BBG Chapter 23 — First Aorist Active and Middle Indicative¶

Files¶

Exercises¶

Exercise	Description
exercises/ch23-first-aorist-parsing/	First Aorist Parsing Drill — 20 forms to parse

Flashcards¶

File	Description
ch23-vocab-deck.md	Human-readable card list — 8 vocabulary words
ch23-vocab-deck.txt	Anki import file (File → Import)
ch23-vocab-deck-fd.txt	Flashcards Deluxe import file

Notebooks¶

Notebook	What it shows
GNT Verb Morphology	Aorist tense dominance; tense × voice; top lemmas
Genre Comparison	Aorist distribution and voice; most common aorist roots by genre

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition Data: MACULA Greek TAGNT (~15,000 aorist active/middle indicative tokens NT-wide)

1. The First Aorist — Overview¶

The first aorist (also called the "weak aorist" in older grammars) is the regular formation for expressing perfective past action. It is characterized by the σα tense formant — the α in σα is the most recognizable marker of the first aorist.

Feature	Value
Tense	Aorist
Aspect	Perfective (action viewed as whole)
Time	Past
Stem	Aorist stem (= present stem for regular verbs, or modified)
Augment	Yes
Tense Formant	σα (characteristic of first aorist)
Endings	Modified secondary endings (α replaces the connecting vowel)

2. Building the First Aorist¶

Augment + Aorist stem + σα + (secondary) endings

For regular verbs (Pattern 1), the aorist stem = present stem.

Step	Form	Notes
Present stem	λυ-	From λύω
+ augment	ἐλυ-	ε- prefix
+ σα formant	ἐλυσα-	σα added after stem
+ ending	ἔλυσα	1sg ending = null (σα alone = 1sg)

3. First Aorist Active Endings¶

The σα formant replaces the connecting vowel. The endings attach to σα-:

Person/Number	Ending	Full Form
1sg	— (null)	ἔ-λυ-σα
2sg	-ς	ἔ-λυ-σα-ς
3sg	-ε(ν)	ἔ-λυ-σε(ν)
1pl	-μεν	ἐ-λύ-σα-μεν
2pl	-τε	ἐ-λύ-σα-τε
3pl	-ν	ἔ-λυ-σα-ν

Note on 3sg: The α in σα shortens to ε before the 3sg ending: σαε → σε. This is the only place where the α disappears.

4. Full Paradigm — First Aorist Active Indicative (λύω)¶

Person/Number	First Aorist Active	Translation
1sg	ἔλυσα	I loosed
2sg	ἔλυσας	You loosed
3sg	ἔλυσε(ν)	He/she/it loosed
1pl	ἐλύσαμεν	We loosed
2pl	ἐλύσατε	You (pl) loosed
3pl	ἔλυσαν	They loosed

5. First Aorist Middle Endings¶

The middle voice adds middle endings after σα-:

Person/Number	Ending	Full Form
1sg	-μην	ἐ-λυ-σά-μην
2sg	-ω	ἐ-λύ-σω (σαο contracts → σω)
3sg	-το	ἐ-λύ-σα-το
1pl	-μεθα	ἐ-λυ-σά-μεθα
2pl	-σθε	ἐ-λύ-σα-σθε
3pl	-ντο	ἐ-λύ-σα-ντο

6. Full Paradigm — First Aorist Middle Indicative (λύω)¶

Person/Number	First Aorist Middle	Translation
1sg	ἐλυσάμην	I loosed (for myself)
2sg	ἐλύσω	You loosed (for yourself)
3sg	ἐλύσατο	He/she loosed (for himself/herself)
1pl	ἐλυσάμεθα	We loosed (for ourselves)
2pl	ἐλύσασθε	You (pl) loosed (for yourselves)
3pl	ἐλύσαντο	They loosed (for themselves)

7. Stop Consonant + σ in the First Aorist¶

The same stop + σ combinations from Ch19 (future) appear in the first aorist:

Present	Aorist	Stop Combination
γράφω	ἔγραψα	φ + σ → ψ
ἄγω	ἤγαγον (2nd aor.) / —	—
πέμπω	ἔπεμψα	π + σ → ψ
κηρύσσω	ἐκήρυξα	κ + σ → ξ
βαπτίζω	ἐβάπτισα	δ + σ → σ
σῴζω	ἔσωσα	δ + σ → σ
πείθω	ἔπεισα	θ + σ → σ

8. Liquid Aorists¶

Verbs with liquid stems (λ, μ, ν, ρ) cannot attach σ directly. Instead:

σ drops
The preceding vowel lengthens
The aorist endings attach without σα

Present	Aorist Active	Notes
μένω	ἔμεινα	ε → ει before ν
ἀποκτείνω	ἀπέκτεινα	ει before ν
αἴρω	ἦρα	ε → η (irregular)
ἐγείρω	ἤγειρα	ε → η (irregular)
ἀποστέλλω	ἀπέστειλα	ε → ει; λλ → λ
κρίνω	ἔκρινα	ι in stem
σπείρω	ἔσπειρα	ε → ει

Note: Liquid aorists still have the 1sg ending pattern (-α, -ας, -ε, etc.) but without the σ. The vowel lengthening in the stem is the compensatory change for the lost σ.

9. Contract Verb First Aorists¶

Contract verb stems lengthen their final vowel before σ:

Present	Aorist	Lengthening
ἀγαπάω	ἠγάπησα	α → η
ποιέω	ἐποίησα	ε → η
πληρόω	ἐπλήρωσα	ο → ω
λαλέω	ἐλάλησα	ε → η
δηλόω	ἐδήλωσα	ο → ω

10. Comparing First and Second Aorist¶

Feature	First Aorist	Second Aorist
Stem marker	σα formant	Different aorist stem (no σα)
1sg	ἔλυσα (-σα)	ἔλαβον (-ον)
3sg	ἔλυσε(ν) (-σε)	ἔλαβε(ν) (-ε)
Endings	α-based	Same secondary as imperfect
Older grammar term	"Weak aorist"	"Strong aorist"

Key Diagnostic: Look for σ immediately after the stem (before the ending vowel). If present → first aorist. If absent and the stem is different from the present → second aorist.

11. Aspect and Translation¶

Both first and second aorists share identical aspect — perfective:

Type	Form	Translation
1st aorist	ἔλυσεν	"He loosed"
2nd aorist	ἔλαβεν	"He took"
Imperfect (contrast)	ἔλυεν	"He was loosing"

12. GNT Examples¶

Reference	Greek	Translation
Matt 3:17	εὐδόκησα	"I am well pleased" (aor. of εὐδοκέω)
John 3:16	ἠγάπησεν	"He loved" (aor. of ἀγαπάω)
John 19:30	ἔκλινεν	"He bowed" (liquid aor. of κλίνω)
Acts 2:41	ἐβαπτίσθησαν	"They were baptized" (pass., Ch24)
Rom 5:8	ἀπέθανεν	"He died" (2nd aor. of ἀποθνῄσκω)