
4th | λέλυκα | Perfect active
5th | λέλυμαι | Perfect middle/passive
6th | ἐλύθην | Aorist passive

## 3. The θη Tense Formant

The most distinctive marker of the aorist passive is the θη tense formant:

    Augment + Aorist passive stem + θη + active secondary endings

> The Surprise: Greek adds active secondary endings (not middle/passive endings) to the θη passive formant. This is a historical anomaly — the aorist passive endings are the same as the aorist active secondary endings. There is no logical reason; it must simply be memorized.

### 3.1 The θη vs. η Variation

Some verbs use η instead of θη as the passive formant (the θ is omitted). This is common with verbs whose stems end in certain consonants:

Verb | Aorist Passive | Formant
--- | --- | ---
λύω | ἐλύθην | θη (regular)
γράφω | ἐγράφην | η (θ assimilated)
στρέφω | ἐστράφην | η
βάλλω | ἐβλήθην | θη (with vowel change)
λέγω | ἐλέχθην / ἐρρήθην | θη (suppletive)

## 4. Full Paradigm — Aorist Passive Indicative (λύω)

Person/Number | Aorist Passive | Translation
--- | --- | ---
1sg | ἐλύθην | I was loosed
2sg | ἐλύθης | You were loosed
3sg | ἐλύθη | He/she/it was loosed
1pl | ἐλύθημεν | We were loosed
2pl | ἐλύθητε | You (pl) were loosed
3pl | ἐλύθησαν | They were loosed

> Key Diagnostic: The combination of augment + θη + active secondary endings is unmistakable. The θη sequence in a past-tense form = aorist passive.

## 5. Aorist Passive Endings (Compared to Active)

Person/Number | Aorist Passive | Aorist Active (1st) | Secondary Active
--- | --- | --- | ---
1sg | -θην | -σα | -ν
2sg | -θης | -σας | -ς
3sg | -θη | -σε(ν) | —
1pl | -θημεν | -σαμεν | -μεν
2pl | -θητε | -σατε | -τε
3pl | -θησαν | -σαν | -ν

## 6. The Future Passive

The future passive is formed from the aorist passive stem (6th principal part), not the present stem:

    Aorist passive stem (without augment) + θησ + primary middle/passive endings

Step | Form | Notes
--- | --- | ---
Aorist passive | ἐλύθην | 6th PP
Remove augment | λυθ- | Aorist passive stem
+ θησ + endings | λυθήσομαι | Future passive 1sg

### 6.1 Future Passive Paradigm (λύω)

Person/Number | Future Passive | Translation
--- | --- | ---
1sg | λυθήσομαι | I will be loosed
2sg | λυθήσῃ | You will be loosed
3sg | λυθήσεται | He/she/it will be loosed
1pl | λυθησόμεθα | We will be loosed
2pl | λυθήσεσθε | You (pl) will be loosed
3pl | λυθήσονται | They will be loosed

> Key Diagnostic: θησ + primary middle/passive endings = future passive. Compare: λύσ + middle endings = future middle.

## 7. Deponents in the Aorist Passive

Some verbs that are deponent in the present and future also use the aorist passive form with active meaning:

Verb | Aorist "Passive" Form | Meaning
--- | --- | ---
ἀποκρίνομαι | ἀπεκρίθην | "I answered" (active sense)
πορεύομαι | ἐπορεύθην | "I went/traveled" (active sense)
ἔρχομαι | (uses ἦλθον, 2nd aor.) | —
δέχομαι | ἐδεχόμην (impf.) / ἐδεξάμην (1st aor. mid.) | —

> Note: When a deponent verb uses a θη form, it should be translated with active (or intransitive) force, not passive. Context and lexicon notation are essential.

## 8. The Divine Passive (Passivum Divinum)

One of the most theologically significant features of GNT Greek is the divine passive — using a passive verb to refer to God's action without naming God explicitly (avoiding the divine name in accordance with Jewish practice):

Reference | Greek | Translation | Implied Agent
--- | --- | --- | ---
Matt 5:4 | παρακληθήσονται | "they will be comforted" | by God
Matt 5:6 | χορτασθήσονται | "they will be filled/satisfied" | by God
Matt 5:7 | ἐλεηθήσονται | "they will receive mercy" | from God
Luke 6:21 | χορτασθήσεσθε | "you will be satisfied" | by God
Rom 8:30 | ἐκλήθησαν … ἐδικαιώθησαν … ἐδοξάσθησαν | "called … justified … glorified" | by God

> Note: Recognizing the divine passive is one of the most exegetically valuable skills in NT Greek study. Whenever you see an aorist or future passive in a theologically charged context with no agent specified, ask: Is God the implied agent?

## 9. Common Aorist Passive Forms in the GNT

Verb | Aorist Passive | Frequency | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
βαπτίζω | ἐβαπτίσθην | ~75 | was baptized
σῴζω | ἐσώθην | ~75 | was saved
γράφω | ἐγράφη(ν) | ~270 (γέγραπται perf.) | was written
λέγω | ἐρρέθη / ἐλέχθη | ~40 | was said
ἀκούω | ἠκούσθην | ~10 | was heard
ἐγείρω | ἠγέρθην | ~70 | was raised
πέμπω | ἐπέμφθην | ~15 | was sent
ἀποκτείνω | ἀπεκτάνθην | ~15 | was killed